As a unit of the Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship, the Community Engagement Center works to enhance the development and commitment of Macalester community members to a life of meaningful public contribution. Informed by the belief that personal transformation leads to societal change, we co-create spaces to grapple with critical questions about concepts like democracy, citizenship and common good. By working with local communities while engaging the intertwined global context, we connect the resources of the college with community strengths and resource gaps in a spirit of mutual reciprocity. Expanding focus beyond how to enter new spaces, we intentionally attend to complex relationships with community members, including reflection on dynamics of power and privilege. In this way, the center works continuously toward long-term, mutually beneficial collaborations in order to deepen understandings and practices of decolonial pedagogies, research, and relationships.
Philosophy of the Institute for Global Citizenship
The Community Engagement Center:
- Provides opportunities to learn about issues of social concern through direct action, events, workshops, and deep collaborations across and beyond Mac’s campus
- Supports faculty in academic civic engagement, including applied research and community-based learning
- Offers assistance in connecting students to engagement opportunities and connecting with local organizations
- Facilitates leadership development programs (Bonner Scholars , Community Engagement Organizers, Lives of Commitment, and Off-Campus Student Employment Program)
- Employs student Community Engagement Organizers who initiate educational programming around themes of social concern and facilitate community relationships
- Is an active member of Minnesota Campus Compact and Imagining America, is a charter member of Project Pericles, and a member of the national Bonner Foundation network