In collaboration with faculty, staff, students, and community partners on our advisory board, the Office of Community Engagement is committed to helping our stakeholders meet the following goals, which align well with the goals of a Morris liberal arts education and of working at or partnering with a liberal arts institution.
Goals for Students
- Increased understanding of how theory, knowledge, and skills learned in and outside the classroom can be used to meet a range of community needs.
- Increased understanding of human diversity, including concepts of privilege and oppression and an improved ability to work collaboratively with diverse groups of people.
- Improved leadership skills, including effective communication and collaboration skills necessary for working in a variety of settings.
- Improved critical thinking and problem solving skills.
- Increased commitment to and understanding of civic engagement and improved skills and knowledge relevant to effecting social change.
Goals for Faculty and Staff
- Increased, ongoing engagement with the local community.
- Increased pedagogical intentionality.
- Improved ability to link research, service, and teaching agendas.
- Increased understanding of teaching as a collaborative process.
Goals for Community Partners
- Increased ability to meet the needs of clients by harnessing University of Minnesota Morris student and faculty skills and knowledge on an ongoing basis.
- Increased leadership opportunities for partners who assist in educating faculty and students about agency needs, goals, and related social issues.
- Increased awareness of partnering opportunities within the Morris community.
- Each project also seeks to meet specific, identified goals that are articulated through dialogue among partners, students, staff, and, for course-based projects, faculty. These goals are outlined on the project-planning sheet and used as the basis for assessment of each project.