St. Cloud State University Brittany Wilson, Team Leader Rebecca Fonss, Hailey Olson, Amanda Thielen  

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Transcript St. Cloud State University Brittany Wilson, Team Leader Rebecca Fonss, Hailey Olson, Amanda Thielen  

St. Cloud State University
Brittany Wilson, Team Leader
Rebecca Fonss, Hailey Olson, Amanda Thielen
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Today we will introduce our initiatives to address the mutual
concerns of the community and university regarding student
behavior complaints. Our proposal is based on research and
theory with practical applications for both communities.
Objectives:
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University’s Potential Value on Sunnyvale Community with Use of
Comparison Data
Application of Theory/Learning Outcomes
Immediate Response
Long-Term Solution
Integration of Social Media in Proposal
“Greater awareness of local contributions was associated with
perceptions of a more favorable relationship with the
university”
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$1.4 million is spent by students at off campus locations
per year
University creates approximately 1,800 jobs either directly
or indirectly
Free events and reduced cost events open to the
community
Close proximity and access to post-secondary education for
high school students
*Model University Data from Scranton University, Scranton PA
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Those individuals who have attended an event at the university will be
more likely to indicate that the university is an asset to the community.
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Researchers asked “What is ‘one thing’ you would like to see the
university do?” The results showed that community members wanted
the university to “invite” them onto campus (41%).
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The results showed a significant difference exists between those
community members who have been on campus and those who have
not based upon the issues of trust, openness, and investment.
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These data suggest that this relationship-building strategy is mutually
beneficial because (a) community members attend events that are of
interest to them, and (b) the attendees have a more favorable
impression of the institution as a result.
(Bruning S. D., McGrew S., & Cooper M, 2006)
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Sunnyvale University/Community Day
o This initiative will be implemented in the next 2-3 months because it
is important that we show a tangible effort to be invested and
connected with the community. We will have the opportunity to be
visibly present in the community as well as communicate some of
our vision and goals to those we are looking to connect with. This
will also give us the opportunity to validate concerns and show we
will be moving forward to make improvements with all of the
Sunnyvale community.
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Good Neighbor Campaign
o This initiative has already been implemented through the use of
Facebook & Twitter for promotion of campaign initiatives.
Day will be organized by Sunnyvale University Activities
Committee and the Chamber of Commerce
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Purpose: To provide a means for both the community
members and university staff and students to come
together as one and increase awareness of the roles each
of them play
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Secondary Purpose: To have fun!
Schedule
 9:00am-12:00pm Clean Up Project
Community members and students
join together on community
beautification projects
o Those students who chose to
participate will get a free SU t-shirt
and a meal ticket for any of the
community vendors participating in
the day
o
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12:00pm-5:00pm Social Gathering
Food will be provided by community
businesses
o Live music from both communities
o Trivia games will be provided with
information about the community and
the university in order to increase their
knowledge of one another
o Prizes will be provided by the
university for outdoor games
o
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Additional Programming from
12:00pm-5:00pm
Student Organizations will be there
with booths in order to promote their
purpose and increase awareness of
their clubs
o Competition amongst the student
organizations for best potential
community-university partnership
projects
o Speaker from the university will
address the students about the longterm plans for the partnership
o Panel discussion will be provided for
those community and university
members who want to have an open
dialogue with one another about the
partnership
o
Good Neighbor
Campaign
Good Neighbor PSA Video
This campaign is in place
to provide students with
tips and strategies to help
them make a more
positive impact on their
neighbors and understand
the rules for living offcampus.
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We will incorporate Twitter and Facebook into our Good
Neighbor Campaign because approximately 1 in every 13
people in the world are Facebook users.
o Weekly “good neighbor tips” posted on Facebook and Twitter
o Recruit SU students and community members to join FB page and
follow Twitter
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Additional outreach for the Good Neighbor Campaign
o Flyers distributed and news updates, event info..
o Mailed to students who live off-campus
o Emailed to all SU students
(Hepburn, 2011)
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Future Social Event Programming
Sunnyvale KidU
Service Learning Program
Community Relations Coordinator
Off-Campus Housing Contract
Future Event Programming
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Continued momentum from
community day
Sunnyvale KidU
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o Science Fairs
o Art Fairs
o Poetry Slams
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o Live Music Nights
o Community Beautification Days
o And More!
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Opportunity for the elementaryaged youth in the community to
take part in “college classes” at
the university
Course topics designed to
introduce future career interests
and college involvement
Classes taught by SU professors
and graduate students
Participating children are
recognized for their
accomplishments with
graduation ceremony and
diploma
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What is Service-Learning
o Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates
meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich
the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen
communities.
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Sunnyvale’s Service-Learning Outcomes/Goals
o To enhance students' learning by enabling them to practice skills and
test classroom knowledge through related service experiences in the
local community
o To enable students to provide needed assistance to community
agencies and to the people served by the agencies
o To assist faculty in their role as facilitators of service learning and in
their engagement with the community
* Modeled after Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
SU’s Service-Learning program will be grounded in the
tenets of this theory
 David Kolb’s theory offers insight beneficial in our
proposed integration of experiential learning and
community involvement
 Kolb defined learning as “the process whereby
knowledge is created through the transformation of
experience” (Evans et al., 2010, p. 139)
 Kolb examined the different learning styles used by
college students and ways for educators to enhance
development through challenge and support
(Evans et al., 2010)
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The university will enlist the help of a staff member in the
Office of Sponsored Programs to assist with the
development and implementation of the grant application
and subsequent funding for this new position
As Dean of Students, our office will apply for a grant
through the Corporation for National & Community Service
o This corporation provides grants specific to Service-Learning
outcomes and opportunities
o The position of Community Relations Coordinator would start out as
grant funded, with the intention of creating a more permanent
position once data is available to support its usefulness and
therefore secure further funding
(Learn and Serve America)
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The new Community Relations Coordinator will work with
faculty to expand on their individual Service-Learning
projects and recruit other faculty to use Service-Learning in
their courses using the following benchmarks
o Design partnerships based on the values of sharing and reciprocity
• Community partnerships that are beneficial to students, fit into course
curriculum and meet a community need
o Building collaborative work relationships among partners
• Fostering and improving on established relationships to insure trust
and mutual respect between the university and community
o Sustaining the partnerships
• Linking partnerships to the mission of the institution and installing a
mechanism for evaluation
(Torres J. & Schaffer J., 2000)
An additional duty of the new Community Relations
Coordinator will be to partner with Residential Life to create an
off-campus housing contract that contains this honor pledge
which aligns with mutually agreed upon university/community
mission…
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Good Neighbor Pledge - I will take responsibility for myself
and the choices I make. Give my best in showing respect for
myself and others. Act daily to build a welcoming
community and make a different in the lives of others.
(University of California-Berkley, 2012)
Concrete Experience:
Students are introduced to proper
behaviors and neighbor
expectations
Active Experimentation:
Students actively incorporate
learning into their everyday life
through direct experiences such
as experiential learning
Reflective Observation:
Students can look into other
sources of information such as
community members and fellow
students for increased
understanding
Abstract Conceptualization:
Students can use a form of social
media such as the FB page or
Twitter to interact with peers and
community members to form
ideas and learning objectives
(Evans et al., 2010)
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Implementation of initiatives presented here today will
support the sustainability of the objectives discussed
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Sunnyvale University (Faculty, Staff and Administration)
must commit and be invested in this community
partnership to successfully accomplish the goals presented
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Thank you for your support and investment in these
immediate and long-term responses
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Bruning S. D., McGrew S., & Cooper M. (2006). Town-gown relationships: exploring universitycommunity engagement from the perspective of community members. Public Relations Review, 32
(2006), 125-130. dor:10.1016/j.pubrev2006.02.005
Campus Compact, “Deepening the Roots of Civic Engagement.”, 2008-2011 Annual Survey.
http://www.compact.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/2011-Annual-Survey-Executive-Summary.pdf
Evans, N., Forney, D., Guido, F., Patton, L., & Renn, K. (2010). Student Development in College. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Guarasci, Richard. “How Can Colleges Spark Economic and Community Development.” 22 September,
2012 Huff Post College, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-guarasci/college-communityengagement-_b_1821358.html
Hepburn, Aden (2011). Facebook Statistics, Stats, and Facts for 2011.
http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-stats-facts-2011/
Learn and Serve America, http://www.learnandserve.gov/for_organizations/funding/index.asp
Torres J. & Schaffer J. (2000). Benchmarks for Campus/Community Partnerships. Introduction to
Service-Learning Toolkit, 101-108.
University of California-Berkley (2012). Partysafe @Cal Good Neighbor Tips.
University of Scranton “Economic and Community Impact”
http://www.scranton.edu/about/community-relations/economic-impact.shtml
Warwick University Community Relations [Partial Video File].Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/user/uniwarwick