NewsRelease

UNCG Joining American Democracy Project

GREENSBORO – The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has joined the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) in the American Democracy Project, a national initiative to increase the number of undergraduate students who will be engaged in meaningful civic actions.
 
The project addresses America’s decreasing rate of participation in voting, advocacy and other forms of civic engagement. Approximately 146 AASCU institutions, with more than 1.3 million students, are involved in the project.

At UNCG, the planning process is under way for the three-year program, which is chaired by Dr. Ben Ramsey, associate professor of religious studies. Program discussions are focusing on democracy and the nature of civic engagement, and planning could include new courses and changes in some existing courses.

“One of the key duties of a university is to teach the importance of civic engagement to its students, and the American Democracy Project provides campuses across the country with a format for doing this,” Ramsey said. “At UNCG, we expect to have programs, courses and projects planned for the fall 2004 semester that will key around the national election.”

 Ramsey said the American Democracy Project is an excellent example of how universities can show the social good of public higher education.

“It allows us to demonstrate the degree to which higher education can create an educated citizen,” he said. “We expect to not only teach our students, but to learn from them as well through this important project. Many of our students already practice civic engagement, and we want to provide more opportunities to our future leaders.”

Other UNC campuses taking part are Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, Fayetteville State University, N.C. A&T State University, UNC Pembroke, Western Carolina University and Winston-Salem State University.

 “We want to help campuses change institutional culture, as well as academic and extracurricular activities, making civic engagement more intentional,” said Dr. George Mehaffy, AASCU vice president for academic leadership and change. “The project will highlight the civic value of the college experience.”

 The project calls for:

• Creating a national conversation among campuses about the theory and practice of civic engagement.

 
• Developing institutional commitment through the involvement of senior administrators, faculty, staff and students by addressing institutional mission and purpose; and focusing on civic engagement as a learning experience for undergraduates.

 
• Initiating new courses, projects, programs and teaching strategies.

 
• Measuring civic engagement of undergraduates on participating campuses and assessing the influence of increased civic engagement.

 
• Disseminating successful civic engagement models to other higher education institutions.

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