The proposed Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement at the University of Colorado at Boulder has awarded $50,000 in grants to support 10 projects focused on promoting responsible citizenship in CU-Boulder students.
This is the first time the campus-wide initiative has provided grants for faculty to carry out new and existing projects in ethical inquiry and civic engagement. All funding was raised from external sources.
"We received many excellent proposals far in excess of our available funds," said Peter Simons, coordinator of the initiative. "The large number of proposals from practically all schools and colleges speaks to the high level of interest in civic engagement and ethical inquiry at CU-Boulder."
Currently there are120 courses and a number of programs offered on the Boulder campus that focus on either ethics or civic engagement. The proposed institute will assist in the development of certificate programs, capstone projects, courses and other initiatives, and will host conferences, workshops and seminars.
In addition to the recent grant awards, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication is the first pilot program of the institute. The school is conducting research and developing a series of courses and symposia for implementation in fall 2005 to help journalism students become more aware of their civic and ethical responsibilities as communicators.
Some of the faculty receiving awards for projects and programs include:
ß Susan Heinzeroth, Leeds School of Business: "Seminar in Non-Profit Development: Living Your Education with Compassion"
ß Ben Kirshner, School of Education: "Youth Development, Citizenship and Social Justice"
ß Willem van Vliet and Michael Hughes, College of Architecture and Planning: "Building Civic Engagement by Building Affordable Housing in a University Without Walls"
ß Jennifer Wolak, political science department: "Citizen Competence and Political Participation"
For a complete list of projects or more information on the projects and the Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement, contact Simons at (303) 492-1962. A Web site is being developed and will be available soon.