Aaron Burns | News Co-Editor

Buena Vista University (BVU) is widely known for their civic engagement with the surrounding community. The program is currently well-functioning, but there is always room for expansion. Director of Civic Engagement Ashley Farmer-Hanson is in the process of revamping the program by bringing additional funding.

Farmer-Hanson applied for the Bringing Theory to Practice Grant during the 2012 summer. The grant is funded by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). The grant was inspired by “A Crucible Moment” which is a document that was released in January. The document analyzes how colleges, universities, and K-12 education programs are taught civic engagement and social responsibility and the effects on society if students aren’t being as effective as they currently are. The writers believe that if students are not exposed to service, they will not participate in it later in life.

“I applied because BVU values civic engagement, values service learning, and because we’re one of the leaders in the nation. I don’t know if we always see our self as a leader in the nation in that area. For me, it’s like, ‘Okay, let’s take what we’ve done and take it a step further and really apply additional research into the process,’” Farmer-Hanson said.

“What’s really unique about this grant is we want to bring in community partners to talk about what BVU’s civic mission is. Organizations such as The Bridge will be invited to come talk with us so it’s not us telling community partners that we need this in our classrooms or that we need our students exposed to this. They’re actually telling us, ‘this is what we need in our agencies, and this is how you can serve us,’” Farmer-Hanson said.

The grant, in the amount of $1,000, is used to support the development of a civic mission campus. With the funding, Farmer-Hanson wants to create three lunch seminars that faculty, staff, students, and community members will be invited to. During the seminars, those who attend will start digging through questions about who the BVU community is as a university and community and this means on the larger scale of higher education. Depending on the turnout, any additional funds will be used for additional materials on campus for students to use.

The events are foreseen to kick off in February. Be watching BVU News for announcements and invitations to events.

Photo courtesy of Ashley Farmer-Hanson