Tag: Community Engagement

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Office of General Education Student Success & Retention University Foundations

SMU awarded $10,000 Civic Pluralism in the Core Curriculum Grant from Interfaith America

SMU expands Common Curriculum offerings with new courses on civic pluralism 

Southern Methodist University is proud to announce that it has been awarded a $10,000 Civic Pluralism in the Core Curriculum Grant from Interfaith America for the 2025–2026 academic year. This grant will support the development of two new courses, Societies, Communities, & People and The Ethics of Service, which will be integrated into SMU’s Common Curriculum Civic and Individual Ethics (CIE) and Community Engagement (CE) proficiency and experience requirements for all undergraduate students. 

The grant, awarded to a collaborative team from the Office of General Education, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility, and the Department of University Foundations, underscores SMU’s ongoing commitment to cultivating leaders who engage with diversity, promote ethical reflection, and navigate societal challenges with empathy and insight. 

Societies, Communities, & People will explore the intersections of community, society, and ethical engagement, while The Ethics of Service will critically examine ethical dimensions of community engagement and service work via Engage Dallas. Both Department of University Foundations courses will equip students with the knowledge and skills to engage in meaningful dialogue across differences and contribute to civic life. 

The courses will also incorporate resources from Interfaith America’s Learning and Action Bridge (LAB), including the Pluralism Texts Bibliography and Story Circles Activity, ensuring that students engage with diverse perspectives through readings, reflection, and real-world applications. 

Faculty development and course design will begin in Spring 2025, with the courses launching by Spring 2026. This initiative aligns with SMU’s strategic goal of preparing ethical, globally minded leaders who can navigate an increasingly pluralistic world. 

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Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

Register now for the 3rd annual Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium on October 2 and 3

We are excited to extend an invitation to the 3rd Annual Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium hosted by Engage Dallas, in collaboration with Residence Life & Student Housing, the Office of Social Change and Intercultural Engagement, the Budd Center, the Office of General Education, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility, and the Center for Teaching Excellence.

This year’s theme is Listening, Learning & Leading Locally: A Place-Based Approach to Amplifying Community Champions and Mobilizing the Next Generation. This two-day event will take place on:

  • October 2nd, 5:30pm – 7:30pm (SMU Campus) and
  • October 3rd, 9:00am – 3:00pm (UNT Dallas Campus).
About the Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium 

The Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium is a gathering of thought leaders, academics, community leaders, and nonprofit professionals from SMU and the DFW area. This event is designed to explore the transformative potential of community engagement within specific geographic contexts. Our goal is to delve into the strategies and innovations that have the power to catalyze positive change within communities, with emphasis on campus and community collaboration and sustainable, mutually beneficial relationships.

The SMU Engage Dallas Program 

Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas. The initiative is a long-term, university-wide commitment led by students to partner with local residents, organizations, and other leaders to positively impact the community. There is equal emphasis on campus and community impact stemming from the initiative. This symposium allows us to share, expand and further develop the work of Engage Dallas, as well as invite other SMU faculty and staff to consider new and innovative ways to support community engagement efforts in Dallas.

Together We Dine 

On Wednesday, October 2, attendees will participate in Together We Dine. Together We Dine offers an opportunity for us to share a meal and listen, learn, and engage as we work to better understand ourselves and each other. We will engage in courageous and safe conversations, share our experiences, and listen to the stories of other community engagement champions.

RSVP 

This is a free event, and meals will be provided on both days. To protect limited resources, please register only for the day(s) you can attend by September 18, 2024. You can register for one or both days.

Register Now

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Office of General Education

Think big, do good with Engage Dallas, and satisfy two Common Curriculum requirements

The Office of General Education and Engage Dallas requests your assistance amplifying the following community engagement opportunities with students.

On Wednesday, September 13, from the Office of General Education email, the following message was sent to all undergraduate students. Students can satisfy two Common Curriculum requirements via service with this pre-approved opportunity.

——— [ Begin Message ] ———-

From: Office of General Education (gened@smu.edu)

Subject: Think big, do good with Engage Dallas, and satisfy two Common Curriculum requirements

Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas. The initiative is a long-term, university-wide commitment led by students to partner with local residents, organizations, and other leaders to positively impact the community. There is equal emphasis on campus and community impact stemming from the initiative.

2-in-2 Campaign

Engage Dallas is a free and easy way for students to earn two of their required proficiencies for graduation, the Community Engagement Proficiency and Experience (CEPE) and Civics & Individual Ethics proficiency (CIE) through sustained engagement with Engage Dallas. Below is a suggested path for completion of your proficiencies:

Monthly Service

To earn service hours and get connected to the Dallas community, connect with your Commons to participate in Engage Dallas monthly service events. All Engage Dallas upcoming events can be found on the Engage Dallas SMU360 page and your Residential Commons SMU360 page.

Solo Service

Engage Dallas offers solo service as a way for students to serve independently with our community partners. There are over 20 solo service opportunities ranging from art class volunteer to kennel companion to reading tutor for kids. All solo service opportunities can be found on the “Find Opportunities” page in the Engage Dallas Canvas Course under “Individual Service.” All students have a Residential Commons affiliation—Commuter students are affiliated with Boaz Commons, and Transfer Students are affiliated with Ware Commons.

#1Day4Dallas

Engage Dallas will host the 3rd annual #1Day4Dallas service event on Saturday, October 21. Breakfast, lunch, and 4 hours of direct service are included—spots are limited, so students are encouraged to register today!

Please direct any questions about Engage Dallas to engagedallas@smu.edu.

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Hilltop Scholars Honors and Scholars

Hilltop Scholars’ “Service Showcase” creates over 1000 finished products for Community Partners

Students sit around tables in a large ballroom putting together a variety of service projects for various community partners.

 

Students sit around a table making paracord bracelets for Operation Gratitude
Students creating Paracord Bracelets for Project Gratitude

The Hilltop Scholars Program (HSP), an honors community at SMU for students interested in service and leadership, hosted their annual Service Showcase on Monday, August 28th at 6 PM.  This year, 185 Hilltop Scholars made 500 sandwiches for Austin Street Center, 500 coloring books for Dallas Children’s Health, 100 menstrual packs for the SMU Period Project, 100 meal kits for Vogel Alcove, 50 dog toys for Operation Kindness, 50 paracord bracelets for Operation Gratitude, 40 meal bags for Meals on Wheels, 40 book recordings for Readers to Leaders, and 100 self-care kits for Genesis Women’s Shelter.

8 students can be seen standing around a table filled with boxes of food like fruit snacks, goldfish packets, crackers, and water bottles. One students facing the camera is placing goldfish in a brown lunch bag with white dots on it.
Students creating meal kits for Vogel Alcove and Meals on Wheels

While building community, students learned about the HSP culture of service and made a considerable impact on local nonprofit organizations.  Special thanks to HSP Student Workers Lilly Chapman, Gracie Doyle, and Paul Rowe, as well as all the HSP mentors and faculty, for their support in planning and implementing this important event.

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success University Advising Center

Engage Dallas launches 2-in-2 campaign to encourage more students to complete Common Curriculum graduation requirements

Engage Dallas launched a new 2-in-2 campaign with postcard mailings to all incoming first-year and transfer students this week.

The campaign encourages undergraduate students to complete their Community Engagement and Civics & Individual Ethics Common Curriculum graduation requirements through their Residential Commons during their first two years at SMU.

All incoming students were encouraged to start the Engage Dallas Canvas Course in the Campus Life Online Orientation Modules in Mustang StartUp orientation experience.

Students can sign up today to begin earning service hours through Engage Dallas by registering to participate in the following fall events–

Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas.

For questions about Engage Dallas, please email engagedallas@smu.edu or visit their website.

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Student Academic Engagement & Success

Final updates made to 46 COVID-19 cohort students for one-time exceptions for Proficiencies and Experiences

The Office of General Education communicated on Monday, February 20, to the campus community about the one-time exception to two Common Curriculum Proficiencies & Experiences for COVID-19 cohorts.

Based on feedback from School Record Offices, we completed the last of three recommended audits to ensure students who dropped classes, withdrew, or did not pass a class with an applicable tag would receive the waiver(s).

We added the final round of waivers to 46 undergraduate students on the Common Curriculum. We applied 42 Community Engagement waivers and 37 Civics and Individual Ethics waivers.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Office of General Education at gened@smu.edu.

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Office of General Education

Engage Dallas interns help community partners address community-identified needs in West and South Dallas

As a key office of SMU Engage Dallas initiative, the Office of General Education encourages you to support interns who help community partners address community-identified needs in West and South Dallas.

SMU Giving Day is the University’s one-day giving challenge. This fundraising initiative seeks to drive support for every area of the University and yield as many donations as possible within 24 hours.

This year Giving Day will be hosted on March 7, 2023, and one of the projects available for support is the Engage Dallas Internship Program.

Our internship program allows us to select and pair SMU students with one of our Engage Dallas community partners for a summer work experience. Engage Dallas compensates the intern so the community partner (e.g., one of 35 non-profit partners) does not have to.

Listen to Damondre Lynn’s experience in our inaugural intern cohort.

Engage Dallas is excited to launch our second cohort of interns this summer; however, additional funding would allow us to support more SMU students and community partners.

This year’s goal is $4,500 to support two additional interns this summer. Consider supporting this critical service and professional development experience with a gift. 

Categories
Office of Engaged Learning Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

General Education reminisces on the inaugural Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium

On October 3 and 4, Engage Dallas, in partnership with the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute, Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), Office of General Education, and Residence Life and Student Housing, hosted the first Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium.

Participants were energized by the authors of the book Place-Based Community Engagement (PBCE) in Higher Education: A Strategy to Transform Universities and Communities, Dr. Erica Yamamura and Kent Koth. In the keynote, the authors highlighted place-based community engagement as a strategy that prioritizes a campus-wide and education-centered approach in comparison to other individual or office-level (e.g., service learning pedagogy) and economic (e.g., anchor institution) strategies. They underlined the importance and impact of equal emphasis on campus and community for the development and sustainability of the Engage Dallas initiative in moving forward with the program.

During the Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium, over 60 attendees were invited to a luncheon while they learned how faculty, staff, community partners, and students can connect to Engage Dallas and collectively build capacity for community engagement on the Hilltop.

Afterward, the authors met with faculty for the Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium Post-Keynote Faculty Workshop. This session was designed as an opportunity for faculty to follow up with the authors and learn more about PBCE and how the model may be implemented into courses, as well as more about the Engage Dallas initiative. Opportunities for faculty participation with Engage Dallas were explored, and the importance of faculty engagement for the development and sustainability of such initiatives was emphasized during the session.

The initiatives managers for Engage Dallas, Audryanna Reed, and Lauren Anne Cove, reflected on the overall symposium.

“The PBCE Symposium was a great opportunity for students, staff, faculty, and community partners to engage in the same space to exchange ideas and establish new synergies. I am grateful for the new ideas that Erica and Kent shared, particularly related to sustaining Engage Dallas and maintaining its long-term commitment to South and West Dallas. The keynote address was challenging, inspiring, and affirming. I am excited to see how the Engage Dallas team collaborates to implement some of the critical feedback and timely suggestions we received.”  – Audryanna Reed, Associate Director for High-Impact Practices, Academic Initiatives

“I appreciated that our keynote speakers, Dr. Erica Yamamura and Kent Koth, focused on the work of changing hearts and minds. I have been reflecting on the quote that Kent Koth shared from Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach: “When the heart is touched by direct experience, the mind may be challenged to change.”  My heart and mind were touched and challenged by the collective learning during the Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium. I look forward to exploring how the Engage Dallas team can achieve an equal impact on campus and in the Dallas community.” – Lauren Anne Cove, Associate Director for Social Change and Intercultural Engagement

So, where do we go from here? The Engage Dallas team has mapped out strategies to ensure the continuity of promoting Engage Dallas.

Offering regular faculty sessions with the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) on Engage Dallas, PBCE, and launching a book club in spring 2023 are among the strategies moving forward. Co-founder of the Engage Dallas initiative and organizer of the PBCE symposium, Dr. Dustin Grabsch, shared:

“It was wonderful to bring together so many in the SMU community as well as our Engage Dallas Community partners to this first symposium. We have come a long way in a short time, but there is room for more folks at the table. Our hope is to share leadership with the community in planning further professional development experiences. Thanks again to all who attended and collaborated to make this community dialogue a success.“ – Dr. Dustin Grabsch, Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education and Academic Success

In 2020, SMU adopted the PBCE model to launch and sustain the Engage Dallas initiative. We are honored by the opportunity to engage and learn from the authors of the book that operationalized this university-wide, and community-embedded initiative we call Engage Dallas. A special thanks to SMU staff, faculty, and community partners for attending this successful event. Our gratitude extends to Engage Dallas staff members and sponsor offices who made this event possible!

Please follow our Instagram @smu.engage.dallas to stay updated with our upcoming events. To learn more about the initiative, visit the Engage Dallas website.