Civic and Community Engagement

Get Started

The Center for Integrated Professional Development helps faculty incorporate civic engagement into the way they teach and how their students learn. This includes:

One-on-one consultations
Course design (including classroom assessment and student learning strategies)
Connecting with like-minded faculty members
Grants

Begin your journey by contacting Dana Karraker, Assistant Director for Educational Development Programs, at dmkarra@ilstu.edu or (309) 438-5110.

Opportunities for Involvement

Civic Engagement Course Redesign Project
Offered during the Center's Summer Institute, the (Re)Design Your Course for Civic Engagement workshop is a multi-week, cohort-based learning opportunity. Participants who successfully complete this program will have redesigned a course to conform with Illinois State's Civic Engagement and Responsibilities minor.

Faculty/Instructor Community Engagement Learning Grant Program
The FY25 funds for this grant have been awarded. More funds will be available July, 2025. Please check back then.
This grant program is intended to support incorporating the principles and goals of ISU’s core value of civic engagement into students’ curricular experiences. It is co-sponsored by the Civic Engagement and Responsibility Minor, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, American Democracy Project at ISU, and the Center for Integrated Professional Development.

Workshops by Request: Classroom/Community Interaction
Pedagogy for Civic Engagement — Civic engagement is not only one of ISU’s core values, it is also a pedagogical strategy proven to engage students. Consider how to utilize civic engagement to enhance your course and excite your students.

Center-Sponsored Teaching-Learning Communities
Teaching-Learning Communities (TLCs) are small groups of faculty (5-12 members) who meet regularly each semester to discuss specific topics of shared interest or to meet the needs of specific groups. Each group establishes its own meeting schedule and the Center provides space (as requested) and limited funding for books and/or other relevant materials.

Additional Resources

Center for Civic Engagement
The Center for Civic Engagement helps coordinate the many, diverse civic engagement projects that occur every semester at Illinois State University. It can help connect instructors with learning opportunities in the community. The Center for Civic Engagement also partners with University Marketing to produce Redbird Impact, a biannual publication (in print and online) showcase community engagement.

Civic Engagement at ISU: Case Studies and Student Reflection (video documentary)

Convocation: Meaning, Value, Purposes, & Practices, a short essay by Joe Cuseo of Marymount College that discusses “…the meaning and purposes of convocation,” as well as its “…value and advantages.”