Hollyce (Sherry) Giles selected for 2009-2010 CPPS Faculty Fellowship

Sherry Giles, an associate professor of justice and policy studies, has been selected for the 2009-10 Faculty Fellowship in the Center for Principled Problem Solving. She succeeds Kyle Dell, who was the inaugural faculty fellow.

Giles, who is also coordinator of the community and justice studies major, teaches courses in community problem solving, participatory action research and group dynamics, and her primary research interests are the group dynamics of social change initiatives and the impact of field-based pedagogy on student learning.

Giles' faculty fellowship will focus on the significance of Guilford's core values of 'community' and 'justice' for principled problem solving and engaged learning in general. She will also draw on her fellowship research in these areas to enhance the Community and Justice Studies curriculum. She holds a doctorate in psychology from Columbia University, a master of divinity from Union Theological Seminary, and a bachelor of arts in French Literature from the University of Texas at Austin. Giles is also a trained community organizer.

The Center for Principled Solving is dedicated to promoting engaged learning, teaching and scholarship motivated and shaped by Guilford’s core values of community, diversity, equality, excellence, integrity, justice and stewardship. The faculty fellowship is currently funded by the college and offers faculty members the opportunity to undertake an extended PPS project and to assume a leadership role in the life of the center.

CPPS Civic Engagement Initiative for 2009-2010

The Center for Principled Problem, in association with the Faculty Development Committee, and in cooperation with the Bonner Center for Community Learning and the Initiative on Faith and Practice, is hosting a series of educational opportunities and events for Guilford faculty and staff in the area known as Civic Engagement. The CPPS Civic Engagement Initiative, or CEI, is still taking shape but several things have been finalized and are listed below.

CEI programs and events are for both members of the teaching faculty or for any staff member who spends a significant amount of time working directly with students.

What is Civic Engagement?

The term Civic Engagement is becoming a nationally recognized term for a range of learning and teaching activities that touch upon issues of public concern. Barbara Jacoby, host of the online seminar listed below, offers the following definition for Civic Engagement (CE):

I define civic engagement as acting upon a heightened sense of responsibility to one’s communities, which include campus, local, state, national, and global communities. Civic engagement includes such activities as developing informed perspectives on social issues, working with others to solve public problems, taking an active role in the political process, advocating for policies that address issues of concern to you, and, of course, engaging directly in activities that meet human and community needs. Click here to download brief interview with Jacoby on CE (MSWord doc).

The CE Initiative is an extended opportunity for the College to collectively consider some of the current thinking about CE and the impact it currently has here at Guilford. We look forward to discussing the effectiveness of the established CE efforts here at Guilford and considering how we might improve or expand these important opportunities for our students.

CEI Events and Opportunities

• Online CE Seminar: September 17th, 1:00-3:00 pm, King 126, Civic Engagement: Best Practices & Tools You Can Use, hosted by Barbara Jacoby, senior scholar and chair of the Coalition for Civic Engagement and Leadership at the University of Maryland, College Park. nationally recognized researcher and teacher in CE, and should be informative. You may come for any portion of the seminar that your schedule allows. The presentation itself will end at 2:30 and we will have an open discussion following. Click here for more details on this seminar.

• A small group seminar on Civic Engagement and related pedagogical and theoretical issues to meet several times each semester. This seminar will begin with discussions on the recent book, Civic Engagement in Higher Education: Concepts and Practices, by Barbara Jacoby and Associates (copies available from the CPPS for review). Seminar participants will select subsequent readings. Participation stipends will be given to seminar members and materials purchased by the CEI. Two Facilitators are needed for this seminar. Facilitiators will set the schedule of meetings and decide upon additional materials for purchase and reading. Facilitiators will receive an additional seminar stipend.

• CE-related Course and Professional Development Grants available through the summer of 2010. Details forthcoming.

• CEI Guest Lectures/Presentations
  • Fall Presentaion: Guest Lecturer on trends in Liberal Education and Civic Engagement (details TBD)
  • Spring Presentation: Guilford College Discerning Vocation Handbook (details TBD)

• Spring Conferences. The CEI is offering financial support for faculty and staff interested in attending or presenting at the two conferences listed below. Registration and travel costs will be covered and stipends availble for individuals presenting.

• February, 2010: Pathways to Achieving Civic Engagement Campus Compact conference at Elon University. Faculty and staff are encouraged to present and attend the statewide annual conference at our neighboring institution. Conference fees and attendance costs will be covered by CEI.

• March 25-27, 2010, AAC&U Conference: Faculty Roles in High-Impact Educational Experiences. Up to twelve faculty and staff will attend this conference next spring in Philadelphia. Dave MacInnes is working to identify individuals to make presentations at the conference. We would like to share what Guilford does best with others and learn from others what new things we might add to our efforts here. Conference fees and travel expenses will be covered by CEI. Note: According to the AAC&U, high-impact educational experiences include: first-year seminars and experiences; common intellectual experiences; learning communities; writing-intensive courses; collaborative assignments and projects; undergraduate research; diversity/global learning; service learning, community-based learning; internships; capstone courses and projects.

Contact Mark Justad for more information on the CEI at Guilford College.

PPS Scholars for 2009-2010 Selected

Ten students have been selected to participate in the Principled Problem Solving Scholars Program during the 2009-10 academic year. The scholars, representing the traditional and adult student populations, will begin a four-semester sequence of courses and engaged learning opportunities beginning this fall. Each will receive a scholarship, support for a summer internship with a partner community organization in Asheville, Greensboro or Raleigh, and the support of an alumni mentor. They will also have the opportunity to develop projects of their own design in partnership with the program's leadership.

This interdisciplinary program builds on Guilford's commitment to principled problem solving as a method for putting the college's core values to work in the world, offering students an extended examination of matters of social change and innovation in a variety of settings.

Pictured Above: (Bottom, Left to Right) Hannah Swenson, Darius Verdell, Layth Awartani, Reid Perkins; (Top, Left to Right) Christina Shoffner, Amelia McLaughlin, Courtney Mandeville.

Not Pictured: Marissa Dungan, Thomas Eaves, Claire Massagee.

The 2009-10 class of Principled Problem Solving Scholars includes:

* LAYTH AWARTANI '12 (Greensboro, NC), a rising sophomore majoring in biology

and health science

* MARISSA DUNGAN '12 (West Newton, MA), a rising sophomore majoring in sociology with

concentrations in women's studies and theatre

* THOMAS EAVES '11 (Richmond, VA), a rising junior majoring in East Asian studies and religious studies

* COURTNEY MANDEVILLE '11 (Hillsborough, NC), a rising sophomore majoring in environmental studies and biology

* CLAIRE MASSAGEE '12 (Greensboro, NC), a rising sophomore majoring in political science

* AMELIA MCLAUGHLIN '11 (Takoma Park, MD), a rising junior majoring in political science and history

* WILLIAM REID PERKINS '12 (Greensboro, NC), a rising junior majoring in history

* CHRISTINA SHOFFNER '11 (Greensboro, NC), a rising junior majoring in biology with a concentration in integrated sciences

* HANNAH SWENSON '12 (Minneapolis, MN), a rising sophomore majoring in community and justice studies

with concentrations in sociology and film

* DARIUS VERDELL '12 (Welcome, NC), a rising sophomore majoring in health science and sport studies

The scholars program is an effort of the Center for Principled Problem Solving and is funded by the college with internship support provided by the Lilly Foundation. The scholars program is dedicated to fostering excellence in engaged teaching, learning and scholarship and seeks to equip students with the critical and constructive knowledge and skills to address the world's needs focused on Guilford's core values.

About PPS: Education that Transforms Our Students, Our Community, Our World

The Center for Principled Problem Solving at Guilford College was established in 2007 and is charged with organizing and coordinating campus efforts to incorporate Principled Problem Solving across the curriculum. The CPPS is also a resource for students, faculty, staff, and community members, helping them to identify and secure resources necessary for examing our community's core values and teachings and in putting them to work in the world.

Guilford's Strategic Long Term Plan,Creative Leadership for the 21st Century, states that Principled Problem Solving (PPS) can be understood as the central, unifying theme of the transformative Guilford College eduation. As such, PPS seeks to embody the practical liberal arts tradition for which Guilford is known, identifying problems and opportunities in need of attention and bringing it to them. PPS is shaped by the College's Quaker heritage and driven by our core values in seeking to fulfill the potential of education to reshape and renew our world. Principled Problem Solving contributes not only to a practical education but also, through active engagement in real world situations, contributes innovative solutions to existing and emerging problems in the community, state, nation and world.

More information on Principled Problem Solving is available on our About PPS web page and in a feature article from the Winter 2006 Guilford College Magazine.

Members of the Spring 2008 PPS Sustainability Seminar relaxing after a long day along the Haw River

Questions about the Center and the work of Principled Problem Solving? Contact

CPPS Director, Mark Justad by email or phone (336) 316-2853.

Center for Principled Problem Solving

122 King Hall

(336) 316-2853

cpps@guilford.edu