CENTER FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) officially opened at Hofstra University in 2007 as an initiative by faculty committed to promoting student involvement in community and public life. Since its inception, CCE has organized hundreds of on-campus events, including forums, conferences, debates, workshops, exhibitions, cultural gatherings, and performances around several important themes including nonviolence, social justice, sustainability, the democratic process, and international peace and conflict. CCE also plays an important role off campus by supporting positive transformative changes on Long Island through its strategic community partnerships. CCE also offers minors in civic engagement and peace and conflict studies, as well as community-based internships for academic credit. (Visit hofstra.edu/cce for more information.)
Our Mission:
Hofstra University offers educational, cocurricular, and cultural programs and activities that foster an awareness of local, national, and global issues, encouraging students to be active citizens and contributors to their local, national, and global communities. Hofstra University recognizes its important role in our local community and in participating in a broader national and international dialogue. We offer programs and seek opportunities that mutually benefit the Hofstra community and those beyond our campus.
CCE was founded on the following premises:
- That those who are engaged in their civic life are better satisfied with their lives and social environment, including their university experience.
- That those who learn about the satisfactions of civic engagement are likely to remain engaged, thus strengthening the democratic fabric of our communities.
- That there are specific activities, knowledge, and skills (specified below) that make for engaged citizens.
- That these attributes can be fostered through sustained deliberative, dialogic, and experiential programs.
- That those equipped with civic engagement experiences and skills can more effectively move from awareness to action.
- That working toward the betterment of humankind through civic engagement fulfills an important aspect of the mission of the University.
To that end, CCE aims to foster civic engagement by:
- Educating students about current and historical issues related to democracy, social justice, and sustainability in contexts that:
- Highlight issues that are marginalized and ignored by the media
- Emphasize inclusion of and exposure to multiple perspectives
- Invite spirited debate on specific public policies
- Promoting the prerequisites of democracy through educational programs that emphasize:
- Freedom of speech, expression, and assembly
- The value of civic comportment and diverse viewpoints
- Respect and appreciation for diversity
- The ethics of public engagement
- Individual and collective empowerment through collaboration
- Social equality
- Building competencies in:
- Forming and strengthening groups, networks, and organizations
- Developing leadership, team-building, and organizing skills
- Defining, planning, and carrying out activities that promote civic engagement
- Promoting conflict resolution and social transformation
- Fostering connections within and between communities
- Conducting research
- Developing social policy initiatives that improve campus life and student satisfaction
Since its inception, CCE has organized hundreds of on-campus events, including forums, conferences, debates, workshops, exhibitions, cultural gatherings, and performances. These events revolve around several major themes related to our overall mission, including:
- The democratic process – Through deliberative dialogue CCE works to deepen democracy through deliberation. CCE facilitates a series of public forums in local high schools and public libraries focused on several public policy issues affecting the U.S. presidential elections. These community-based town hall meetings address immigration, economic policy, environment and sustainability, education, and U.S. foreign policy, among other issues, and are led by CCE student fellows and other Hofstra undergraduates. They are supported in part by generous grants from the Kettering Foundation and the Herman Goldman Foundation. Our annual “Day of Dialogue” has become one of the premier events on campus every fall.
CCE also utilizes the arts as a resource for encouraging active citizenship. To that end, we have presented street theater events, a civil rights musical concert, and “Democracy in Performance,” featuring 13 events portraying pivotal moments in American democracy with fully costumed performers in living history performances. Held on campus just prior to the 2008 presidential debate, “Democracy in Performance” featured a mix of professional Chautauqua Institution performers and Hofstra student actors trained in a special class. The 2012 “Democracy in Performance” event (held one day before the University hosted a presidential debate) explored immigration, workers’ issues, the Great Depression, the struggle for the abolition of slavery, voting and civil rights, and the concerns and treatment of veterans.
- Building bridges – CCE has hosted four Multicultural Mixers, inviting our campus community to come together across ethnic/racial and religious boundaries. Each was attended by more than 200 students. We also sponsor a yearly interfaith dinner on the relationship of faith to civic engagement and have organized several intergenerational issues forums working with the National Issues Forums Institute. Our interns and faculty associates worked on 2010’s Renew New York high school issues conference and published a Kettering Foundation-sponsored issues book on prosperity.
- Creating a community of active citizens – CCE has been involved in Hofstra’s living/learning community from the beginning, lobbying successfully for a performance space in the Netherlands, the first-year student residential complex and for a Civic Engagement House, which was successful enough that in 2008 there were two houses for first-year students while the students from our first house decided to live together and form a sophomore house to continue their engagement activities in 2009. In 2010, there were two Civic Engagement houses. Our graduate assistant (line established in fall 2008) enabled CCE to host (along with undergraduate interns) a sustained dialogue series at these residence halls and at the Stuart and Nancy Rabinowitz Honors College residence hall. We continued to bring Campus Camp Wellstone to Hofstra. This award-winning program trained more than 150 Hofstra students to be effective organizers. We have participated in after school programs with several area groups and are looking to move forward in our community connections endeavors.
- International Awareness – We bring numerous scholars to campus to speak about international issues specifically as part of our International Scene Lecture Series, as well as by co-sponsorship with other programs. Every spring, we hold our Global Justice Day, where CCE fellows and advisory board members organize speakers, panels and workshops to examine and reflect on a broad array of issues related to people across our planet – politically, economically, and culturally. In addition, we sponsor or co-sponsor many other events, including student-designed and student-run special topic conferences.
For more information, please contact the CCE Director: Scott Brinton at Scott.Brinton@hofstra.edu.
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