Civic Leadership Certificate
The Civic Leadership Certificate supports emerging civic leaders to intentionally develop their leadership knowledge and capacities, connect with other passionate leaders, and design cohesion across their community-based learning experiences.
A selected group of student service organization coordinators will engage in this year-long, cohort-based program. The cohort will complement their community-based experiences with a series of interactive workshops that build transferable skills and practice for active, ethical citizenship in the following areas:
- Understanding themselves
- Collaborating with others
- Gaining practical competencies
Cohort members will also customize their certificate to focus on social-issue-specific knowledge areas and synthesize their learning and experiences.
Program Requirements
Cohort members will complete ten elements over the academic year, using resources provided to track progress, assess learning, and reflect on experiences after each element. They’ll participate in:
- Seven CCE skill-building workshops (presented in monthly Community Engagement Organization Board meetings, J-Term Workshops, and in collaboration with campus partners)
- Two social issue-related workshops (youth development, literacy, immigration, food access, etc.) offered anywhere on campus or within the students’ specific program to develop civic knowledge
- One synthesis experience, to be crafted by students, will use project-based learning principles (ex. facilitate coordinator retreat about leadership transitions and share agenda template; design and implement assessment with community partner about student organization’s mission and share report; craft a new training for your organization and write a blog about your experience)
Example Offerings
For the seven skill-building workshops, here are examples of offerings, in the three categories. Note that many of these will overlap with Community Engagement Organization Board monthly meetings, and students will select at least two from each category:
| Self | Community | Practical |
|---|---|---|
| Social Identities | Active Listening | Assessment |
| Implicit Bias | Inclusive Recruitment | Budgeting Time and Money |
| Telling Your Story | Trauma-Informed Practice | Risk Management |
| Leadership Styles | Conflict Resolution | Leadership Transitions |
| Design Thinking | Facilitating Group Decisions | Concept Mapping Social Issues |
Application
Contact Kailee at kbricknermcdonald@middlebury.edu for information about applying to the program.