The Periclean Progress E-Newsletter

Volume 3, Issue 2 – October 2006

The Periclean Progress is a publication of Project Pericles, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that encourages and facilitates commitments by colleges and universities to include education for social responsibility and participatory citizenship as an essential part of their educational programs, in the classroom, on the campus, and in the community.

Director's Welcome

This past month Project Pericles held two pivotal conferences: The annual Program Directors' Conference and the Debating for Democracy Student/Faculty Conference. On October 12-13, Program Directors from our Periclean colleges and universities gathered in New York City to discuss collaboration and future Periclean programming. On October 14, we held the Debating for Democracy Student/Faculty Conference where students, faculty, and staff from our pilot schools, Bates College, Bethune-Cookman College, Elon University, Pace University, Wagner College, and Widener University, came together for the first time to discuss active engagement and democratic processes. Both conferences provided an opportunity for schools to meet one another, share best practices, and plan for the future of Project Pericles. We would like to thank The New School University, Pace University, and Wagner College for hosting these two conferences.

With the November elections less than a month away, our Periclean campuses have been busy hosting events and rallying students. In this issue of the newsletter, you will get a glimpse of what some campuses are doing to inspire students, faculty, and staff to take action.

We commend our Periclean colleges and universities for integrating Periclean values into their schools' infrastructure, and look forward to showcasing them in future issues of the newsletter.

Jan R. Liss, Executive Director

Project Pericles ® Announcements

Upcoming Conferences

November 13 – The National Board of Advisors Meeting: This inaugural meeting, held jointly with the Board of Directors, will be an opportunity to present and discuss the progress of Project Pericles. Hosted by the Ford Foundation in New York City, the meeting will address the exciting opportunities and future plans to extend the envisioned impact of our mission.

December 8 – The Presidents' Council Meeting: At this annual meeting, Periclean Presidents will discuss matters relating to the governance, sustainability, and growth of Project Pericles, and will share their perspectives on the development, implementation, and support of Project Pericles on their campuses. The Presidents' Council meeting will be held in New York City and will be hosted by The Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Congratulations to Bethune-Cookman College on its new Center for Civic Engagement: One of President Trudie Kibbe Reed's top priorities since taking the helm in 2004 has been establishing a Center for Civic Engagement. The doors to the new Center were opened in September. The Center, serving as a Student Union, will be a place where students can gather, town-hall meetings will be held, and where community members can meet for events.

Elon University tops in the nation for community service: Elon University has been named one of the nation's top three universities for community service, earning a Presidential Award in the first President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, announced by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The award, presented during an October 17 ceremony in Chicago, includes a $5,000 prize from the Case Foundation to support community service activities and a certificate signed by President George W. Bush. Elon University President Leo M. Lambert accepted the award, and Elon senior Katie Franck, who has been an active volunteer throughout her college career, spoke at the event, providing a student perspective on the value of service. One of the exemplary programs highlighted in Elon's nomination was Project Pericles.

Project Pericles ® in Action

Campuses take action in the Periclean initiative Student Choices, Student Voices:

Allegheny College's Center for Political Participation Receives $150,000 Grant to Register Voters: The Center for Political Participation (CPP) at Allegheny College has received a $150,000 grant to register young voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Coordinated by Young Voter Strategies and funded by a $3 million grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Community College Voter Registration Project is part of a nationwide, nonpartisan effort to register 350,000 voters in 2006. The CPP will recruit and train student leaders at 30 community colleges in Ohio and Pennsylvania to organize voter registration brigades and register 20,000 18-24-year-old voters on campus and in their communities. "Registering to vote is an important threshold for other levels of involvement," says CPP Director Daniel M. Shea. "Once young people register and vote they tend to become habitual voters and engaged citizens."

Bethune-Cookman College students partner with the National Coalition of Black Civic Participation to help boost voting at the polls: Bethune-Cookman students are working collaboratively with the National Coalition of Black Civic Participation to register 5,000 college students to vote in the Daytona Beach mid-term elections this November. As Davion Lewis, a Bethune-Cookman student, commented, "The overall challenge is getting students to realize the importance of voting. What we first have to do is raise within them an unwavering belief in the importance of engaging in that civic duty."

St. Mary's College of Maryland solicits help from professors for the upcoming elections: The Center for the Study of Democracy at St. Mary's College of Maryland and the American Association of University Professors launched "Professors at the Polls" to address an acute shortage of election judges. Under this program, faculty from St. Mary's College of Maryland and other Maryland colleges and universities, both private and public, will be serving as election workers. This venture has been endorsed by numerous Maryland officials and elected representatives.

Swarthmore College students help fight genocide: Together with the National STAND (Student Taking Action Now: Darfur) Coalition, Swarthmore students are organizing to host six student anti-genocide conferences throughout the United States. These two day conferences will connect students fighting genocide in Darfur, train them to be effective advocates, link them with community groups and celebrate their achievements. Each conference will feature an array of academics, policy makers and advocates in the anti-genocide movement. For more information, a general agenda, and conference dates please visit: www.timetoprotect.org.

Wagner College hosts panel discussion to engage women in electoral politics: State Senator Diane Savino, Assemblywoman Adele Cohen, former Staten Island GOP chairwoman Leticia Remauro and Julienne Verdi of Young Democrats led a panel discussion in October to discuss ways that women can and should be involved with electoral politics.

Widener University students celebrate Constitution Week: Widener University kicked off its participation in the Periclean initiative, Student Choices, Student Voices, by hosting several activities to celebrate Constitution Week (September 18-21). Widener's Political Engagement Committee provided students with voter registration forms so that they could register to vote in the upcoming November election, distributed copies of the Constitution, and invited former members of Congress to speak on current issues at Town Hall Meetings. Widener also hosted a Panel Discussion, featuring Law professors Alan Garfield and Stephen Henderson, and Widener students, on personal technology and free speech.

Periclean Constituency Involvement

Swarthmore College's Board of Managers has established a $500,000 endowment that will generate income of at least $25,000 annually to support groups of Periclean students who propose and implement significant social and civic action projects. It is intended that these projects will have the potential to promote systemic change in conditions that underlie societal problems and that reflect values of fairness, diversity, opportunity and democracy. The fund will be administered by the college's Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility.

Periclean Connections

Project Pericles welcomes Mark A. Vander Ploeg to our National Board of Advisors. Mr. Vander Ploeg is a trustee of Macalester College and recently completed a six year term as its Chair. He is the Vice Chairman of Investment Banking, Head of West Coast Origination, and Co- Head of Consumer Industries at Merrill Lynch.

Grants and Resources

Scholarship Opportunities:

The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation invite nominations for the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards. The deadline for applications is Novemeber 9, 2006. The awards support the teaching and research careers of newly appointed faculty in the chemical sciences. Please visit www.dreyfus.org for more information.

Oracle Education Foundation invites students and teachers to take part in ThinkQuest International. ThinkQuest International 2007 is open to students between the ages of 9 and 19 and their teacher- coaches. The program promotes collaboration and cross-cultural learning by encouraging students to team with peers in other regions to develop web sites on educational topics. The deadline for submissions is April 16, 2007. Please visit www.oraclefoundation.org for more information.

Two New Books Foster Student Engagement: Allegheny College's Daniel M. Shea has coauthored, "Living Democracy" with Joanne Green of Texas Christian University and Christopher Smith of Michigan State, and co-edited "Fountain of Youth: Strategies and Tactics for Mobilizing America's Young Voters" with John C. Green of The University of Akron. The books, published this year, help bring young Americans into the political process and help scholars and practitioners understand the complexities of youth civic engagement.

 

The Periclean Progress is issued each month during the academic year and is posted on the Project Pericles website.
To subscribe or submit Periclean-related information for publication, email projectpericles@projectpericles.org.

"CLAIMING THE LEGACY OF PERICLES"®

Periclean Colleges & Universities
Allegheny College * Bates College * Berea College * Bethune-Cookman College *
Chatham College * Dillard University * Elon University * Hampshire College *
Hendrix College * Macalester College * New England College * The New School *
Occidental College * Pace University * Pitzer College * Rhodes College *
St. Mary's College of Maryland * Spelman College * Swarthmore College *
Ursinus College * Wagner College * Widener University

National Office
Executive Director: Jan R. Liss

Board of Directors
Chair: Eugene M. Lang

Presidents' Council
Chair: David A. Caputo, Pace University

National Board of Advisors
Co-Chairs: Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker & Hon. Kurt L. Schmoke

The title "Project Pericles ®," and its embodiment in the Logo, are registered service marks of Project Pericles, Inc. All rights reserved.