Presentation

Presentation Descriptions

The following presentations are offered by the Center for Civic Engagement. You can request any of these presentations using our online form. Please submit your presentation request at least 10 business days prior to your preferred date to allow for sufficient preparation. We will do our best to fulfill your request, however, due to staff schedules, we may not be able to accommodate your requested date. If that is the case, we will work with you to find an alternative date.

Overview of the Center for Civic Engagement

Learn what the Center for Civic Engagement is and how it serves Illinois State University and the community. We will provide an brief overview of civic engagement as a concept, and will share the programs and services we provide that are relevant to the audience. Please allow a minimum of 20 minutes. Maximum presentation time is 30 minutes.
Target audience: All student populations

Introduction to Civic Engagement for your audience

This presentation includes all of the content of the Overview of the Center for Civic Engagement and more. We will further explore the question: What is civic engagement? The audience will learn about the variety of ways in which one can be civically engaged. This presentation will be tailored to the audience and will include information about the value of being civically engaged. Please allow a minimum of 20 minutes for this presentation. Maximum presentation could be 60 minutes.
Target audience: All student populations

Voter and Electoral Engagement

Learn about voter registration, ways to vote (including by mail), what offices are up for election, and who is running in national, state, and local elections. Discuss the role of voting in a democratic society. Please allow a minimum of 10 minutes. Maximum time presentation is 50 minutes.
Target audience: All student populations; faculty and staff. 

Alternative Breaks and the Conscientious Community Collaborator Continuum

Conscientious Community Collaborator Continuum explains how students can be transformed through community service and/or service-based trips. Learn about the value of considering root causes and greater social issues and about the value of reflection. Please allow a minimum of 15 minutes. Maximum presentation time is 40 minutes.
Target audience: All student populations

Planning a Service Project

Utilizing the Five Critical Elements of Meaningful Community Service, move any community service project beyond a requirement and into to a meaningful learning experience. Information regarding how to manage and plan the logistics of service will also be discussed. Please allow a minimum of 15 minutes. Maximum presentation time is 30 minutes. Target audience: RSOs and students interested in or responsible for coordinating community service.

Theoretical Foundations of Civic Engagement

There are several theories and frameworks that ground civic engagement and service learning work. This session can provide a snapshot of several or a deeper dive into one or two. Themes include: civic engagement as a process, critical reflection, civic engagement and leadership, equity, and ethical partnership. Please allow a minimum of 30 minutes. Maximum presentation time could be 90 minutes.
Target audience: Higher-level undergraduate and graduate level students; faculty and staff

Principles of Partnership 

This presentation will provide insight on how to cultivate sustainable, equity-centered, mutually beneficial, high-impact partnerships especially with community based organizations and agents. Participants will learn about tools they can use to build, support and assess their partnerships to improve outcomes and aid in student learning and success. 
Please allow a minimum of 20 minutes for this presentation. Maximum presentation could be 60 minutes.
Target audience: Students building service partnerships or engaging in a course-based community engaged project; faculty and staff; departmental units; administrators

Assessment of Civic Engagement 

This presentation explores how to meaningfully assess civic engagement when integrating it into courses, scholarship, and co-curricular experiences, emphasizing the role of assessment in capturing student learning, informing pedagogical decisions, and strengthening community partnerships. Drawing on established assessment frameworks and best practices, it will highlight strategies for aligning learning activities with measurable outcomes, evaluating both student learning and partnership effectiveness, and using assessment data to enhance future civic engagement endeavors. Please allow a minimum of 20 minutes for this presentation. Maximum presentation could be 60 minutes.
Target audience: Faculty and staff; departmental units; administrators

Faculty Support for Civic Engagement 

Learn how the Center for Civic Engagement can support faculty. As a resource and connecting point for campus and community, we can assist with grants, readings, research publications, toolkits, syllabus review, activity planning, assessment and/or connecting with community partners. Please allow a minimum of 20 minutes for this presentation. Maximum presentation could be 60 minutes.
Target audience: Faculty and staff; departmental units; administrators