With higher education having an important role in promoting civic engagement and civic discussions, SUNY Oswego is working to emphasize the importance of such civic-mindedness, and providing a mini-grant opportunity for the campus to help in these efforts.
The civic lesson plan faculty mini-grant acknowledges that while civic discussions clearly occur in “political” majors, courses from all disciplines can incorporate civic inquiry (defined as “the practice of inquiring about the civic dimensions and public consequences of a subject of study”) and civic literacy (“the ability to think critically about complex issues and to seek and evaluate information about issues that have public consequences”).
The Civic Engagement Coalition seeks to collaborate with faculty from a range of disciplines on incorporating these approaches into their classes, starting in fall 2024. With support from the Provost’s Office, the coalition will award travel grants of $200 to 10 instructors willing to incorporate civic content into a fall 2024 course.
Program requirements: Awardees are expected to dedicate a minimum of one-course period (or equivalent time) to a discipline-appropriate civic discussion as well as allow students an opportunity to register to vote and request absentee ballots prior to the voter registration deadline this fall (Oct. 26, 2024). As part of developing this content, participants will attend a one-hour workshop exploring the role a range of disciplines can play in building students’ opportunities for civic inquiry and developing civic literacy skills as well as how to balance this content with one’s own risk tolerance and prep time. All participants will be expected to submit a brief report on the experience by Jan. 31, 2025.
Application process: Applications are available via this link, and should be completed by midnight on June 14. Given the university's desire to support faculty who have not previously incorporated disciplinary-specific civic discussions in their courses, applicants only need to identify the fall class they would like to focus on as well as a simple idea or two -- they need not propose a specific plan at this stage. Those looking to discuss possible ideas prior to completing the application can Allison Rank (allison.rank@oswego.edu).
While the coalition encourages faculty across campus to apply for this program, they are particularly interested in seeing applications from:
- STEM and professional programs, as campus-specific data provided by Tufts University’s National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement indicate that students in these programs voted at rates equal to or below our campus average of 58 percent in the 2020 election.
- Courses that are regularly offered as part of a program or as part of General Education, as the coalition anticipates content developed for these courses will be likely to have an impact beyond this semester.
The Civic Engagement Coalition’s Curriculum Subcommittee will review applications and provide recommendations to the Provost for final approval. Applicants will be notified of the final decisions by Friday, June 21.