Community-based
learning at Occidental, in which students
apply what they learn in the classroom to community projects, embodies the
four cornerstones of the College's mission: excellence, equity, community
and
service. The Center for Community Based Learning serves as a resource
for such efforts, and acts as a clearinghouse for students, faculty, and
staff
who are working toward solutions to pressing issues in the community -
locally, regionally, nationally, and globally.
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Occidental College has, for the
second consecutive year, been named to the President’s Higher Education
Community Service Honor Roll With Distinction for exemplary service
efforts and service to disadvantaged youth. In 2007, over 1,100
Occidental students – nearly two-thirds of the student population –
contributed more than 51,000 hours of service.
Politics Professor Caroline Heldman was selected for California Campus
Compact - Carnegie Foundation Faculty Fellows: Service-Learning for
Political Engagement Program, in 2007-08. Professor Heldman’s Disaster
Politics class takes students to New Orleans during the Winter break, where
students learn from textbooks as well as from directly experiencing
post-Katrina issues of race, economics and politics.
Alexis
Moreno, assistant director of the Center for Community Based Learning, was
selected by California Campus Compact for the inaugural class of the
Bridge-Building Leadership Initiative, a year-long program to increase
leaders of color focused on community engagement in higher education, for
2008-09.
>>Click here to see
more accomplishments
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Since
its creation in 2001, Occidental’s Center for Community Based Learning (CCBL)
has provided leadership and developed resources to institutionalize
community based learning at Occidental College. To accomplish this goal, the
center engages with students, faculty, other campus offices, and community
partners, as well as state, national, and international networks. The goal
of community based learning is to enhance student learning and faculty
engagement by connecting academic study and civic education through
reciprocal, mutually beneficial relationships with the greater community.
In
2002, CCBL founded the Northeast Education Strategy Group, a network of
public district and charter schools, and community organizations. The
network involves principals, teachers, parents, students and college
professors, staff, and students working together to create long-term change
in the area. The main focus of this group is on college access and equity,
as well as other issues affecting education such as crime and safety.
Click here for more on
CCBL:'s academic civic engagement based on community organizing practices.
Click here to see our current
Brochure. |