National & International Collaborations
Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI)
Summer 2012 | Middle East and North Africa
The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) is a U.S. State Department program that works to identify the needs articulated by the people of the Middle East and North Africa region, and create partnerships with NGOs, academic institutions, and governments to address those needs. The MEPI program at PSU, called the Action Community Team (ACT!), is a comprehensive, newly designed six-week program utilizing experiential learning as a springboard for developing civic leadership skills. It is designed to prepare undergraduate students in the Middle East and North Africa to effect change in their home communities. Portland State University (PSU)–with its internationally recognized civic leadership development curriculum and its Student Leaders for Service (SLS) program–and Mercy Corps (MC) will collaborate to deliver this six-week program. The MEPI program will give MEPI student leaders a multi-dimensional view of U.S. society and institutions via an experiential curricular program that reflects a broad range of perspectives through classroom- and community-based hands-on learning. Significant, distinctive MEPI programmatic elements include: 48 hours of formal classroom learning in community development, public administration, and conflict resolution theory and praxis; integrated peer mentoring with PSU’s student leaders; community-based experiential learning with Portland-based governmental and non-profit organizations; formal training and integration into Mercy Corp’s international youth leadership program - Global Citizen Corps; digital storytelling with broad web-based dissemination and global video conferencing; the development of individualized ACT! plans to be implemented in participants’ home countries; and a week of field work, formal presentations, and reflective activities in Boston, MA.
Palestinian Faculty Development Program
August 2010 - September 2012 | West Bank/Gaza
As a part of the Palestinian Faculty Development Program, Portland State University's Center for Academic Excellence has been awarded a two-year grant to collaborate with an international team of institutions to help create Centers for Teaching and Learning Excellence at Palestinian universities. The CAE will strive to help make a lasting impact upon higher education in the West Bank region through its experience and evaluation-based efforts, working to establish sustainable systems to support:
- Teaching and learning resource development
- University-community networks
- Local and global inter-university partnerships
Global Citizenship Partnership with University of Science
December 2008 | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Dr. Marcus Ingle of the Hatfield School of Government, Dr. Kevin Kesckes of the Center for Academic Excellence, and Sarah Simpson of Student Leaders for Service, were invited to teach a community-based learning, global civic leadership course in the winter of 2008 in Ho Chi Minh City. As part of three-year partnership between Portland State University and the University of Science, thirty seven students from PSU traveled with this team.
The goal of the course was three-fold: 1) to expand upon the partnership between the universities, 2) to foster civic engagement on the Vietnam campus, using PSU's University Studies and Student Leaders for Service mentorship programs as models, and 3) to participate in a course that would "practice leadership and civic skills within the context of sustainability." Using the format of small group work, students had the opportunity to engage directly with the city, participating in cross-cultural conversations, identifying their top five civic skills, assessing the local sustainability needs, and presenting their findings to the University at the culmination of the course.
To read more about this course and other international exchanges at PSU, please click on the title's link and scroll to page 12 of the Office of International Affairs' Newsletter.
Partnership Initiative
May 2009 & 2011 | Portland, OR
CAE launched the Partnership Initiative to contribute to the knowledge base of understandings and practices of partnerships on a national level. To expand upon PSU's leadership in the field of engagement, CAE emphasizes the scholarship of partnerships, particularly scholarship that focuses on student learning, faculty development, and discovery/research (Please click the link to view the range of and contacts for the highlighted partnership projects).
Also, as a part of this Initiative, PSU held the International Partnership Institute on May 18-19th, 2009. Through a blend of presentations from the field, plenaries and working sessions, this Institute explored strategies to address persistent challenges, analyze promising practices, and examine research, to advance the study of partnerships. Save the date of the upcoming Institute: May 23-25, 2011!
American Democracy Project National Conference
June 16-18, 2005 | Portland, OR
The American Democracy Project (ADP) is a multi-campus initiative that seeks to create an intellectual and experiential understanding of civic engagement for undergraduates enrolled at institutions that are members of the American Association of State Colleges & Universities (AASC&U). The goal of the project is to produce graduates who understand and are committed to engaging in meaningful actions as citizens in a democracy.
The 2nd Annual National Conference was designed to recognize colleges and universities that have created innovative and successful approaches to community-based learning and civic engagement. This year Portland State University was recognized as a leader in these fields and was asked to facilitate the conference.
Association of American Colleges and Universities: Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric
Created for institutional-level use in evaluating and discussing student learning, the AAC&U rubrics were developed by teams of faculty experts representing colleges and universities across the United States. CAE members were included on this team and assisted in the articulation of criteria for Civic Engagement learning outcomes and performance.
Association of American Colleges and Universities Core Commitments- (Coming Soon!)
