At the kickoff of the new Vital Communities partnership are (left to right) V Jane Rosser, director of BGSU’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement; Instructor Laney Fugett; student Chelsea Ann Ramey; President Mary Ellen Mazey; George Bullerjahn, biological sciences, and Eric Wobser, Sandusky city manager.
BGSU, city of Sandusky create pilot partnership
BGSU and the city of Sandusky recently kicked off a pilot partnership, the Vital Communities Initiative (VCI), which aims to pair BGSU students and faculty members with Ohio communities to identify and address projects that serve the public good. VCI projects are also meant to engage students in high-impact learning, impact citizens of our region and catalyze community and University resources for sustainable, livable and vibrant communities.
“BGSU faculty members and students from a variety of majors and disciplines are prepared to bring time, creativity and expertise to address community-defined needs, issues and dreams,” said President Mary Ellen Mazey. “This is a great example of how our region benefits from a community-engaged, public university committed to working for the public good.”
This model links existing community-based learning courses and projects with issues and needs identified by the partner community. Once linked, faculty members design their courses around the community-identified projects, focusing students’ academic experiences to provide solutions and new ideas to address these real-world problems.
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