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What does it mean to be a member of a community, to be a citizen of a place?

The Interdisciplinary Program in Civic Innovation asks students to grapple with the most pressing questions of the social world. Our students embrace the opportunity to think critically about what our obligations and responsibilities are as citizens of any place. Whether we are teachers or chemists, nurses or engineers, we all have to make decisions about how we live in the world together. In the classroom and in a variety of civic engagement projects, Civic Innovation students work to develop the skills and knowledge to be innovative problem solvers in their communities. The program is rooted in the belief that all persons have the potential to make creative contributions to the common good and that all places have the potential to be safe and healthy places for all people.

Degrees

  • Minor, Appalachian Studies

    The Appalachian Studies minor is designed to provide students with an understanding of the history, natural resources, culture, politics, economy, and literary and artistic expressions of the region in which they were raised, will work and/or are presently located and to provide a coherent learning experience through multi-disciplinary studies of a single area.

  • Bachelor of Arts, Civic Innovation

    Situated at the intersection of academic knowledge, vocational exploration, and a commitment to the common good, Civic Innovation provides an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of public life and issues, including the dynamic interplay of the natural environment, the built environment, and human culture and history in places and the role of that interplay in developing innovative solutions to civic issues and problems. As a central part of the curriculum in Civic Innovation, students are actively solving community-identified problems and achieving outcomes for people and places. Graduates understand the innovation process, have the skills, knowledge, and attributes to be innovative problem solvers, to organize, lead, and coordinate civic initiatives, and to help forge creative alliances of persons and organizations to meet community needs and achieve outcomes that serve the common good. In collaboration with their advisor, students chart a course of study that provides skills that they can apply in the public and private sectors or in post-graduate study. Throughout the curriculum, students build and maintain a results portfolio, presenting this at points in their study, culminating in the senior capstone presentation.

  • Minor, Civic Innovation

    Situated at the intersection of academic knowledge, vocational exploration, and a commitment to the common good, Civic Innovation provides an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of public life and issues, including the dynamic interplay of the natural environment, the built environment, and human culture and history in places and the role of that interplay in developing innovative solutions to civic issues and problems. As a central part of the curriculum in Civic Innovation, students are actively solving community-identified problems and achieving outcomes for people and places. Graduates understand the innovation process, have the skills, knowledge, and attributes to be innovative problem solvers, to organize, lead, and coordinate civic initiatives, and to help forge creative alliances of persons and organizations to meet community needs and achieve outcomes that serve the common good. In collaboration with their advisor, students chart a course of study that provides skills that they can apply in the public and private sectors or in post-graduate study. Throughout the curriculum, students build and maintain a results portfolio, presenting this at points in their study, culminating in the senior capstone presentation.

  • Master of Arts in Community and Organizational Leadership

    To equip early and mid-career professionals with the skills necessary to be more effective leaders within communities and organizations; to offer an interdisciplinary approach to questions and issues of leadership and community development in both the public and private sectors, for proactive leadership focused on building communities. The Masters of Community and Organizational Leadership has two tracks: 5-Year B.A./MCOL and the Mid-Career M.A.

    The Community and Organizational Leadership Program is no longer accepting applications.

Meet Civic Innovation students.

Sarah Dutton

CVIN Major, Sarah Dutton is a tremendous asset to our E&H community. She takes on an active r... CVIN Major, Sarah Dutton is a tremendous asset to our E&H community. She takes on an active role at the E&H Garden and is the student leader of the Stinger's Supply Shelf.

Learn more about Sarah’s work with Stinger’s Supply Shelf below: 

Civic Innovation Major students serve as members of the Appalachian Center staff in bimonthly mee... Civic Innovation Major students serve as members of the Appalachian Center staff in bimonthly meetings.

Six Civic Innovation Seniors serve as project leaders for various initiatives across the region. Theses Seniors report project progress along with staff members of the Appalachian Center in bimonthly staff meetings. The students have just as much ownership over their projects as the staff does and all members work together to provide feedback and assistance. These student-led projects have a wide reach– some impacting the E&H campus and other local communities. The work that these students are leading is transformational and will last beyond their four years.

Recognizing the Class of 2022 Civic Innovation Majors outside of Appalachian Center for Civic Lif... Recognizing the Class of 2022 Civic Innovation Majors outside of Appalachian Center for Civic Life