Barry McNamara  |  Published February 01, 2023

‘Neighbors Supporting Neighbors’

Monmouth, Knox receive ACM grant to bolster community/civic engagement

MONMOUTH, Ill. – A grant to Monmouth and Knox colleges will help both colleges strengthen their ties to their local communities.

The two liberal arts colleges received a grant from the Associated Colleges of the Midwest to work on “Neighbors Supporting Neighbors: Building Institutional Capacity for Community-Based Learning at Knox and Monmouth Colleges.”

NEIGHBORS SUPPORTING NEIGHBORS: Monmouth student Elijah Lind (right) is shown working with a stud... NEIGHBORS SUPPORTING NEIGHBORS: Monmouth student Elijah Lind (right) is shown working with a student at the Teen Recharge Center in downtown Monmouth, part of the community engagement that professor Lori Walters-Kramer worked into one of her courses last fall.Both Monmouth and Knox recently adopted new core curricula that require students to complete a course or immersive experience with a “community/civic engagement” designation. The $18,280 grant will help both colleges’ faculty implement that requirement with their students.

The project’s goals are to help faculty use community-based teaching practices in their classes and increase the number of courses that include high-impact community-based teaching practices, which will provide more opportunities for classes to engage with their local community.

“This is an opportune time to heighten awareness of community-engaged learning, reinforce the value of collaboration between student-life staff and academic-affairs personnel, and bring community voices into the conversation.” – Lori Walters-Kramer

“With both colleges expanding their civic engagement staff and new faculty members joining the teaching ranks every year, this is an opportune time to heighten awareness of community-engaged learning, reinforce the value of collaboration between student-life staff and academic-affairs personnel, and bring community voices into the conversation,” said Monmouth communication studies professor Lori Walters-Kramer.

At Monmouth, Walters-Kramer worked on securing the grant along with biology professor Eric Engstrom, educational studies professor Tammy LaPrad, and Wackerle Center for Career, Leadership & Fellowships Director Marnie Dugan.

STORY TIME: Isa Perez, one of Lori Walters-Kramer's students last fall, reads a book to a riv... STORY TIME: Isa Perez, one of Lori Walters-Kramer's students last fall, reads a book to a riveted audience in the children's section of the Warren County Public Library.Last fall, students in Walters-Kramer’s “Vocation and the Common Good” class served various organizations in the Monmouth-Warren County community. Work included providing tutoring at the Teen Recharge Center in downtown Monmouth and leading story time at the Warren County Public Library.

“The first phase of the grant-funded project will allow us to bring an expert to one of our campuses to provide faculty and staff information about the history, value and best practices of community-based pedagogies,” said Walters-Kramer. “Those of us on the team from Monmouth College hope that faculty in departments that do not currently offer a community-engagement course will be inspired to consider participating in the next phase of the grant-funded project which involves providing faculty who want to develop a community-engagement project a stipend as well as time to workshop their ideas with others.”

Related Stories

Back to News & Events

Did you know?

  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> We’re no stranger to winning. Last year the Fighting Scots won Midwest Conference championships in Football, Women’s Soccer, Women’s Basketball and Men’s Track and Field. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_urls"><a href="https://monmouthscots.com/" target="_blank">Fighting Scots</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College has an active Pipe & Drum Band. Each year on Scholars Day in April the bagpipers wake students up at 6:00 a.m. by playing in the residence halls!</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/music/pipe-band/" target="_blank">Pipe Band</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College offers unique academic minors in Global Public Health and Global Food Security for students who want to use their education to address global challenges. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/global-public-health/" target="_blank">Global Public Health</a></li><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/global-food-security/" target="_blank">Global Food Security</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p><strong>Monmouth College is the birthplace of the women’s fraternity movement. Pi Beta Phi, the first such collegiate women’s organization, was founded at Monmouth in 1867. It was followed three years later by Kappa Kappa Gamma. The two pioneering organizations today boast a total of 275 active chapters nationwide.</strong></p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/student-life/sororities-fraternities/" target="_blank">Sororities & Fraternities</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College offers several international trips each year during 2-week Scots Terms in January and May. Recently students have traveled to Botswana, Greece, Scotland, Japan, and more. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_urls"><a href="https://monmouthcollege.edu/offices/global-engagement/" target="_blank">Scots Term</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> We offer a certified Peace Corps Preparation program that gives Peace Corps bound graduates a leg up in the application process.</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/peace-corps-prep/" target="_blank">Peace Corps Prep</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> 98% of Monmouth graduates were employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation.</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/wackerle-center/career-services/" target="_blank">Career Preparation</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College is proudly test optional. Applicants may choose whether or to submit SAT or ACT scores for admission and scholarship consideration. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/admission/apply/test-optional/" target="_blank">Test Optional</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College covers the cost for all current students to get a U.S. passport. Unlock access to over 198 different countries! We’ll even help with the paperwork :)</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/study-abroad/" target="_blank">Study Abroad</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> 99% of Monmouth students received some type of scholarship or financial assistance.</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/offices/student-financial-planning/types-of-aid/scholarships/" target="_blank">Scholarships</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College has an educational garden and 6.7 acre farm. Students grow and harvest fruits and vegetables to sell at the local farmer’s market. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_urls"><a href="https://monmouthcollege.edu/academics/only-at-monmouth/educational-garden-farm/" target="_blank">Garden & Farm</a></li></ul></div></aside>