Many college students are motivated to vote in presidential elections. Like most Americans, however, they are far less likely to vote in elections for local officeholders. Often this is because they have little to no information about the candidates. Starting in 2020, with university support, the author and a colleague began providing nonpartisan…

This paper conducts an interdisciplinary exploration into the concept of trauma within work- integrated learning (WIL), emphasizing the importance of 'proximity' as a novel extension of trauma within this context. The central focus lies in conceptualizing fresh dimensions for a WIL wellness model that prioritizes community connectedness over…

The University of New Mexico (UNM) is home to a robust Department of Geography & Environmental Studies (GES). With curricula and research programs that span both environmental studies and geographic information science, the department covers topics of local, regional, hemispheric, and global interest. And yet enrollment is on the decline, as…

Against the backdrop of increasing political polarization and growing contention over ideological differences, U.S. colleges and universities are facing the daunting challenges of trying to prepare students for economic and personal engagement with a globalized world. Although many institutions admit students from other countries, they often…

Advocates for civil rights, environmental justice, and movements promoting social justice require data and may lack trust in public authorities, turning instead to academic scientists to help address their questions. Assessing historical exposure to toxic chemicals, especially in situations of a specific industrial source of pollution affecting a…

This article describes a class that draws on postcolonial insights to create a global sociological imagination. Postcolonial approaches can make visible how global connections have shaped our local environments even if these relations are not always immediately visible. Specifically, students in this class highlight how global relations, such as…

Higher education is undergoing a process of globalization and new realities of a globalized higher education world are emerging. Globalization also has a profound impact on higher education research. Global and transnational topics are theoretically and empirically elaborated and seem on the rise, whereas the international comparative outlook…

This case is written for graduate students in a superintendency seminar course, a school-community relations course, or a school leadership course, such as a school politics course. It presents a highly charged school referendum issue in a school district that is comprised of two distinctly different communities. An initial referendum to construct…

As state capitals and city halls influence our daily lives, how can students become active participants in the affairs of their communities (Saffell and Basehart 2009)? For students to explore this question and local policy making in general, I developed a city council simulation for a state and local government course. This article describes the…

This paper highlights critical pedagogical methods used in a community relations class that introduces intercultural education concepts to current K-12 educators who are enrolled in a Masters of Education program at Northeastern Illinois University, which is located in the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The purpose of the class is to teach future…

This article summarizes various applications of oral history interviews at local sites to represent the writing of underrepresented groups. The coauthors (a rhetorician and an archivist) discuss the important disciplinary implications for tending to the local, especially at sites where formal archives are hard to come by, offering three principles…

This article examines what a pedagogy of public rhetoric and community literacy might look like based on an understanding of twentieth century Mexican American civil rights rhetoric. The inductive process of examining archival materials and conducting oral histories informs this discussion on the processes and challenges of gaining civic…

This article discusses the findings of the commission set up jointly by NIACE, the Association of Colleges (AoC) and the 157 Group to investigate the role of colleges in their communities. The commission learned that: (1) further education colleges are, often, already embedded in their communities; (2) although there has been some simplification,…

State Extension programs can contribute to the successful adoption of national environmental education programs by making locally relevant resources available, creating reference materials to bridge between 4-H project books and other resources, and developing companion materials that supplement national materials with local issues and resources.…

This paper describes how administrator preparation programs can help future education leaders to value, understand, and use the democratic strategy of deliberative dialogue and action. The purpose of the strategy is to engage in a new way with teachers, parents, and other stakeholders about problems in their local public schools. Follow-up…