Sequel - Fall 2007 - (Page 17) It won’t be your typIcal engagement. There will be no diamond ring. No bended knee. No exotic honeymoon plans. No tears of joy from mothers-in-law to be. Nonetheless, when UVSC becomes UVU on July 1, 2008, it will waste no time tying the knot, or tightening it at least, with the communities it services. In m an y r e gard s , th I s I s no th Ing n ew. UVSC has a long history of meeting the needs of its community. Each time economic and community demands have changed in Utah Valley, there has been a parallel response from the College dating back to 1941 when the institution was originally established to meet the needs of World War II. UVSC will up the ante considerably, however, when it assumes university status. Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. had no sooner put pen to paper making university status official than the College’s Strategic Directions Committee began developing new strategies. In April, UVSC President William A. Sederburg unveiled the institution’s new blueprint for community involvement as it gears up for a mission change to that of a regional state university. Formally, it’s been dubbed the Communities of Engaged Learners initiative. Informally, it’s an education model with the primary goal to engage Utah Valley University, its students, faculty and staff in community and civic partnerships. A bond of matrimony, of sorts, with local businesses and organizations. The model has three components that Sederburg refers to as the “Three Ps: People. Place. Profession.” As part of his model, Utah Valley University, with regard to its students and employees, will produce People of integrity, ethics, leadership and character. It will produce stewards of Place through service to the region, bolstering economic development, service learning, cultural activities and global awareness. Lastly, it will produce Professional competence through quality teaching, upto-date scholarship, faculty mentorship, advising and internships. Combined, these three components are ultimately designed to produce an atmosphere of not only learning, but of engaged learning geared at connecting the classroom with the community and sending students out into the world with practical, hands-on training. This, Sederburg says, is critical to the mission of a regional state university and the future of UVU. To accomplish this, the College’s administration has put its money where its mouth is by creating a new office dedicated to engaged learning. This new office has been charged with overseeing micro-grants that support the initiative. Specifically, $400,000 annually has been set aside to fund faculty and staff grant proposals (in increments of approximately $2,500 each) that support and get to the heart of the “Three P’s.” “Our highest priority in all of this is to connect the professional interests of our students with issues facing the community and to connect the campus with the broader community,” Sederburg says. “UVU will be a regional state university, which means that the region’s and community’s interests become our interests.” In June, the College announced that Jack Christianson, former director of the Orem LDS Institute of Religion adjacent to the UVSC campus, will assume the reins of the newly created Communities of Engaged Learners office. Christianson not only is a native of Utah County and well-known as a speaker in the community, but he has 30 years of experience utah valley state college alumni magazine FA L L 2 0 0 7 17
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