DePauw Environmental Fellows Program
2015-2016 Program Handbook
I. EFP Mission II. Who we are III. Where we are IV. Program Structure
A. Environmental Portfolio B. Coursework C. Field Experience D. EFP Citizenship
V. Program Expectations VI. Four-Year Roadmap VII. Field Experience Guidelines VIII. Third Year Leadership Guidelines IX. Senior Year Ambassador Guidelines
I. EFP Mission The Environmental Fellows Program is an integrative honors program for outstanding students who exhibit intellectual curiosity, high academic achievement, and strong motivation to explore environmental issues from a range of disciplinary perspectives. Environmental Fellows may major in any existing department or program, thereby developing the knowledge and expertise appropriate to a particular discipline or specialized field of study. This depth of understanding will be enriched through environmentally focused courses across the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities; through experiential learning opportunities such as scientific research, internships, or off-campus study; through involvement in the program’s learning community and co-curricular activities; and through an interdisciplinary capstone experience in which students will be called to integrate all aspects of their environmental education. When they graduate from DePauw and the program, Environmental Fellows will be well equipped to address complex, real-world problems using multidisciplinary approaches. The program’s combination of academic inquiry and hands-on experiences will prepare graduates to be strong and successful candidates for employment in environmental careers, graduate study in disciplinary areas, and graduate study in interdisciplinary programs with an environmental focus.
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II. Who we are The Environmental Fellows Program is one of DePauw’s five selective academic honors programs. It is also part of a wide range of environmental and sustainability-oriented opportunities on campus.
Thus, as a member of the EFP community, you also belong both to DePauw’s honors community and to the community of DePauw’s various environmental and sustainability programs. This does not mean that you are expected to choose an environmental major or minor, nor that you must plan to become involved in co-curricular sustainability programs on campus, although you are certainly free to do so. You should simply be aware that each of these opportunities has its own aims and purposes – distinct from though complementary with those of others. Our particular goal in the EFP is to help you learn to address complex environmental issues and sustainability challenges in an intellectually rigorous fashion. We believe this requires the disciplinary depth of your academic major, the breadth of perspective that comes from exploring environmental issues through a range of different fields, and robust experiential learning, and our program is designed with these elements in mind. But you must also learn to integrate these modes of learning in a manner suited to your distinct path. To this end, an EFP advising team is assigned to each student, consisting of the EFP office staff and a program advisor who is a faculty member of the steering committee. The advising team will consult with you about course choices, help shape your field experience, help ensure you fulfill all program requirements and expectations, and serve to mentor you throughout your time in the program and as you consider post-graduation opportunities. Each Environmental Fellow will also have a peer mentor in the program who can share a student’s perspective on these same matters.
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Below are the faculty, staff, and student members of the Environmental Fellows Program for the academic year 2015-2016. EFP Office Staff
Amber Hecko Assistant Director
Julian 281 765-658-4071 amberhecko@
depauw.edu
John Caraher Co-Director
Associate Professor of Physics Julian 234
765-658-4655 johncaraher@ depauw.edu
Jennifer Everett Co-Director
Associate Professor of Philosophy Asbury 216
765-658-4722 jennifereverett@
depauw.edu
Amber coordinates the daily management of the program and is your first point of
contact. She keeps track of your progress and can answer most of your questions.
Hers is a permanent full time staff position.
Professors Caraher and Everett share responsibility for the program’s structure, requirements, and courses. The Co-Directors of the EFP each serve for a term of three
years and always include one faculty member from the natural sciences and one from the arts, humanities, or social sciences.
Environmental Fellows Steering Committee
Anthony Baratta Director of the
Office of Sustainability
101 E. Seminary 765-658-4535
anthonybaratta@ depauw.edu
Rachel Goldberg Associate Professor of Conflict Studies
Asbury 108B 765-658-6630
rachelgoldberg@ depauw.edu
Marnie McInnes Professor of English
Harrison 109 765-658-4366 mmcinnes@ depauw.edu
Julianne Miranda Associate Dean of
Academic Life Associate Professor of
University Studies Union Building 200
765-658-6267 [email protected]
Jeane Pope Associate Professor
of Geoscience Julian 213
765-658-4105 jpope@
depauw.edu
Janet Vaglia Associate Professor
of Biology Olin 208
765-658-4785 jvaglia@
depauw.edu
The steering committee oversees the program and advises the Co-Directors on all matters of program administration. Every Environmental Fellow will be assigned a faculty member as a program advisor, who will meet with you each semester to help you complete the program requirements successfully.
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The Environmental Fellows Class of 2016
Thomas Addaquay Env. Geoscience
Ellen Buening Biology
Minor: Biochemistry
Gabrielle Duong Psychology &
Biology
Ashley Junger Biology & English
Literature
Jessica Keister Anthropology
Lauren Van Fleet Env. Geoscience Minor: English (Lit.)
Sarah White Env. Geoscience
Minor: Spanish
Class of 2017
Christine Cassidy Biology &
Biochemistry
Genna Chiaro Geology & Spanish
Michael Daseke Biology
Cullen Hunter Interdisciplinary
Gabrielle Jensen Env. Geoscience Minor: Economics
Megan McCann Env. Biology Minor: Geology
Madeline Piscetta
Env. Geoscience Minor: Music
Xinyi Wang Actuarial Science
Annie Wyman Political Science
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Class of 2018
Jackson Bailey Anna Dixon Env. Biology
Lucas Eckrich History & Env.
Science
Sarah Farmer Geology
Molly Madden Philosophy
Molly McGuire Political Science
Sarah Pearson Anthropology &
Spanish
Kelsie Roberton Mary Satterthwaite Spanish
Class of 2019
Coco Bernard Connor Berry Lucy Camuti Rachel Galullo Regan Giesting Kiara Goodwine
Antoinette Huber Vy Le Hanfeng (Haven) Liu Clara Boettcher Mallmann
Nicole Pasho Rafael Robert
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Danielle Smith Madilynn Stern Zhongyang Wang Anna Werkowski
III. Where we are The Environmental Fellows Program is physically located in the suite right at the top of the stairs on the second floor of Julian Science Center. Room 281 is the program office, occupied by Amber Hecko. Room 280 is a dedicated Environmental Fellows meeting and study space. Environmental Fellows students are entrusted with the code to the keybox on the outside of the door, so you may use this space for meetings and study groups anytime that Julian is open - a privilege that will stand so long as the space continues to be used appropriately and in accordance with posted guidelines. In addition to our physical location, we have a website at http://www.depauw.edu/academics/honorsfellows/environmental-fellows-program/. If you lose this physical handbook, you can find it (and other current information about the program) on the website. We also have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EnvironmentalFellowsProgram, and all members of the program are designated moderators of the page. You are invited to share program-related announcements, thoughts about campus events, and/or links to environmental stories, events, and websites of interest with all members of the program. In addition, each cohort of Environmental Fellows is provided a closed Facebook group to facilitate communication with peers about meetings, activities, courses, field experience ideas, and more. IV. Program Structure Environmental Fellows may choose any major at DePauw. To complete the program, you will fulfill four distinct sets of requirements in addition to the requirements of your academic major:
Environmental Portfolio Coursework Independent Field
Experience Program Citizenship
Four-year curated representation of and reflections on your learning, culminating in a polished environmental resume
Social Sciences, Humanities, and/or Arts
3 courses from at least 2 departments
Hands-on research, internship, or project that provides substantial
experiential learning to supplement academic coursework
Participating in program events and activities
Natural Sciences 3 courses from at least 2 departments
Developing leadership through
student governance of the program
EFP Senior Seminar
Serving as program ambassadors
with external audiences
Peer mentoring
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A. Environmental Portfolio
The Environmental Portfolio is a means by which you will capture your best work. It will document your progress toward completion of the Environmental Fellows Program. It will require you to engage in structured reflection on your learning and thereby help you develop and refine your academic and career goals. It will help strengthen your applications for opportunities you intend to pursue after graduation. And it will help your Environmental Fellows advising team keep you on track and foster your development as you progress through the program.
To complete the portfolio you will respond to written prompts at the beginning, middle, and end of each semester, compile representative academic work from your Environmental Fellows course requirements, update your personal profile each year, keep a running record of your co-curricular learning experiences, and showcase the final products of your field experience.
The portfolio is housed online. A series of workshops will be offered each year to help students create and update their portfolios.
B. Coursework
The program requires students to complete seven courses:
● A minimum of three qualifying courses in category I (from at least two different departments in the social sciences, humanities, and arts),
● A minimum of three qualifying courses in category II (from at least two different departments in the natural sciences), and
● The Environmental Fellows Program senior capstone. Qualifying courses are those that focus on environmental problems or issues and/or that centrally address the nexus of human systems and natural systems. Many courses that qualify for credit toward EFP requirements are offered on a regular basis. In addition, new courses with an environmental focus are periodically added to the regular curriculum and environmentally related topics courses may be offered on a one-time or occasional basis. The lists of qualifying category I and category II courses are therefore not static, but are determined on a semester-by-semester basis by the steering committee. A list of qualifying category I and category II courses for each semester is posted on the program webpage prior to that semester’s registration period. Courses transferred to DePauw from another college or from an off-campus study program may be counted toward program requirements, subject to director approval, but course credit earned by exam (through AP or IB placement, for instance) may not.
C. Field Experience
Environmental Fellows engage in the world beyond the classroom and learn to learn by doing. When you leave DePauw, you will not only have learned to think both disciplinarily and interdisciplinarily about environmental issues; you will also have engaged in tangible work that has better equipped you to pursue your environmental interests at a graduate or professional level. The goal of the field experience is to build a strong experiential learning component into the academic program and provide students with learning opportunities that are not available at through regular coursework at DePauw. The field experience should occur between the end of the sophomore year and the end of the senior year and should generally consist of at least six weeks of full time effort. The experience may take a variety of forms. For instance, it
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may be conducted at approved off-campus study programs; through an independent or faculty-supervised research project; through an internship with a corporation, government agency, or NGO; or take the form of an independently-designed, faculty-supervised civic or creative project. What is important is that the field experience is a major opportunity for practical work (be it intellectual, professional, advocacy-oriented, artistic, etc.). It must include a significant experience of learning outside a classroom setting and may serve to deepen your understanding of an environmental problem or topic that you intend to pursue after graduation. The field experience must be approved in advance by the program director(s) in accordance with the Field Experience Guidelines spelled out in section VII below. You should begin considering options for your field experience no later than the fall of your sophomore year, and should work closely with your advising team and the Hubbard Center to develop and refine your plans and to compose any necessary applications. A series of workshops will be held each year to assist students in formulating their goals for the field experience and finding a suitable placement. During the field experience, you should expect to write a journal or blog, take photographs (as appropriate), and maintain representative samples of your work (as appropriate). Upon completion, you will be expected to synthesize what you have learned and to present the outcomes of your field experience in a variety of formats (electronic, print, oral) for different audiences internal and external to the Environmental Fellows Program (fellow students, prospective students and families, DePauw faculty).
D. Program Citizenship
Understanding and addressing complex environmental problems requires collaboration among people with different backgrounds, fields of expertise, and social identities. For this reason, the Environmental Fellows Program is designed to build a vibrant learning community. DePauw Environmental Fellows participate as citizens in this community by:
● communicating proactively, respectfully, and often with peers and advisors; ● attending and occasionally leading program meetings and events; ● beginning in the sophomore year, mentoring entering students; ● in the junior year, participating as a member of the Student Advisory Board; ● in the senior year, serving as a program Ambassador.
Community depends on communication. Fellows are expected to stay apprised of ongoing program events; to respond promptly to emails from staff, faculty and students in the program; and to keep us apprised of your activities, challenges, achievements, and plans. Program citizenship involves attendance at and participation in co-curricular events and activities sponsored by the program. These include speakers, workshops, social events, field trips, and/or community outreach projects – some of which are mandatory for all fellows, some that are mandatory for certain fellows and optional for others, and some that are voluntary for everyone (called “punchcard events”). Beginning in the sophomore year, program citizenship involves fostering the success of entering students through peer mentoring. Mentoring links between each class and the one to follow it are intended to last through the duration of your years in the program.
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During the third year, program citizenship requires greater initiative and leadership. Each year’s junior class serves in a governance role as a Student Advisory Board, as spelled out more fully in the Third Year Leadership Guidelines spelled out in section VIII below. Peer mentoring expectations are correspondingly lightened in the third year. During the senior year, you will serve as EFP Ambassadors, representing the program to external audiences and welcoming and co-mentoring the incoming class of first year students. These expectations are detailed under Senior Year Ambassador Guidelines spelled out in section IX below. V. Program Expectations The general expectation is that students and program faculty and staff will communicate well, treat each other respectfully, and work together to build a vibrant learning community. Particular expectations regarding each component of the program are articulated below.
A. Portfolio
To remain in good standing in the program, you must update your portfolio at assigned intervals, and not less than twice per academic year.
B. Coursework
To remain in good standing in the program, you must attain and maintain minimum GPA levels set by the program steering committee, as outlined below. Failure to meet the GPA standard in one semester may result in probationary status; failure to meet the standard in two consecutive semesters may result in dismissal from the program. Review of the student’s status in the program will be conducted on a semester-by-semester basis by the co-directors and the steering committee.
Semester Minimum GPA:
Semester Minimum GPA:
Cumulative
Fall of first year 3.0 3.0
Spring of first year 3.1 3.1
All subsequent semesters 3.2 3.2
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C. Field Experience
To complete the program, you must plan, execute, and conclude a field experience, approved by the EFP Director(s), in accordance with the Field Experience Guidelines spelled out in section VII below.
D. Program Citizenship
To remain in good standing in the program, you must be an active participant in our learning community, serve as a mentor to peers in the program, carry the responsibilities of student governance in the third year, and serve as ambassador for the program in your senior year. We build community and learn from each other by spending time together and interacting with one another. To that end, students must attend and participate in all mandatory program events and a designated number of punchcard events as specified in the Four-Year Roadmap below. We recognize that unavoidable conflicts or emergencies will sometimes arise. When that happens, communication is key! With as much advance notice as you can manage, contact the co-directors and the event organizers. VI. Four-Year Roadmap Learning experiences and responsibilities during your four years in the program will progress along a path more or less as follows: As a First Year Fellow you will:
● consult with your faculty advisor and a peer mentor in the program and be expected to make the most of these relationships – meeting at least twice per semester with your program advisor and at least twice per semester with your peer mentor;
● begin creating and updating your Environmental Portfolio, which will include reflections on your learning as well as selected representations of your academic work;
● take one or two courses from the list of approved courses and establish and maintain high academic standing;
● attend all required program occasions; ● attend four punchcard events of your choosing each semester.
As a Second Year Fellow you will:
● discuss your grades and achievements in the program with the program directors and your faculty advisor at the beginning of fall semester, and during advising week each semester with your program advisor;
● serve as peer mentors for the incoming class of first year Environmental Fellows, meeting at least twice per semester with your mentee;
● look into possible field experience opportunities and possibly submit applications in order to complete your field experience before the junior year;
● update your Environmental Portfolio; ● continue to take approved courses and maintain high academic standing; ● continue to attend all required program occasions; ● continue to attend punchcard events of your choosing (at least four per semester).
As a Third Year Fellow you will:
● discuss your grades and achievements in the program with the program directors and your faculty advisor at the beginning of fall semester, and during advising week each semester with your program advisor;
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● continue to serve as peer mentors for the rising sophomore class of Fellows, particularly regarding the field experience;
● play a leadership/governance role in the program by serving on the Third Year EFP Student Advisory Board; ● share the outcomes of your field experience (if you have completed it) via a poster and/or report, oral
presentations for various audiences, and materials for the program website; ● identify opportunities for your field experience (if you have not already completed it) and submit
applications; ● begin identifying graduate/professional schools and/or job opportunities to which you will apply; ● update your Environmental Portfolio and begin developing your LinkedIn profile; ● continue taking approved courses while maintaining high academic standing; ● continue to attend all required program occasions; ● continue to attend punchcard events of your choosing (at least three per semester).
As a Senior Fellow you will:
● discuss your grades and achievements in the program with the program directors and your faculty advisor at the beginning of fall semester, and during advising week each semester with your program advisor;
● continue to serve as peer mentors for the rising junior class of Fellows, particularly regarding the Student Advisory Board experience;
● serve as peer mentors for the incoming class of first year Fellows, meeting at least twice per semester with your mentee;
● serve as program representatives and ambassadors during admissions and recruitment events; ● complete the Environmental Fellows Senior Seminar and present your final work to the program’s faculty
and student body; ● share the outcomes of your field experience (if you have completed it) via a poster and/or report, oral
presentations for various audiences, and materials for the program website; ● work with the program office and your advisor (if you have not yet completed the field experience) to
design an independent practicum to be completed during your senior year; ● complete your Environmental Portfolio and develop your LinkedIn profile; ● submit applications for graduate/professional schools and/or job opportunities; ● complete any remaining required coursework for the program while maintaining high academic standing; ● continue to attend all required program occasions; ● continue to attend punchcard events of your choosing (at least two per semester).
VII. Field Experience Guidelines 2015-16
A. Goals and Outcomes of the Field Experience
The purpose of the field experience is to pursue an extended, focused endeavor that is tailored to your individual goals and needs and enhances your environmental knowledge and skills in a practical or applied manner. We expect outcomes such as the following to be typical of most field experiences. However, due to the tailored, individualized nature of field experience, not every fellow will achieve all of them. During the field experience, students may:
A. Gain enhanced understanding of specific environmental issues and their complexity. B. Develop facility at working with others as part of team to achieve a common goal or in the completion of
projects and activities.
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C. Apply theories and concepts from their classes to environmental problems. This may include approaching questions from the perspective of the sciences, social sciences, humanities, or arts, or from multiple perspectives.
D. Expand their network of professional relationships and contacts. This may include developing relationships with mentors and role models who serve as a source of advice and support.
E. Use and refine their skills in critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, writing, speaking and listening, and use of technology.
F. Improve ability to communicate technical information to a wide range of audiences, for example by communicating at multiple levels with younger or other lay audiences.
G. Build on and expand their technical capabilities in conducting scientific research and statistical analysis. H. Explore environmental issues through a creative or artistic project. I. Reflect on their individual interests and skills, particularly in relation to their field experience, and consider
and explore possible future career paths.
B. Selecting a Field Experience Opportunity
Your field experience may take the form of an internship, an off-campus study program, supervised research, a civic project, or a creative endeavor. Or it may be something that we have not yet envisioned! Work with your advisor, the EF program office, and the Hubbard Center to find a field experience site or opportunity that fits your personal, academic, and professional goals. Don’t feel you must be bound by what other students have done; take ownership of the field experience by actively seeking or creating an opportunity that matches your needs and interests. Explore widely before choosing.
C. Developing and Revising your Initial Proposal
After formulating a goal for your field experience, you will compose a brief proposal (~2 pages) specifying what you hope to achieve during your field experience, how it will enhance your understanding of environmental issues, and what specific outcomes or projects you expect will result from your efforts. Share this proposal with your program advisor and with one of the co-directors and schedule a meeting in the EFP office to discuss and refine your proposed field experience. Developing and choosing an appropriate field experience and preparing the proposal may take multiple drafts and conferences, so leave plenty of time for this planning phase. When the proposal is ready, you will submit it to the Environmental Fellows co-directors for approval. The EFP office will keep a copy of the approved proposal on file.
D. Planning and Logistics
When you have an approved proposal, it’s time to iron out all the details and make logistical arrangements. This may include securing housing, making airline reservations, writing off-campus study applications, filling out personnel forms for your host organization, and a hundred other tasks. Be sure to check in with the EFP office as things proceed; we can help with many of these details.
E. Before Beginning: File Your Learning Contract
Before embarking on your field experience, it’s important to have a clear idea of what you intend to get out of it. After finalizing plans for your field experience, you should work with your faculty sponsor, program advisor (if different), and one of the EFP co-directors to complete a learning contract (see the template attached to these guidelines) determining the nature and frequency of your communication with your DePauw contacts during your field experience, clarifying the work you will engage in, and identifying your learning objectives for these activities. This learning contract indicates the seriousness of your reflection in preparing for the field experience and your intent to earnestly carry out the work. It also helps ensure that you, the EFP and your on-site host (if applicable) all
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agree on the scope and educational purpose of your work, but it is not used as a tool in evaluating your successful completion of the field experience. Your completed learning contract, including all signatures, must be on file in the program office before you begin your field experience.
F. While you are on Field Experience
Refer back to your learning contract and stick to your plan to communicate with your faculty sponsor or other EFP contact, particularly as the experience evolves and changes. It’s a very good idea to keep a blog or a journal during your field experience and to share these entries at regular intervals with the EFP Office, whether or not your learning contract specifies this as part of your communication plans. Take pictures. Take time to record what you are doing and learning. Consider and write about the ways the experience enhances or applies your previous classroom learning. Reflect on its implications for your future academic and career goals. Doing so will make the final phase of your field experience – documenting and presenting it – much easier and more successful.
G. After you Return
Congratulations! You’re close to completing one of the key parts of the Environmental Fellows Program. To bring closure to the field experience, you’ll write a final summative reflection, submit a portfolio of representative work, and participate in a public presentation, poster session or talk. The reflection, portfolio, and presentation are used to assess the extent to which your environmental education was enhanced through the field experience and to share the fruits of this experience with audiences on and off campus. Some of the following suggestions may help you characterise and evaluate your project, though it’s unlikely that all of them will be relevant:
● Demonstrate how you contributed to reaching decisions as part of a team. ● Give examples of how ideas, concepts, and theories from your coursework at DePauw informed your field
experience. ● Describe the relationships you developed with your co-workers/collaborators and what you learned from
them. ● Demonstrate how you communicated complicated information to non-technical audiences. ● Give specific examples of how this experience has expanded your technical abilities, for example, in
scientific research or statistical analysis. ● Explain how your creative or artistic project explores environmental issues. ● Reflect on your field experience and how it enabled you to clarify your environmental skills, interests, and
future path. Submit the final summative reflection and portfolio to the co-directors at [email protected] by the end of the second full week of classes the semester after you finish your field experience. The co-directors will work with you to set a public presentation date for later in the semester. The format of the public session may vary from semester to semester, depending on the number of students on field experience and the nature of the field experience projects.
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ENVIRONMENTAL FELLOWS PROGRAM FIELD EXPERIENCE LEARNING CONTRACT
2015-2016
1. General Information
Student Name:
Field Experience Title:
Faculty Sponsor:
Off-site Host Name:
2. Contact Information
Student Host Faculty Sponsor
Name Supervisor’s name Faculty sponsor’s name FE address, line 1 Supervisor’s title Faculty sponsor’s address FE address, line 2 Organization Department
Mailing address DePauw University Mailing address Greencastle, IN 46135
e-mail address Supervisor’s e-mail Faculty sponsor’s e-mail FE phone number Supervisor’s phone number Faculty sponsor’s phone
3. Description of Project Describe in detail your role and responsibilities while on the field experience. List duties and projects you plan to complete. What kind of instruction, assistance, and consultation will you receive, and from whom? Details, details, details! 4. Learning Objectives What do you intend to learn from this experience? List each one as a separate “bullet point” below. Type one in, then hit “return” to start a new bullet point.
● Sample objective: By interacting with clients from several different Latin American countries, I hope to expand my knowledge and use of colloquial Spanish.
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5. Communication How often and in what form will you communicate with your faculty sponsor and/or the EFP co-directors during your field experience? 6. Evaluation How will your field experience performance be evaluated? Plan to give the EFP office copies of materials you create on the field experience, if your host is agreeable. This might include press releases, draft reports, presentations, or other projects. 7. Agreement The student, faculty sponsor, and program director have agreed on the details of this learning contract.
Student
Date
Faculty Sponsor
Date
Program Director
Date
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VIII. Third Year Leadership Guidelines In the junior year, your cohort will serve a governance role in the program as the EFP Student Advisory Board. We believe that the program cannot succeed in its mission if the students who have the most to gain or lose have no voice in its structure and operations - for example, in terms of what sorts programming would best meet students' needs. As the EFP Student Advisory Board, you will be that voice. In recognition of this added responsibility, fewer punchcard events are required in the third year. Your responsibilities, individually and collectively, are (a) to represent and (b) to serve the interests of the EFP student body; (c) to communicate frequently, thoroughly, and effectively with the EFP office and the Environmental Fellows Steering Committee; and (d) to learn from this experience. These responsibilities require, minimally, that you (a) establish effective communication with your peers in the program, (b) plan for program gatherings that serve their interests, (c) meet jointly with the EFSC once per semester and issue a final report at the end of the year, and (d) reflect on the Student Advisory Board as a learning experience at the end of each semester. The program office and steering committee, correspondingly, have responsibilities (a) to consider student voices and concerns respectfully, (b) to assist your planning and programming efforts, (c) to communicate frequently, thoroughly, and effectively with the Student Advisory Board and EFP student body, and (d) to foster your learning from and reflection on this experience. Toward those ends we will provide guidance and support while leaving you free to make your own judgments, raise your own voices, and exercise your own leadership. We know that your third year at DePauw is an important time, as you begin to lay plans for what you will do after graduation. Our hope and intention is that your leadership experience in the Environmental Fellows Program should challenge you and foster your development in ways that advance your own post-graduation goals, and that it empowers you to leave a lasting mark on the program for students who follow you. IX. Senior Year Ambassador Guidelines In your senior year, you will tackle some of your most challenging academic requirements and will be preparing for life after graduation. In addition to the senior capstone for your academic major, you will complete the Environmental Fellows senior capstone seminar in which you will be expected both to synthesize the distinct disciplinary approaches to environmental issues that you have gained through your coursework, and to integrate your curricular learning with your experiential learning through reflections in your program portfolio. Accordingly, the number of punchcard events you are required to attend is reduced once more. Program citizenship in the senior year requires, as described earlier, continued peer mentoring for the rising third year students assuming leadership on the Student Advisory Board as well as the development of new mentoring relationships with the incoming class of first year Environmental Fellows. In addition, as a senior Environmental Fellow you will be expected to represent the Environmental Fellows Program with external audiences in our efforts to attract excellent students to the program - efforts that may enhance the quality of our intellectual community for years to come. For example, you may be asked:
● to make public appearances (poster presentations, panel discussions) at admissions events such as honors program preview days, interview weekends, and admitted student open houses;
● to host visiting prospective students for meals, tours, or (when appropriate) overnight stays; ● to assist in the production of Admissions Office promotional materials featuring the Environmental Fellows
Program; and/or ● to ensure that your story is well documented on the EFP webpage.
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As with the third year student advisory board project, serving as a program ambassador in your senior year is both a service to the program and part of your learning experience as an Environmental Fellow. It provides an opportunity for the development of public speaking skills, professionalism, and collegiality that will serve you in whatever path you choose to pursue after you graduate from DePauw.