Community Engagement and Civic Action Plan Executive Summary

Bemidji State University, April 2017

In 2016, Bemidji State University (BSU) signed a commitment to the Campus Compact* 30thAnniversary Action Statement of Presidents and Chancellors. This commitment calls for creating a civic action plan of community and campus engagement for institutional change and community impact.

At BSU, community and civic engagement currently takes place on campus in a variety of ways and locations (e.g., internships, practicums, individual faculty courses, student organizations, etc.). Yet no systematic organizational structure exists with regard to a unified infrastructure that centrally identifies, supports, coordinates or collaborates such efforts. Thus, the goal of BSU’s action plan is to begin an initiative to identify the current practices and create such an infrastructure to formalize community and civic engagement and support such opportunities and to ensure that they are sustainable.