First College has new minor

-- Dara Trooien

The new minor, Community Organizing and Development, will be offered starting this fall semester. It is an interdisciplinary minor available to all students interested in organizing, developing and sustaining community, institutional and social change.

First College is unique because it allows students to design their own individualized degree programs that meet their own educational and personal goals. Students can take primary responsibility for, and authority over, their educational planning and implement it in a supportive environment.

A team of faculty and staff was organized by the Center for Community-Based Learning back in 2001, and since then has been working together to form possible curricula and partnerships in community organizing and development programming.

It all began because people started talking to one another about needing a minor like this. The team includes faculty members from First College, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Management, College of Professional Studies, as well as staff from the Center of for Community-Based Learning.

The minor provides an overview of the community organizing and development field, but students will also gain an understanding of the impact of public policy on people of low-income and of color, participate in a focused field, and explore approaches to community empowerment and social justice. The minor requires 19 credits including one four-credit elective course. When the community organizing and development minor is combined with a major, possible careers can include working for a nonprofit service provider, community development organizations, government agencies or in human rights and social justice.

“I hope that a lot of students of different colleges and disciplines will be interested, including students from COM, CAS, CPS and First College,” says Dean of First College Dr. Daniel Abebe. The Community Development Liaison for First College Sam Grant, adds that their commitment is to promote high-quality programming within the university in the area of community organizing and development.”It’s a commitment to serve the underserved,” Grant says.

Tom O’Connell, Community Organizing and Development Minor interim advisor, says the new minor is really the first step in developing curricula paths for people who are interested in learning the principles and approaches to building strong communities and powerful organizations committed to positive social change.

The long-term goal of this minor is to eventually convert it into a major area of study, focusing on interests in community development, organizing communities and engaging in activities regarding environmental issues, public policy and advocacy. “It’s really a community partnership,” Abebe says.

To learn more about this new minor, attend the informational meeting on Monday, Oct. 3, 3-5 p.m. on the St. Paul Campus, Room 126 in St. John’s Hall. If you are unable to attend the meeting, please contact Tom O’Connell, interim advisor at 651-793-1436 or at tom.oconnell@ metrostate.edu for further information.

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