Center for Civic Engagement
New director, additional staff hired in Center for Civic Engagement
Kelli Huth assumed her new role as the director of the Center for Civic Engagement Feb. 5. As director, she will work to advance the center’s mission of connecting the greater Binghamton community with University resources to address community needs and provide high-impact learning experiences for Binghamton University students, supporting their academic, personal and professional growth through civic engagement. Huth brings with her two decades of experience coordinating experiential learning opportunities for young adults. She comes to Binghamton from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., where, as the director of immersive learning, she worked to connect faculty interested in community-engaged teaching with community partners throughout the region.
In addition to Huth, staff members were hired into two newly created positions that, in an effort to increase efficiency and cross-campus collaboration, are to be shared with the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development and the Broome County Promise Zone. Sylvia Chow will serve as business officer for the CCE and Fleishman Career Center, and Sara Hall will serve as assistant director for community schools. The CCE and Promise Zone have collaborated to support the University-wide Community Schools initiative since fall 2015, placing 881 undergraduate student volunteers and interns in five local school districts during that time (136 have been placed so far this semester). As assistant director for community schools, Hall will work to strengthen the connections between the Center for Civic Engagement and Broome County Promise Zone through oversight of both the Promise Zone school coordinators placed in each of these school districts and the CCE’s work to engage students as interns and volunteers.
Binghamton University student honored as 2018 Newman Civic Fellow
Binghamton University junior Morgan Wood has been named as one of the 268 students who will make up Campus Compact’s 2018 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. Wood, a passionate advocate for women’s rights, was nominated by Binghamton University President Harvey G. Stenger to represent the University in this fellowship program.
Wood began her advocacy work in high school through the Girl Up program, which supports United Nations programs promoting the health, safety, education and leadership of girls in developing countries. She established the Upstate NY Coalition of Girl Up, which, under her direction, has grown to include 30 chapters. Through an internship with the U.S. Department of State and Girl Up, Wood helped plan and run a WiSci STEAM Girls Camp in Thyolo, Malawi, for 98 high school girls from across the African continent, empowering them to be competitive with their male counterparts and providing them with access to high-tech resources, like-minded peers, impactful business connections and inspiring mentors. Locally, Wood works to foster campus and community coalitions with local government through involvement with organizations such as CARE Action! and the Roosevelt Institute.
The Newman Civic Fellowship, named for Campus Compact co-founder Frank Newman, is a one-year experience emphasizing personal, professional and civic growth. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities, including a national conference of Newman Civic Fellows in partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. The fellowship also provides fellows with access to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.