Engagement is Woven In
At Wesleyan, community engagement is woven inextricably into academics and campus culture through volunteerism, sustainability efforts, our work at the Allbritton Center, and more. We nurture a strong, inclusive community on campus while building thriving partnerships with local schools, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and other community groups.
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40+ K-12 Student Community Programs
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20+ Community Engaged Learning Courses Offered Yearly
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50+ Center for the Study of Public Life Courses Offered Yearly
Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life
The Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life fosters an interdisciplinary community dedicated to exploring and advancing public life through research, teaching, and civic engagement. By promoting ethical leadership, informed dialogue, and collaboration across sectors, the center empowers individuals to address complex societal challenges and drive meaningful change.
Partnering on Education and Youth Empowerment
One of the Jewett Center for Community Partnership’s top areas of focus—education and youth development—has created a formal partnership with the College of Education Studies and Middletown Public Schools to form the MidWes Collaborative. Student groups work with young people to provide mentoring and empowerment.
Farming, Food Justice, and Community Action
The Office of Sustainability supports initiatives such as the collectively-run organic Long Lane Farm, the urban farming and guerilla community gardening student group G.R.O. (Grow, Revitalize, Organize) Dreamville, internships with the City of Middletown’s participation in the statewide organization Sustainable Connecticut, Office of Community Service’s student groups including Food Rescue and Bread Salvage, and the Middletown Urban Farming Symposium for food justice.
Reimagining Justice
The Reimagining Justice Initiative supports the needs of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people and their family members. Projects include providing access to Wesleyan courses for college credit via the Wesleyan Center for Prison Education, the 2020 Innovation Fund’s support of Wesleyan's North End Action Team to create a center for Pursuing Re-Entry and Employment Possibilities, and Restorative Justice Committee activities.
Pathways to Community Engagement
Expand your primary focus into another dimension by including a Civic Engagement or Human Rights Advocacy minor into your intellectual journey.
Building a Better Community
Wesleyan’s partnerships with Middletown and the wider world demonstrate our dedication to fostering community engagement and creating lasting change.
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We want to ensure that civic engagement is a lifelong commitment embedded into the fabric of our campus community that persists beyond elections.
Khalilah L. Brown-Dean
Rob Rosenthal Distinguished Professor of Civic Engagement and Executive Director of the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life
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This moment is the result of choice and chance. Although for us it started with ambition, this journey began with being afforded an opportunity: the opportunity to receive a college education while incarcerated is one of the greatest ones I personally have
Andrew 鈥淒uke鈥� Dickson 鈥�24
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What inspired me to come to Wesleyan was its rich history of political activism, engagement, and thoughtfulness on issues.
Joshua Cardenas 鈥�19
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We as youths are able to not only impact our own lives, but also impact others. I believe that society can change for the better. This [can] be done if we put creativity and innovation at the forefront.
Gad Nkurunziza 鈥�27
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I was drawn to this community of people who are just as passionate about their field of public service as I am. To be the most effective advocate that you can be, it is really important that you have people around you that are going to support you.
Desaree Edwards 鈥�25
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I鈥檓 a coordinator for Cardinal Kids, an afterschool program run by Wesleyan students that works with elementary schoolers in Middletown, and I鈥檓 teaching a theater class for a group of third through fifth graders. It鈥檚 been really rewarding to see them learn
Jack Vigue 鈥�25
