The Institute for Civic and Community Engagement (ICCE) has six signature programs providing high quality and meaningful public service, leadership development, and civic engagement opportunities for SF State students across the university. Whether students are interested in long-term internships or one-day volunteering opportunities, ICCE offers Community Service-Learning (CSL) opportunities that help with coordination of service-learning courses and university approved community partners. Additionally, there are opportunities and resources available for faculty and staff as well. Below is an update of CSL opportunities, faculty CSL and scholarship spotlights, ICCE’s signature programs, and new highlights across campus.

Content:

With humility, gratitude, and excitement, I extend my hand and heart to the incredible leadership of our extraordinary ICCE team. We have made great strides over the last couple of years, and I have gotten quite immersed in my role as faculty director. This forum is another opportunity to connect with all of you as a new year unfolds; as we usher in a new spring semester following MLK Day and enter African American History Month, we remain solid in our values and actions.

I am aware of the fact I stand on the shoulders of giants and follow the path of trailblazers, many of whom I’ve had the privilege of working alongside, in some capacity. At ICCE, we are building upon a shared commitment to promote nonviolence, healthy relationships, and strong communities locally and around the globe. Especially given the current political, economic and social climate, we must remain resilient and vigilant, yet tenacious in our approach. For me, the word “community” in ICCE, elucidates a magnetic pull towards watching this Institute grow to the next level while absorbing ourselves further in service of advancing social justice both on and off campus.  (Read more)

Announcing our spring 2019 ICCE Faculty Fellow

Dr. Leticia Márquez-Magaña

Leticia Márquez-Magaña, Ph.D. is Director of both SF BUILD and the Health Equity Research Laboratory here at SF State. In offering a brief background, her pregnant mother crossed the border to join her father as he came to America through the Bracero program that imported labor from Mexico. As a result of their risk-taking behavior, her parents landed in Northern California, and professor Márquez-Magaña was born in Sacramento. There she began her education in as a monolingual Spanish speaker, becoming the first member of her extended U.S. family to complete high school. She then attended Stanford University earning a co-terminal BS/MS degree in Biological Sciences followed by a Ph.D. in Biochemistry at UC Berkeley. She joined the biology department at SF State in 1994 directing her professional efforts to “giving back” to the communities who enabled her to overcome systemic barriers, including national efforts to stereotype her as someone who cannot succeed.  In her time as our second ICCE Faculty Fellow, Dr. Márquez-Magaña has several objectives with her primary aims to increase the number of officially designated community service learning classes in the College of Science and Engineering. This energy will be part of an overall goal to better establish SF State as an anchor institution responsible for locally relevant education and community health.  

Faculty Engaged Research Highlight: 

Dr. Sameer Verma explores various methods of digital access worldwide

Modern-day access to information is predicated on the access to a digital infrastructure. However, access to the Internet remains elusive for almost half of the world's population, let alone sustainable access in one’s local language, local context, and relating to local culture. Dr. Sameer Verma, professor, Information Systems department (College of Business) has worked in this space for several years. Most notable is his involvement with One Laptop per Child (OLPC) now in its 12th year. One Laptop per Child’s mission is to provide each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop. “Making a difference one laptop at a time” appeared in SF State News in 2010 and Dr. Sameer continues to produce excellent scholarship around this year-after-year. ( Read more)

CSL Faculty Highlight: HIST 405 students use modern skills to support the maintenance of maritime historical records and archives

HIST 405: Maritime History aims to reposition the study of history away from a continent-based approach and toward an ocean-centered one. Taught by Dr. Sarah Crabtree, a professor in the Department of History (College of Liberal and Creative Arts), students are asked to forego traditional understandings of history (national boundaries, for example) and instead to apply new methodologies (like history as movement and history of nature). In this course, the entire class visits three archives over the course of the semester that allows students to see, touch, and analyze sixteenth-century maps of the ocean, nineteenth-century whaleship logbooks, and twentieth-century newspapers printed the day after 1934’s “ Bloody Thursday,” (known as “the strike that shook San Francisco and rocked the Pacific coast.” The CSL experience invites students to go even one step further in their study. ( Read more)

America Reads Tutor

Harvey Milk Elementary School

by Adriana Perez

I have always valued and held education close to my heart as a child, because in Ms. Francis words when conversing about a student, “it feels like a safe haven from all the craziness at home.” To this day I feel the same safe haven attending school at SF State because it has allowed me to take a step back from the environment I grew up in and truly reflect how toxic it was. I was able to notice and outgrow the phobic conversations that would happen in our communities, because of perspectives I had the privilege to learn, empathize, relate to and ally with. For example, I notice each student absorbs knowledge at different rates and as much as we want them to be engaged and interested to learn, it has to come at their own emotional will. It seems like a complex concept for young children to recognize but it actually isn’t, because they know how to identify their emotions and see when it’s interfering with their capacity to learn. One of my students who has trouble staying focused was asked, “how do you feel when you come to school?” and his response to that was, “I feel like I’m in a scary movie, hiding from the thing that is making me scared and I’m afraid to get caught.” It was amazing to hear that brilliant metaphor from a child, because I absolutely comprehended that something was distracting him from being able to focus; that same student was carrying a toy that he brought from home, when he knew it was against the rules to bring outside toys to school. (Read More)

America Reads Tutor

Glen Park Elementary School

by Marco Pimentel

I love being able to come in and help out my fellow teacher around the classroom! The kids are always ready to learn and enhance their educational experience. Our day begins with our excited students racing to their seats and getting ready for the school day. Silent reading is the way we start out our morning. Making sure our students are receiving the best education possible. Kids shout out “Good Morning Mr. Marco” and we focus on our “snap words” in forms of games and reading! The kids are always filled with joy to see what I have plan for today’s lesson. With the help of Mrs. Dearlove were able to tag team any situation in the classroom! With both of our leadership skills combine our kids flourish with knowledge and excitement when learning. Coming to Glenn Park Elementary is a new journey every day and being able to have connections with the students in the classroom is a trait all on its own. Seeing the smiles on the children is an excellent way to start my day when arriving at work. Having the community and SFSU involve in the public education is a key aspect in these kids' educational journey. These children see us as role models, along with the positive influence we have on them it makes an impact on their little lives. Hoping our partnership with the students of Glenn Park will carry on a legacy in their lives providing them with structure in their education experience . (Read More)

America Reads Tutor

Longfellow Elementary School

by Jenyfer Barroso

In the United States, there is a high number of students who are falling behind academically, and because of that, they have fallen into a process known as the school to prison pipeline. The school to prison pipeline occurs when students are pushed out of schools and into prisons because of harsh policies, difficulties in school, or lack of proper education. This process usually begins to criminalize students (who are predominately students of color) depending on their reading level in the 1st grade. Instead of providing resources or additional help for students, the state and federal government use this data to figure out how many more jail cells they should add to prisons assuming that the individual will be in jail at some point in their life. Apart of students of color, many of the students affected by this have a learning disability or have histories of poverty, abuse, and neglect. Although I do not intend to pursue a career in education, I am a strong believer that one can achieve anything with great schooling. I took the role to become an America Reads tutor for three reasons: 1) I want to contribute to the education students are receiving, 2) I want to push myself out of my comfort zone by working with an age group I had yet to work with, and 3) because I want to help break the chain of school to prison pipeline in San Francisco. (Read More)

For more student reflections visit our website or follow our story at #iconnectSFSU on all our social media platforms. If you are interested in more information about ICCE programs, please contact Jose R. Lopez at   [email protected].

Save the Date!

Spring 2019 Internship &

Service-Learning Fair

ICCE bi-annual Internship & Service-Learning Fair is happening on Tues., Feb. 5 & Wed., Feb. 6, 2019 from 10am-1pm at the Cesar Chavez Student Center Plaza Level. All are invited to meet our community partners and explore the opportunities they offer. Students interested in areas such as education, social work, recreation, health, youth development, and many other fields, are recommended to attend. Our partners are ready to talk about the work they do in the community and how SF State can contribute! Join us!

2019 ICCE Call to Service Initiative

Announcement of Grant Recipients

It is with great pleasure that the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement announce the awardees of the 2019 Call to Service Initiative grants. Applicants were able to apply for grants in six categories: Add service learning (SL) to a course, Partnerships in Service Learning, Department/Program/School Level Service Learning Grant, Conference Travel, Civic Engagement/Civic Learning, and the Eisman Award for Engaged Scholarship. This year we received a record 38 proposals across all categories and all proposals went through a blind review process. Below are the awardees, listed by category. To learn more about the available grants and awardees, please visit the ICCE Call to Service grant web page. Congratulations to all recipients!

Add Service Learning to a Course Grant

College Liberal & Creative Arts

College of Science and Engineering

College of Health & Social Sciences

Partnerships in Service Learning

College of Business

College of Health & Social Sciences

Civic Engagement / Civic Learning

College of Business

Student Affairs & Enrollment Management

Department/Program/School Level Service Learning Grant

College of Science and Engineering

Eisman Award for Engaged Scholarship ( New category, first-time recipient! )

College of Science and Engineering

Conference Travel

College Liberal & Creative Arts

Institute for Civic & Community Engagement (ICCE)

Email:  [email protected] - Phone:  415-338-6419  - Fax:  415-338-0587