The freshman class of fall 2019 will be the inaugural class of the UTM ENGAGE Civic Initiative (Engage).
Engage has a self-proclaimed mission to “promote the common good, democratic ideals, awareness, civic responsibility, diverse perspectives, free speech, fair play civility, service opportunities and environmental sustainability,” for UTM and the Martin community.
The program will have six components that will each be introduced to freshman and transfer students through their GENS 101 course. Students will also further be submersed in the program through their enrollment in ENG 111.
The program is currently being financed through the American Democracy Project, but future funding is still being sought in order to keep the program running after the startup money runs out.
The first component, and the one primarily disseminated through ENG 111 is the “Engage the Book” aspect which establishes a common reader at the University. The common reader is one book that students will all have access to, which is being taught and discussed inside and outside the classroom. The book for the fall semester is Tara Westover’s Educated: A Memoir.
Dr. Arthur Hunt, co-director of Engage says that this book will be available to all faculty members as well, so that it can be incorporated in their classes.
The second piece will be “Engage the Podium,” which is a speaker series that will invite students to hear speakers focused on political, societal or cultural issues. The first person to speak as part of this series is Dr. Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University.
Twenge will be speaking to students and community members about the smartphone generation on Sept. 3. After each speaker, there will be panel discussions in an effort to create dialogue between audience members, regarding the topic.
“We want this to be a conversation,” said Hunt. He says that though the program is initially progressed throughout the freshman class, he hopes it will take off and be something that is beneficial to all students and community members.
The third component, “Engage the Screen,” is a film-screening aspect that also serves as another common basis for students and teachers to facilitate discussion around. The first film to be shown is the documentary on the legacy of Fred Rogers, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?.
“Engage the Need” is a service learning aspect of the program which focuses on supporting faculty and their abilities to plug the program into their classroom.
Co-Director Dr. Mike McCullough will largely be heading up this aspect of Engage, as well as the sustainability aspect.
McCullough’s passion for sustainability will also communicate through his service ideas as he, UTM Professor of Biology Eric Pelren and Editor of the Tennessee Service Learning Journal Dr. Terry Silver will work to provide a vegetable and herb garden at UTM that students can volunteer at.
McCullough’s description of this pairing of components further shows how the efforts of Engage will carry over into all aspects of student and community life.
“Engage the Future” focuses on sustainability efforts at UTM and will be partnered with the UTM Center for Sustainability. This arm of the program will serve to educate students and plug them into all things sustainability at UTM and throughout Martin.
The last piece in the Engage puzzle is “Engage the Times.” This is a current events discussion that will provide all present with a previously circulated news story for discussion and consideration.
“Engage the Times” will occur on Fridays at noon in the conference room of the Skyhawk Dining Hall. There will be 10 weeks of scheduled “Engage the Times” but the hope is that as students and faculty become involved in the program, these discussions will happen more organically.
Hunt says that though the program hasn’t started meeting yet, it should still feed students well.
“There’s a certain informality about conversation that can occur,” he said. It is his hope that students will gather in local businesses to discuss the activities Engage will host, and he even said he has already talked to Martin Coffeehouse owner John Sellers about students meeting in the coffee shop to discuss the book and other aspects of Engage.
The Engage Advisory Committee is the body of overseers for this organization and it is composed of the deans, a faculty representative and a student representative each from their own respective colleges.
“With all the programming of Engage, you can see that it focuses a lot on discussion no matter the subject or event. I think that being a part of the discussion, and learning to have a civilized discussion, is key to becoming an active citizen in our communities,” says Hunter McCloud, sophomore Political Science major from Portland, Tennessee. McCloud is the College of Business and Global Affairs’ student representative of Engage.
For questions about Engage or other information on how to get involved, contact Hunt at ahunt@utm.edu or McCullough at mccullou@utm.edu.
