Bonner VIP Visits Campus

Carson-Newman's Bonner Scholars got a special visit Oct. 16 from the Foundation's Vice-President, Robert Hackett."He came to strategize with the leadership team about the long-term direction of the program and to offer us any help we might need from the foundation staff as we work towards a permanent endowment that will enable the program to continue here at CN," said Dr. Beth Vanlandingham, Associate Coordinator of the Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement.

Hackett met with C-N's Bonner faculty team of Dr. Larry Osborne, Dr. Beth Vanlandingham, Amanda Ford, and Karina Fox and the student-led council, consisting of Matt Cheney, Lauren Parham, Noah Case, and Chris Wooden. Hackett then held an open forum for all Bonner Scholars to voice any concerns they may have in regards to transition of the road to endowment and the new regulations that the Bonner Foundation is undergoing.

"He was enthusiastic about where the program is going and urged us to continue to develop greater connections between the Bonner Scholars Program and the wider campus community," said Vanlandingham. "He was also very impressed with the maturity and thoughtfulness of the Bonners that he met."

New Bonner regulations have identified some student's volunteer sites as unacceptable requiring students to find replacements. Hackett's main goal for the forum was to address any frustrations of those students.

Bonner President Matt Cheney said, "Some concerns voiced dealt with the religious nature of service sites and whether or not C-N was following foundational guidelines about these sites. Bobby (Hackett) affirmed the stance of the C-N Bonners and helped us work out a compromise with students affected negatively by the transition."

According to Dr. Larry Osborne, the Interim Bonner Director, Hackett sympathized with the degree of information overload in terms of keeping up with and understanding the full Bonner program.

"He was very open to answer all questions and willing to meet with students, both individually and as a group which was incredibly helpful," said Amanda Ford, Bonner Coordinator.

On Wednesday, Hackett met with the two Bonner Service classes and ate lunch that was prepared by a group of first-year Bonners, who had been studying the issue of local food and how food choices affect a community. Most of the food came from within 50 miles of C-N.

"Next time I visit, make sure you make the Indian potato cakes as spicy as you normally eat them," Hackett said to freshman Matri Shah, who had commented that she dulled down the spices in her recipe in order not to shock everyone who ate them.

While Hackett and the Bonners ate, he directly discussed the transition. He suggested creating site-based teams that will draw students together to engage with the issues that arise from their service sites, thus creating a stronger networking system that will optimally benefit the community.

"This will enable students to move to the next level of creating positive change by understanding and working for solutions to deal with the larger problems in the community. Hopefully, this will also help rebuild the sense of community that students want to see in the program and which has been damaged during all the changes the program has had to go through since last February," said Vanlandingham.

Hackett also gave the Bonners advice about dealing with change. "Transitions are tough. Change happens all the time, you just have to deal with it and learn from it. It can bring growth if you let it," Hackett said.

According to Vanlandingham, the program is mapping out new service opportunities. Dr. Larry Osborne is working with a group of students who are building a new college mentoring program for students in three area schools. This program will pair C-N students (Bonners and non-Bonners) with students who wouldn't ordinarily think about being able to go to college.

"Through intentional academic and social mentoring throughout high school, our students hope to help these students see what possibilities there might be for their lives after high school," said Vanlandingham.

The Bonner leadership team is also developing a summer arts, music, and nature camp in conjunction with the Clearfork Institute in Eagan, Tenn.

Osborne says the Bonners will begin to integrate more social activities into the program to allow students to get to know the faculty, staff and each another better and to continue their progress in striving to meet Foundation expectations for a high quality program focused on service learning and civic engagement.

Wayne Meisels, president of the Bonner Foundation, will be visiting C-N's campus Tuesday, November 6th and will hold an open forum in the Baker Building at 9 p.m. for all Bonner students.