Mobilize NRV

Building partnerships between community & higher education

Mobilize NRV is an initiative that studies relationships between higher education institutions and community based partners in the New River Valley. Through this initiative, our goal is better understand what is working with these relationships, what barriers are in place, how they are helping the community, and what can be done to strengthen these connections.

On this page, we share resources for both faculty members and community-based partners in hopes of creating connections and projects that benefit everyone. If you are interested in developing a partnership with a faculty member or a community-based partner,

Contacts

If you are interested in developing a partnership with a faculty member at one of our regional institutions, please reach out to the following contacts:

New River Community College

Contact Dr. Heidi U. Morehead, Professor of Sociology & Assessment Specialist at hmorehead@nr.edu.

Radford University

Contact Dr. Jean Mistele, Director of the Citizen Leader Program at jmistele@radford.edu. Learn more about the Citizen Leader Program here.

Virginia Tech

VT Engage: The Center for Leadership & Service Learning
Connect for information on: partnerships with faculty-led service learning courses, faculty research connections students or student organizations looking for hourly, daily, or weekend volunteer opportunities, and connections to other colleges or universities outside the region for similar partnerships.

Center for Educational Networks and Impact: connect for information on partnerships between Virginia Tech and regional pK-12 schools.

Center for Economic and Community Engagement

Center for Organizational and Technological Advancement

Types of Projects to Consider

There are many ways for higher education institutions and community-based partners to work together, from introduction-level projects to projects that integrate students into community. Below are examples of different types of projects that are offered at NRCC, RU, and VT, broken out by different levels of engagement.

Level 1: Introduction/Exposure

This level encompasses volunteerism and describes participation, awareness, and/or learning about leadership. Activities and courses at this level would be introductory in nature and/or with one-time actions.

Examples of level 1 courses & projects

ENG 111 – Principles of College Composition: Explore the RU campus as a community and write compositions through this lens.

NURS 352 – Mental Health: Mental health first aid 3 year certification.

Math 121 – Math Content for Teachers I Introducing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: Read articles and write reflections about the articles and its relationship to the elementary mathematics classroom.

WGST 200 Introduction to Women and Gender Studies: Interview a woman who is older than 29 years of age, Workshops with Women’s Resource Center.

NRCC symposiums – “Vaccines a Global Perspective,” “Equity in Education,” “Equity in Education,” and “Community Service – Blacksburg Refugee Partnership.”

Level 2: Development

This level encompasses community-based learning (service learning) and includes contributing to change, motivating others, and engaging in civil discourse. Activities and courses at this level include prescribed and/or directed project-based or simulation-based activities with less student autonomy.

Examples of level 2 courses & projects

HLTH 475 – Health Behavior Change Behavior Change Project (6-8 weeks): Students conduct a needs assessment to create a plan for one person.

MKTG 101 – Creativity and Innovation Practice Designs against 1) Crime and 2) against Dyslexia.

EDEC 323 – Language Arts and Literature for Young Children: Students create story time or other literary projects with the Radford City Library

VT: SPIA 1024 – “Community Service Learning”: the course is an introduction to concepts of service, learning, community engagement, and social change for first-year students. The class partners with Friends of Peak Creek to do two in-person service days (typically trash clean ups or garden work with in-class reflection time) and one semester-long research project on a topic of FOPC’s choosing. The class presents their work to FOPC at the end of the semester through an in-person presentation with a virtual option for members of FOPC who cannot attend in-person.

Level 3: Integration

This level encompasses deeper community engagement and includes initiating and mobilizing efforts and/or producing scholarship. Activities and courses at this level include more independent, project-based or simulation-based activities requiring leadership or collaboration.

Examples of level 3 courses & projects

PHYS 325 – Geophysical Field Research – Arctic Geophysics: Student design and build own micro climate sensors and use them to collect data

MUSC 447 – Methods and Practicum for Primary Music: Students teach music to children enrolled in Radford City elementary schools

NURS 444 – Geriatrics: Students work with the New River Valley Agency on Aging to create activities at local nursing homes

SOCY 499 – Internship: Students work with the Floyd Old Church Gallery collecting oral stories.

VT: SPAN 3574 – “Community Through Service”: The class is conducted almost entirely in Spanish. Students study and celebrate Latino/Latinx cultures in the U.S. in class. They also explore concepts related to how stereotypes and assumptions have a harmful impact on community success. For their service learning component, the course partner is the Literacy Volunteers of the NRV and students work one-on-one with ESL learners, work with family reading programs, or with adult ESL groups