Warren Wilson College dean of service honored for work sustaining community engagement

Press release from Warren Wilson College:

Warren Wilson College Dean of Service Cathy Kramer is the 2016 Civic Engagement “Sustainer” Professional of the Year, which is awarded by the North Carolina Campus Compact, a coalition of 35 public and private colleges and universities. The award recognizes one staff member at a college or university in the state for efforts to institutionalize a campuswide vision of service, support the engagement of faculty and students, and form innovative campus-community partnerships. Kramer is the sole winner among the Compact’s member institutions, including Davidson College, Duke University, Elon University, Guilford College, University of North Carolina at Asheville, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Wake Forest University and Western Carolina University.

“I am very honored to receive this recognition from Campus Compact,” said Kramer. “I am fortunate to work with colleagues, community partners and students who inspire me every day. I feel privileged to serve in my role at Warren Wilson, a place where community engagement is valued and holds a prominent place in our educational program. Our work with Campus Compact supports our mission and has provided important resources for our success.”

Kramer was presented the award by the Compact—the state affiliate of the national Campus Compact Organization that builds the capacity of colleges and universities to educate engaged students and strengthen communities—at its annual PACE (Pathways to Achieving Civic Engagement) Conference, hosted by High Point University Wednesday, Feb. 10. More than 250 faculty, staff, students and community partners participated in the day-long event.

In a letter supporting her nomination, President Steven Solnick says Kramer has “elevated the community engagement conversation among all of the College constituencies and raised the level of expectation of and for quality community-engaged work.”

Since becoming the Dean of Service at Warren Wilson College in 2010, Kramer has led a profound revisioning of what it means to be an engaged student. Service, work and academics are all commitments required of students to graduate. For two decades, students fulfilled the service component by logging 100 hours of service. According to one colleague, “Cathy has been instrumental in the fundamental shift of paradigm from a time-on-task community service model to a student development model.”

This new approach helps students progress through stages of engagement that include direct service and reflection, investigation of a complex issue, collaboration with a community partner, and planning for continued engagement beyond graduation.

Kramer orchestrated an inclusive, year-long process of benchmarking, focus groups and listening sessions to incorporate the perspectives of faculty, students and community partners.

“She came to our department not with a vision, but with an idea about how to develop a shared vision,” writes one colleague. “By the time the College was ready to vote on the implementation of the new requirement… the proposed model was not Cathy’s but ours.”

While Kramer’s focus has been on the quality of student engagement, the quantity of service hours has also increased during her tenure. In 2010, the College’s 924 students logged 47,903 service hours. In 2015, its 824 students reported more than 58,000 hours, and the College’s community partners have expanded to 254 under Kramer’s leadership. The College also has been widely recognized for service excellence, receiving the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification in 2015, the President’s Honor Roll with Distinction from 2010 – 2015 and designation as a U.S. News & World Report “Academic Program to Look for- Service-Learning” in 2014 and 2015.

Kramer holds a master’s in psychology from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s in psychology and English from St. Norbert College.