Building Bridges Program

What is the Purpose?

The purpose of the Building Bridges Program is to establish a collaborative initiative between the academic student affairs that serves to facilitate communication and collaboration between university student of diverse racial and ethnic background and student and academic affairs partnership that integrates students' in-class and out of class experiences.

We are committed to improving relations between students, helping them grow personally, and preparing our students for living and working in diverse communities.

How does the Program Work?

Each Semester, the multi-ethnic team of students associates visits classrooms to share their personal experiences related to race issues, and lead discussions about intergroup relations with their peers. Topics may include: interracial dating, minority scholarships segregation, affirmative action, Black History Month, and the effects of media on racism. The result is a lively discussion that produces a different perspective for many students. By all accounts, the intergroup dialogue has met with measurable success since it began ten years ago.

Who are the Associates?

Student Associates come from all backgrounds. They are selected through an interview process and receive ongoing training in effective listening, non defensive communication of feelings creating an open and supportive atmosphere, and handling difficult group members. Students participate in the program because they see a need to improve race relations and want to be part of the solution.

Student Associates can serve for a maximum of two years and they commit to facilitating at least 10 sessions per semester.

How Do I Get Involved?

STUDENTS:

Become a student associate
Request your professors to invite a team of associates into your classes
Attend open discussion sessions scheduled outside of classes

FACULTY/ORGANIZATIONS/COMMUNITY:

Invite a team of associates into your classes
Poll your students/members for questions before the visit
Encourage your students/members to continue dialogue outside of the session

What Have Participants Said About the Program?

"The session helped spark my own thinking of how to incorporate diversity in my own teaching"
"The sessions made me think about how I am going to incorporate a broader cultural education in my future classroom"
"Building Bridges is a very effective program. I felt that this group gave me a better understanding of others' cultures and the need to learn."
"This is such a good program. I think it makes us think about what we know about other cultures and how ethnocentric we actually can be toward other groups!"

For More information Please Contact:

Director: Rogers J. Laugand III

Office of Minority Student Services
277 Gemmell Student Complex
Clarion University of Pennsylvania
840 Wood Street
Clarion, PA 16214-1232

Phone: 814-393-2043
Fax: 814-393-2645

Graduate Assistant: Brendan Flowers