Winona State University has received a $1.1 million grant from the Department of Defense to form a Civic Center to promote civic engagement and ethical leadership among students, faculty, local government entities in the region, and nonprofit organizations.
The Winona State Department of Political Science, Public Administration & Ethnic Studies, in partnership with SE MN Together, will establish the Center to provide training for students, public officials, and staff of small government entities in Southeast Minnesota.
Through the Center, Winona State students will gain hands-on experience interacting with government officials and entities, and collaborating to solve public problems. Students in the program will have ongoing opportunities to interact with government officials and entities, work in public service, and collaborate on public issues.
“Winona State is in a good position to establish this Civic Center, as we already do some of the work on a smaller scale,” Elissa B. Alzate, Professor of Political Science at Winona State. “This project will expand our capacity to serve local governments in the region as well as our students. The relationships developed through the Center’s programming will be reciprocal and mutually beneficial.”
The intent of the Center is to provide support and resources to the governments of smaller municipalities and counties. Training topics could include civility, civil discourse, and incorporating the community into more public decision-making, as well as skill-centered trainings around budgets, public meeting procedures, and campaign finance rules. Enhanced training and awareness for local governments will in turn provide benefits to regional communities and help to develop and preserve relationships between governments and communities.
The Center also will host civic dialogue events for the campus, high schools, and the general public to promote civility in public discourse.
“More broadly, we hope the Center will benefit the public by strengthening American democracy by promoting civility and encouraging civic engagement to overcome partisan divisiveness and collaboratively solve public problems,” said Alzate.
For more information, contact the Winona State Political Science department at 507-457-5500.
