A Message from the Director
"I used to believe that if I did a good enough job of explaining the relationship between ideas and action, my students would see how relevant our classroom discussions were to the real-world issues surrounding us. I was fooling myself. Action and experience in the world beyond the classroom are not the same as knowing, analyzing, or problem-solving in the abstract. One is not more valuable than the other, but they bring different gifts to the world-gifts that should complement each other. Just as it is not enough to understand the qualities of good writing-you actually have to practice writing in order to become competent-so, some part of higher education should include practice in connecting knowledge with action. Civic engagement at its core does exactly this. Further, as with engagement of any kind, civic engagement cannot be accomplished alone; it thrives on collaboration, partnership, and reciprocity. My hope is that the Center for Civic Engagement will generate many opportunities for connecting education with practice, but will do so in ways that have real and deep benefit for the communities with which we engage. I invite you to join me in Drew's journey toward this goal."
- Amy Koritz, Amy Koritz, Director of the Center for Civic Engagement
About the Director
Amy Koritz is Professor of English and Director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Drew University. Her scholarship has addressed topics in performance studies, urban studies, community cultural development, and the role of the humanities in higher education and the public sphere. She is the author of Gendering Bodies/Performing Art (U Michigan P 1995) and Culture Makers: Urban Performance and Literature in the 1920s (U Illinois P, 2009). With George Sanchez, she is co-editor of Civic Engagement in the Wake of Katrina (U Michigan P, forthcoming) and has written about civic engagement in the humanities for Diversity Digest, the Modern Language Association’s Profession and other journals. Since 1998 she has worked to develop programs and courses for undergraduates that connect academic learning to the community beyond the university. Before coming to Drew in 2008, she was Professor of English at Tulane University where she served as Associate Director for Community and Culture at the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research. In this capacity she developed projects and partnerships that integrated the arts and culture into efforts to build and strengthen sustainable communities.
As Director of the Center for Civic Engagement, Amy Koritz is responsible for setting the Center’s priorities, managing its resources, developing and sustaining strategic partnerships, leading civic engagement collaborations across the university, and communicating about Civic Engagement at Drew with internal and external stakeholders.
Associated Staff
Civic Engagement happens across Drew University with the help of staff in many departments. Frank Merckx, Associate Dean for Campus Life and Student Affairs, is the Center’s primary liaison with student organizations. Dean Merckx (fcmerckx@drew.edu) can help connect you with groups such the Volunteer Resource Center and other non-academic civic engagement projects. Jonathan Golden, Associate Director for the Drew Centers at the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies, provides support for the Center’s programs and events. Please contact Dr. Golden (jgolden@drew.edu) for more information about any of the Center’s programs.
Affiliated Faculty
The Civic Engagement Taskforce, comprised of faculty from the three schools at Drew University, advises the Director of the Center for Civic Engagement on priorities and policies. Members of this taskforce include:
- Shannon Bradshaw, CLA, Computer Science sbradsha@drew.edu.
- Christopher Ceraso, CLA, Theatre cceraso@drew.edu.
- Laurel Kearns, THEO, Environmental Studies lkearns@drew.edu.
- Sandra Jamison, CLA, English sjamieso@drew.edu.
- Patrick McGuinn, CLA, Political Science pmcguinn@drew.edu.
- Kesha Moore, CLA Sociology kmoore@drew.edu.
- Wendy Kolmar, CLA Dean’s Office wkolmar@drew.edu.
In addition, professors from all of Drew University’s schools are involved in Center projects and initiatives. See project descriptions for the names of faculty members affiliated with each project.
Contact the Center for Civic Engagement: engage@drew.edu.
