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About
- Friday, May 17, 6 p.m.
- Saturday, May 18, 11 a.m.
Commencement
Celebrating the Class of 2024
About
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Academics
- Friday, May 17, 6 p.m.
- Saturday, May 18, 11 a.m.
Commencement
Celebrating the Class of 2024
Academics
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Admission & Financial Aid
- Friday, May 17, 6 p.m.
- Saturday, May 18, 11 a.m.
Commencement
Celebrating the Class of 2024
Admission & Financial Aid
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Student Life
- Friday, May 17, 6 p.m.
- Saturday, May 18, 11 a.m.
Commencement
Celebrating the Class of 2024
Student Life
- Athletics
At Civic Centre
Center for Civic Engagement and Leadership
Red
The Community is Your Classroom
The Center for Civic Engagement & Leadership (CCEL) connects students to their community by providing volunteer opportunities, internships, student employment, and Community Based Learning classes. Students contribute to local initiatives and they develop crucial skills that will serve them well beyond the college classroom. Faculty draw upon the CCEL's host of community partners to provide students with hands-on projects that supplement their traditional classroom learning.
Connecting Students with Their Community
A strong sense of community is one of the key pillars of Marist College. Marist students are given the resources to harness their interests and create a significant social impact on the local community and beyond.
The Center for Civic Engagement & Leadership links academics to social action. By working with faculty across campus, we are able to offer Community Based Learning classes, such as Introduction to Professional Writing, Interactive Media, Communicating in the Spanish-Speaking World, and The Ethics of Food. In addition to fostering innovative teaching, we pride ourselves on exposing students to vital community organizations and new career paths.
Community-Based Learning
The Center for Civic Engagement & Leadership promotes the principle that civic engagement and Community Based Learning (CBL) empower students to connect their academic work to their wider interests. Participation in CBL provides students with the problem-solving tools and confidence needed to generate positive change in their communities. As defined by Janet Eyler and Dwight E. Giles (1999), CBL provides "...a form of experiential education where learning occurs through a cycle of action and reflection as students.” Combining academic coursework with hands-on activities and deep reflection has been shown to achieve real outcomes for the community and deeper understanding and skills for students. These experiences enhance awareness and, in turn, lead to more effective social change.
Benefits of Community-Based Learning
For Students
- Enrich the understanding of classroom material
- Increase the awareness of important social problems or issues
- Develop essential skills (e.g. critical thinking, problem-solving) for academic work and professional life
For Faculty
- Develop new ways to generate higher-quality student learning
- Cultivate new avenues for research and publication via new relationships with community partners
- Network with engaged faculty in other disciplines or institutions
For Community Partners
- Achieve organizational goals by tapping into valuable human resources
- Increase the collective impact made in addressing critical social problems
- Build partnerships with new stakeholders and attract new volunteers
The Marie and Rupert Tarver Summer Internship Program
Each summer, a cohort of highly motivated Marist students remain on campus to participate in the Marie and Rupert Tarver Summer Internship program, which enables undergraduates to work on a community improvement project in collaboration with a local non-profit organization. Participants receive a substantial stipend, tuition credits, and on-campus housing for the duration of the program. As an integral component of the program, interns affiliate with an approved nonprofit organization in the Hudson River Valley and complete agreed-upon goals and objectives during the summer term. Tarver Interns work with faculty and their nonprofit partner to design their internship project and identify the key issues that their work will address.
Red Fox Spotlight
Megan Nickel
Pompton Plains, NJ
Louis Higuera
Pittsfield, MA
Riana Ramirez
New York City, NY
Meghan Lai
Honolulu, HI
Nick Bayer
South Windsor, CT
Mark Palmer
Los Angeles, CA
Meet the Director: Dr. Melissa Gaeke
Melissa A. Gaeke, Ph.D. is the Director of the Center for Civic Engagement & Leadership and Senior Professional Lecturer in Political Science at Marist College. She holds a doctorate in Public Administration from the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy.
Her interests include engaging students in activities that teach them about civic engagement and working with nonprofit organizations to build their capacity to access resources and connect with stakeholders. She has worked to create and support civic engagement programs for more than 20 years.
Learn more about Dr. Gaeke >
Fontaine 201
Melissa.Gaeke@Marist.edu
(845) 575-2914
Center for Civic Engagement & Leadership by the Numbers
Post-Course Community Engagement
Seventy-three percent of students who participate in CCEL courses plan to engage with the community even when the course ends.
Community-Based Learning Approval
Eighty-one percent of students feel that the Community-Based Learning component helps them to better understand the required class lectures and readings.
Opportunities to
Remain Engaged
We promote over 150 non-profit internship opportunities in and around Poughkeepsie, as well as gap-year programs such as Teach for America and AmeriCorps.
Featured News
Click here for the livestreamed Physician Assistant Awards Ceremony event, scheduled for Friday, May 17 at 11:00 a.m.
Watch the Commencement Ceremonies
This is your go-to place to watch ceremony livestreams for Commencement weekend.
Faculty and Staff Celebrated at Milestone and Farewell Event
The Milestone and Farewell Celebration honored dozens of employees who are retiring or have reached notable milestones in their years of service at Marist.
Our Student Workers Rock!
Meet the students who are part of our team and behind so many of our stories, social content, and digital communications. They help showcase how our Red Foxes jump into learning and chase serious fun!
Announcing New York Stage and Film’s 2024 Summer Season at Marist
Check out the summer lineup of Broadway stars hitting the stage right here on campus in Poughkeepsie!
New Hybrid Format for Weekend Paralegal Program
Earning your Paralegal Certificate just got easier - and on your own terms. A new hybrid format gives students the option to attend classes online or in person.