Gletherow-Young-Deppman Project Award

The Gletherow-Young-Deppman Project Award was created to support student learning with direct, practical community engagement in the Oberlin community, while also allowing students to explore meaningful career options.  Projects should enrich a student's academic and professional experience at Oberlin by allowing them to meaningfully explore how prior coursework and community-based experiences might connect to concrete, local, community-identified needs.

Strong preference will be given to projects that:

1. Connect to a student's experiential learning compenent related to an integrative concentration that they are pursuing at Oberlin College;
2. Projects that reflect conversation between a student and a potential community partner or organization and that identify specific community and student learner needs that can be addressed within the scope of the proposed project; and
3. Demonstrate explicit contribution to the community's social, artistic, educational, medical, or environmental needs.  This service may be provided directly or indirectly through an individual student-initiated project that has the potential for sustainability or working with an existing partnership between Oberlin College and the local community.
4. Preference will be given to those who have engaged in PACE or Community Based Learning courses, training or workshops.

Eligbility for Award Applications

1. Any individual Arts & Sciences and/or Conservatory of Music student who has achieve sophomore or junior status at Oberlin College.  Awards will not be given to group projects.
2. Preference will be given to a student pursuing an integrative concentration at Oberlin College.
3. Applications must reflect a community-based project that goes above and beyond that required of a community-based learning class at Oberlin College.
4. Applications must include the name and contact information (email) of the community partner with whom the student has discussed the proposed project.
5. Applications should include supporting documentation that show a student's prior community-based learning experience on- and/or off-campus.
6. Awardees must demonstrate the ability to comply with community and Oberlin College standards which may include background checks.
7. The project must take place between June 1, 2024 and January 31, 2025.

Application & Review Process

1. All individuals must complete an award application in full.  Incomplete applications will not be considered.  The application includes the following:
   1. Student biographical information
   2. Narrative description of the community project, including the community partner/organization contact person
   3. Statement of community engagement experiences (on- and off-campus)
   4. Budget (project-related expenses)
2. You must submit applications electronically through this Google Form.
3. You must submit applications by the deadline: February 23, 2024 at 5:00PM.
4. Directors of the Bonner Center and Pedagogy, Advocacy, & Community Engagement (PACE) Division will review applications and make recommendations for the award(s).
5. Projects will be evaluated based on
   1. clarity of project descriptions for accomplishing community-stated goals, designed as a result of conversations with a community partner or organization;
   2. potential for a quality partnership between the student applicant and community partner;
   3. feasibility of the project within the project timeframe; and
   4. articulation of connections that the proposed project has to the student's coursework and community-based learning experiences completed at Oberlin and elsewhere.
6. Faculty sponsorship
   1. You must submit the name of the current Oberlin College and/or Conservatory faculty member who has agreed to sponsor your project.  A signed agreement may be required if your project is selected.
   2. Confirmation that they have completed a PACE or CBL/R training (faculty, community partner, and award assessment committee).
7. Award grantees must attend a community-based learning workshop prior to beginning their project if awardee has not previously engaged in PACE or Community Based Learning courses, training, or workshops.
   1. If recommended or required by the community partner, the award grantees may also need to sign a memorandum of understanding (i.e. an agreement outlining the nature and scope of the project along with any additional prerequisites decided between the community partner and award grantees).
8. Award grantees must write a final report of the accomplishments from the award.  It will be submitted to the Director of the Bonner Center no lated than four weeks after the conclusion of the project.