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Birmingham-Southern College Catalog 2017-2018
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ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
HON 280
HRC 200
LS 300
RE 325
SO 376
THA 104
UES 360
UES 380
Bonner Leader Program
Since 1990, the Bonner Foundation has offered one of the largest, oldest, and most
successful models for service-based scholarships. The Bonner Leader Program at
Birmingham-Southern College utilizes institutional aid and the federal work-study
program to provide students with an opportunity to engage in community-based work
throughout their tenure at the College. Each fall, a cohort of Bonner Leaders is selected
from the incoming class through a competitive application process. Bonner Leaders
receive a scholarship and a federal work-study position that requires engagement in eight
to ten hours of community service per week. Service hours include regularly scheduled
Bonner meetings and activities, including in-service workshops, reflective discussion,
and training sessions that equip students to assume increasing levels of responsibility and
leadership within service activities. As a student progresses, the focus of his or her
community work narrows, providing an opportunity to work on specific projects
identified by a particular community partner. Bonner Leaders also complete the
Distinction in Leadership Studies Program. Jointly sponsored by the Bunting Center for
Engaged Study and Community Action and the Hess Center for Leadership and Service,
the Bonner Leader program follows the Bonner Developmental Model, which has been
used successfully at many colleges and universities for twenty-five years.
Hess Center for Leadership and Service
Kent S. Andersen, Director
The Hess Center for Leadership and Service encourages individuals to realize their full
leadership potential so that they can contribute to the communities that matter to them.
Guided by the assumption that anyone can lead, Hess Center programming enables
participants to understand, analyze, and practice leadership.
The Hess Center poses the following question to those who participate in its programs:
how do we enact and cultivate effective leadership?
This mission is achieved through
programming for students, faculty, staff, and the larger community. Four programs in the
Hess Center for Leadership and Service serve students: the Academic Distinction in
Leadership Studies, the Hess Fellows advocacy internships, the First-Year Leadership
Challenge, and the
Compass
student publication.