Community-engaged civic learning flourishes in unique ways across diverse institutional settings. While our Periclean Consortium member institutions anchor this work, placing community-engaged civic learning at the heart of higher education requires adapting pedagogical approaches to institutions of all kinds.
In that vein, we have developed meaningful relationships with dozens of campuses outside the consortium through our Civic Engagement Mini-Grant program, supporting experiential civic learning around voter participation, dialogue and bridging, and media literacy.
Building on the successes of that program, we have launched the Pericles Civic Fellowship, which deepens support for high-impact, community-engaged civic learning across all types of campuses by prioritizing applications from public institutions, community colleges, Minority Serving Institutions, and HBCUs. Faculty and staff from all higher education institutions are invited to apply. The Fellowship offers a $3,000 award to support projects alongside participation in a nationwide peer cohort of practitioners. (For information on how to apply, visit the website.)
Below, three Mini-Grant recipients illustrate what this work looks like across very different campus contexts.
Weaving Civic Leadership into Vocational Programs: Angela Graves at Alfred State College (NY)
An Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Alfred State College, Angela Graves focuses on responsible citizenship and democratic participation through vocational learning. In Fall 2025, she received a Civic Engagement Mini-Grant from Project Pericles to incorporate mini-lectures, facilitated discussions, and scenario-based activities to develop skills into trades programs from HVAC to welding to plumbing courses. Drawing upon Project Pericles’ Civic Engagement Resources, she framed deliberative dialogue as a tool for everyday democracy. By incorporating coaching techniques, she helped students define twenty-first-century citizenship using terms relevant to their careers and communities.
The most significant impact of the course has been growing recognition among students and faculty of the importance of civic learning in a technical college, achieved without displacing vocational goals.
Alfred State continues to see increases in voter registration and participation. Dr. Graves was recognized through the presentation of her work at the AAC&U Annual Meeting in January 2026 at a Project Pericles panel, which she described as having “changed my professional trajectory.”
Shifting Narratives through the Power of Op-Eds: Megan Thiele Strong at San José State University (CA)
Megan Thiele Strong, a Full Professor in the Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences at San José State University, believes that more sociologists must step forward as “public intellectuals.” After publishing over 30 Op-Eds as an Op-Ed Project Public Voices Fellow, she discovered that Op-Eds were a powerful way to shift narratives and bring sociological conversations into the public sphere.
Through Project Pericles’ Civic Engagement Mini-Grant program, Thiele Strong supported students in her Poverty, Wealth, and Privilege (SOCI 165) course at San José State University in writing and publishing their own Op-Eds. San José State University, a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution, serves a significant number of first-generation and working-class students, many of whom also care for dependents. The stipend made possible through the mini-grant served as a meaningful incentive and encouraged students to engage in public sociological communication.
Through class time focused on bridging sociology and students’ lived experiences, including group discussions, free writing brainstorm sessions, and creative ideation, students worked to transform sociological ideas into tangible and compelling public communication.
One student, Andy Luu, wrote and published an Op-Ed on how public transit and infrastructure shape social stratification, a direct translation of classroom concepts into public argument. Thiele Strong continues to encourage students to see publishing sociologically-driven op-eds as important civic participation.
Thinking Critically and Acting Courageously: Aaron Lawler at Waubonesee Community College (IL)
Aaron Lawler, Professor of Humanities at Waubonsee Community College, has helped students realize the power of their voice through his teaching of democracy. Since 2021, Dr. Lawler has received Civic Engagement Mini-Grants to support his long-term commitment to integrating democratic experiential learning into his courses. By integrating Project Pericles’ interactive Deliberative Dialogue and Voter Activation Modules, he engages students on the historical and present-day realities of the voting process.
During the Fall 2024 semester, students felt “encouraged to register to vote, actually vote, and reflect on the experience.” The course led some to register to vote for the first time, and one student was publicly recognized after writing to local officials. Two students attended a school board meeting on a whim to advocate against book bans during public comment. Lawler reflected:
“Hearing [students] say things like, ‘I didn’t think my vote mattered, but now I see it’s actually part of a much bigger picture,’ was incredibly moving. This shift, from passive observer to active participant, embodied [what we are working towards]: a more civically engaged campus… It all came from giving students space to connect classroom learning to their lives.”
The Pericles Civic Fellowship will deepen support of this work nationwide.
The work of faculty and staff like Graves, Strong, and Lawler has deeply impacted thousands of students at institutions where civic learning too rarely gets dedicated support. The Pericles Civic Fellowship builds on this foundation, providing the next cohort of practitioners with time, resources, and a peer network to go further.
As the Fellowship launches and develops, we will be sharing updates, stories, and resources that emerge from this cohort of dedicated practitioners. The application deadline is May 11, 2026. Please share the opportunity with your networks. If you have any questions about the Fellowship, reach out to Arielle del Rosario, Associate Director at arielle@projectpericles.org.