At Grinnell, students can explore various ways to positively impact their communities—personally, professionally, and civically. Housed in the Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS), the Civic Education and Innovation (CEI) team works with campus and community partners to provide students with community-engaged learning opportunities that help them become thoughtful, active participants in civic life. Through real-world collaboration and continual reflection, students connect their values, identities, and academic interests to meaningful civic action. CEI supports students in seeing their individual efforts as part of broader movements for systemic change, cultivating a lifelong commitment to civic collaboration and community wellbeing.
Civic Activity at Grinnell
News & Advice
Engaging in thoughtful dialogue and listening is a key element of productive community engagement. Dialogue-focused community engagement recognizes the inherent interdependence of community life and the inequalities that shape that interdependence. Our various community engagement programs, like Service-Leadership Work Study, …
Supported by funds from Federal Department of Education, alumni donors, and the Grinnell College operating budget, the Service Leadership Work-Study Program provides students with paid opportunities to serve local non-profits working on a range of community issues, from local arts, …
At the Center for Careers, Life, and Service, we believe civic engagement is about finding your place in collective action and shared governance. In the United States, supporting a vibrant democracy means learning to work together across differences to build …
