Funded by a combination of an alum, the endowment and the College, the CCE has had to make cuts like every other organization on campus, but has made deeper cuts by reducing staff — leaving one vacancy open and laying off another person, and cutting programs.
“We did deeper cuts because as the newest program at the College, we felt like it was very important to not in any way be a financial weight to the institution,” said CCE Director Molly Mead. “[We wanted] to be a positive part of the institution.”
The most significant change in CCE policy is the reduction in winter programs, most significantly the Winternship and Urban Education programs that both took place in January.
Mead explained the changes: “Those programs cost about the same to run per student basis as the summer internships,” she said. “Somebody can have a 10-week experience in the summer versus a three-week experience in January. We thought it made most sense to concentrate our resources in the summer.”
Despite these cuts, the CCE is hoping to maintain its summer programs at the same level as last year, when they funded about 150-160 internships, which, according to Mead, was almost “all students who wrote really solid, well-thought out applications for funding.” They are also looking to maintain a steady level of student volunteering during the school year, which is around 400 to 500 students a year.
To make up for reduced staff, the CCE has used the money that they have saved to create more student jobs, which benefits both students and the organization. This arrangement also gives the CCE more ideas and input from students and changes the feeling of the CCE in a positive way.
“A lot of places around campus have cut student jobs [and] students are feeling a lot of pressure,” Mead said. “We have work to be done. Students are fantastic. Let’s have student workers. I think the students who work here really like it and feel like they learn a lot. It’s a great way to get more student input into the CCE. Between our student leaders called Community Engagement Leaders and other students who work here, I’m sure we have a little over 40 students working at the CCE. The CCE really should be very much a place not even just for students, but very much made up of students.
The CCE is also looking to work more closely with faculty to create new opportunities for the students and the community in general through the development of community-based learning courses. These courses would combine an academic discipline with a local area activity.
“There’s one this semester called ‘Pioneer Valley Soundscapes’ in the Music Department,” explained Mead. “We’ve been working with [Assistant Professor] Luca Grillo in Classics who last spring, had students do a project where they did research on these ancient Roman coins. They did an exhibit at the Mead Art Museum and we brought in school-age kids to learn about these coins. We’ve already got faculty from dance and drama interested in getting a course going next year, and the Spanish Department has also shown interest, so that’s an area where we’re hoping to grow.”