Dr. Thomas Klak -- civic engagement: local and international


Civic engagement goes well beyond traditional service learning, which has had university students and faculty donating their expertise to the community. In civic engagement, the aim is to work in intense and long-term relationships that are built on trust with community partners. The ideas, plans, goals and benefits are to go back and forth among the participants over time. There are no experts doling out their wisdom. Instead, there are people from different backgrounds, collaborating to find and create solutions and mutual benefits.
Home Civic Engagement International: Dominica Project Course info Student projects Local: Southwest Ohio Project Course info Student projects Dr. Klak bio Contact us	Engaging the community Dr. Thomas Klak at Miami University puts civic engagement and sustainability into practice through programs in southwestern Ohio and in the Eastern Caribbean. The work of Dr. Klak and his collaborators conceptualizes sustainability as a three-legged stool. The three legs are as follows: -- the Ecological: the health of the ecosystem, restoration and stewardship. -- the Economic: financial security and meaningful work. -- the Social: human welfare, social justice, cultural interaction and respect. These ideas are examined more fully in a recent publication of Compass. (download PDF; 487KB) Civic engagement projects by Dr. Klak and his collaborators The Dominica Project takes Miami University students to the Eastern Carribean for 12 days each March to combine research and scholarship with community-level international partnership. The annual on-site course is aimed at supporting sustainable living and sustainable development on the Nature Island of Dominica. Support for the civic engagement work in this course has been generously provided by the.Harry T. Wilks Leadership Institute Other research projects by Dr. Klak and his Miami University students complement this annual course. These projects aim to contribute positively to sustainability in Dominica while at the same time advancing knowledge. The Southwest Ohio Project for consistency project should also be part of the link like it is in the previous paragraph facilitated through the Harry T. Wilks Leadership Institute brings community interaction, participation, dialogue and problem solving. One of Dr. Klak's student groups in this program focused on rural Butler County and contributed to the promotion of local food and farmers markets. Above right, bananas growing in Dominica. One of the research projects by Dr. Klak and his collaborators aims to better understand the trials and tribulations of Eastern Caribbean banana farmers, who have lost their export market in Europe thanks to a World Trade Organization ruling. A paper on the subject was published in March 2009. (download PDF; 236KB) All photography on the website is by Dr. Klak and his students.	Dr. Klak's syllabi: Development course (download as PDF; 388KB) Dominica course (download as PDF: 169KB) Sustainable regions course (download as PDF; 389KB)

Images of students in the Dominica Project, where students study civic engagement on the island of Dominica

Civic engagement goes well beyond traditional service learning, which has had university students and faculty donating their expertise to the community. In civic engagement, the aim is to work in intense and long-term relationships that are built on trust with community partners. The ideas, plans, goals and benefits are to go back and forth among the participants over time. There are no experts doling out their wisdom. Instead, there are people from different backgrounds, collaborating to find and create solutions and mutual benefits.

Home

Civic Engagement

International: Dominica Project

Course info

Student projects

Local: Southwest Ohio Project

Course info

Student projects

Dr. Klak bio

Contact us

Engaging the community

Dr. Thomas Klak at Miami University puts civic engagement and sustainability into practice through programs in southwestern Ohio and in the Eastern Caribbean.
The work of Dr. Klak and his collaborators conceptualizes sustainability as a three-legged stool. The three legs are as follows:
-- the Ecological: the health of the ecosystem, restoration and stewardship.
-- the Economic: financial security and meaningful work.
-- the Social: human welfare, social justice, cultural interaction and respect.
These ideas are examined more fully in a recent publication of Compass. (download PDF; 487KB)

Civic engagement projects
by Dr. Klak and his collaborators Banana tree

The Dominica Project takes Miami University students to the Eastern Carribean for 12 days each March to combine research and scholarship with community-level international partnership. The annual on-site course is aimed at supporting sustainable living and sustainable development on the Nature Island of Dominica. Support for the civic engagement work in this course has been generously provided by the.Harry T. Wilks Leadership Institute Other research projects by Dr. Klak and his Miami University students complement this annual course. These projects aim to contribute positively to sustainability in Dominica while at the same time advancing knowledge.

The Southwest Ohio Project for consistency project should also be part of the link like it is in the previous paragraph facilitated through the Harry T. Wilks Leadership Institute brings community interaction, participation, dialogue and problem solving. One of Dr. Klak's student groups in this program focused on rural Butler County and contributed to the promotion of local food and farmers markets.
Above right, bananas growing in Dominica. One of the research projects by Dr. Klak and his collaborators aims to better understand the trials and tribulations of Eastern Caribbean banana farmers, who have lost their export market in Europe thanks to a World Trade Organization ruling. A paper on the subject was published in March 2009. (download PDF; 236KB)