Presented at the 2013 New Bonner Directors and Coordinators Orientation.

1. Staffing Your Program
The roles of directors,
coordinators, students,
and others

2. What We’ll Cover
• Staffing Standards
• Student Roles
• Considerations for where to house
• Sample Organizational Structures
• Opportunities for collaborating across campus

3. Staffing Standards
• 40 students: to 1 staff
• During BLP start up: clarify
roles of staff and appoint
director
• Bonner Director reports to
Senior Administrator
• Creatively leverage available
staffing (e.g., work study,
VISTAs placed with
partners)

4. Thoughts?
Dividing Staff Roles?

5. Student Roles
• Senior Intern(s)—training, site
liaison, administration
• Congress Representatives—two
student leaders with a big
idea project
• Bonner Leadership Team &
committees—class
meetings, projects,
community fund
• Bonner student liaison with
campus-wide student
leadership structure

6. Bonner Interns
Who?
• 1 - 4 motivated students, mostly rising Seniors or Juniors, who
serve in key program management roles
• Primary placement for 10 hours/week is with Bonner Program
• Have demonstrated and developed leadership qualities throughout
program (or on campus for new programs)
How to pick?
• Identify students who have strong understanding of
Bonner Program and/or how service is organized on your campus
• Groom students in junior year (or before)
• some Senior Interns start in the summer before their year
What they do?
• Coordinate the Bonner Leadership Team (students)
• Organize and help lead meetings, training, & enrichment activities
• Help manage service sites, serving as a liaison
• Help manage BWBRS
When and& Where?
• Senior Interns have track at Summer Leadership Institute
• Many also were Congress Reps or attend Congress

7. Bonner Interns
Training & Support
• Every summer and through
online connections
• intensive training
• program management
• how to lead your peers
• how to design and lead
workshops
• download and use the
Senior Intern Handbook

8. Bonner Congress
Who?
• Two motivated students who show leadership potential and a
desire to improve your program, school, and community
• Willing to communicate with peers, the Foundation, and other schools
• Will make a commitment above and beyond their regular service hours
How to pick?
• Educate yourself and prospective students on the role
• Work with students to identify idea for their Congress Proposal
• Create a process that includes student voice (voting,
presentations, nomination committee) and administrator input
What they do?
• Design & implement a plan for a big idea to build or strengthen
their Bonner Program, campus, or community
• Collaborate with other Reps and learn from other campus
programs
• Attend two meetings annually
When and Where?
• Online (emails, Bonner Congress Group,Wiki)
• Fall Meeting and track at Summer Leadership Institute

9. Bonner Congress - Big Idea Project
• Their role is to
Represent, Build, Lead
• They identify a
project for
strengthening:
• community impact
• student development
• campus-wide culture
• Start-up can be the
Big Idea project

10. Bonner Congress
Meetings
• Every fall and summer
• inspiring learning
• national networking
• connect with national and
international partners
• attend workshops
• engage in visioning, planning
and sharing best practices

11. When looking where
to house consider
• Access to resources
• Visibility and location
• Access to students
• Access and status with
faculty
• Institutional respect
• The potential for building
a culture of service

12. Some Governance Considerations
Strengths Concerns Other
Student Affairs
Fit with broader
departmental mission;
student-led programs; larger
scale
Fails to become integrated
at institution’s core; lack of
curricular change;
co-curricular devaluation
Many campuses have started
from this vantage point
Academic Affairs
May build around capacities
of faculty & students; with
care, meet more complex
community desires
Service can be episodic if
only tied to courses; lack of
student leadership; staff
driven
Having program under
Academic Affairs does not
guarantee curricular change
Student & Academic
Affairs
(separate but
coordinated)
Can provide a broader range
of student & faculty
involvement and types of
engagement
Lack of coordination can
lead to frustration; students
left to navigate options on
own
This strategy may be equally
effective; it largely depends
on leadership & resources
Integrated Center
(‘hub’ where curricular &
co-curricular are
combined)
Leverages resources &
change; curricular and
co-curricular; high potential
for campus-wide
institutionalization
Coordination and decision-
making may involve more
time & people; building but
no vision or plan
Many established campuses
seem to be moving here, but
it requires power
negotiations

13. Questions?
Considerations?

14. Sample of an Organizational Structure
Center Director
(manages Center & oversees Bonner Program)
VISTAs
(training, enrichment, community partnerships)
Other Center Staff
(manage other programs)
Senior Intern(s)
(training, enrichment, community partnerships)
Bonner Congress Reps
(Foundation link, student voice, special projects)
Bonner Student Leadership Team
(class reps, committees, community fund)
Site/Project Coordinators
(campus-wide volunteer management)
Bonner Coordinator
(manages Bonner Program)

15. Start-Up Model: Grow Over Time
- Bonner Program director may wear multiple hats
- Begin with 5-10 students (usually freshmen with some upper
class student leaders)
- Progressively add more students each year (by class)
- Link with campus-wide service programs from outset (for
events, projects)
Bonner Program Director
(manages Bonner Program)
Bonner Leaders
(5-10 students — 2 serve as Congress Reps)
Other Campus Faculty/Staff
(engaged in community service learning)
Student Service Programs
(campus-wide volunteer management)

16. Established Program:
Continues to Build Staff
Bonner Program Director
(overall management)
Bonner Scholars & Leaders
(20-100 students — 2 serve as Congress Reps)
Other Campus Faculty/Staff
(engaged in community service learning)
Center Director
(manages Center & oversees Bonner Program)
VISTAs in management roles
(training, enrichment, community partnerships)
Service Learning/CBR Staff
(supporting academically-based service)
Community Work-Study Programs
(i.e.,America Reads, 1-2 year commitments by student)
Site/Project Leaders
(for teams of students at 6-15 sites or clusters)
Other Student Service Projects/Clubs
(1x or occasional service projects)

17. Other Student Leadership Roles
Site or Issue
Team Leader
• Manage a team of students who work at same
service site or with a similar issue (i.e. homelessness)
• Issue-based research
• Help set goals and create long-range plans
• Recruit volunteers and coordinate projects
Class Reps
• Represent class on the Bonner Leadership Team
• Familiarity with the student development model
• Assist with cohort/class meetings (training,
reflection)
Committees
• Examples include:
★Bonner Love (community building)
★Community Fund
★Campus-wide Initiatives

18. Sample Campus: Rider University
Assistant Director of Campus
Life
(Annie Pasqua)
Urban Education Coordinator /
FT AmeriCorps Member
Coordinator of Community
House / House Director
(Jane Sanchez)
President
Bonner Senior Intern
Administrative
Assistant
(Vickie Mclaughlin)
Director of Campus Life
(Dave Keenan)
Site-Based
Team
Site-Based
Team
Site-Based
Team
Site-Based
Team
Site-Based
Team
Site-Based
Team
Site-Based
Team
Site-Based
Team
Site-Based
Team
Dean of Students
(Dr. Anthony Campbell)
Bonner Leadership Team
(2 Freshmen, 2 Sophomores, 2 Juniors, 2 Seniors)

19. Opportunities to Collaborate
Leverage the Bonner
Program to build
campus-wide
culture
Academic
Departments
CBR, PolicyOptions.org, courses,
minor, High-Impact Initiative
Chaplain/Religious
Life
vocation; advising; enrichment
workshops
Public Relations/IT
Department
media, news, website
Student Life/Affairs
Shared training; calendar; student
groups
Career Services
career advising, fairs, trainings,
nonprofit career exploration,
internships
Multicultural
Affairs
diversity, training, recruitment,
community relations
International
Affairs
study abroad, trips, internships
Admissions
recruitment, selection, diversity

20. Strategies for Collaboration?

21. • Access to and stated support of senior
leadership
• Financial support (i.e., work study, stipends)
for students to engage in service
• Visibility in online and written communications
(from recruiting to alumni news)
• Faculty engagement and curricular links
• Lived mission, strategic plans, and budget
that reflects community engagement priorities
Key Factors for Institutional Support

22. • Strategically build your team—starting with
students
• Creatively consider new programs—from more
Federal Work Study placements to partnering
with national organizations
• Integrate, integrate, integrate
• Communicate frequently, positively, and
strategically with those above you—manage
up
• Build a core constituency on and off campus
Recommendations for Building Support

23. What else?