The Bonner Network Fall Meeting agenda included a series of exercises, reflections, and discussions aimed at assessing the impact of their work and strategies for future improvements in student leadership, education, training, and community partnerships. Participants shared successes and challenges faced since the pandemic, emphasizing the importance of community engagement, adaptability, and wellness initiatives. The meeting aimed to foster collaboration and gather ideas for strengthening programs in the upcoming year.

1. Tuesday, November 1st, 2022
Reset
Bonner Network Fall Meeting

2. Agenda
9:00am - 9:20am (20min) Opening Networking
Exercise
9:20am - 9:40am (20min) On the Continuum
Exercise
9:40am - 10:20am (40min) Where Are We Now
10:20am - 10:30am (10min) Takeaways

3. Session Goals
We will:
• re
fl
ect on the ways in which our work has made a
tangible impact in the lives of different stakeholders.
• review trends from the national Bonner Network on
key Bonner Program aspects.
• reconsider how we can shift our narratives and
amplify the impacts we have made.

4. Opening
Networking
Exercise

5. On the
Continuum
Exercise

6. Go towards your right side of the room if
you traveled more than 10 hours to get
here.
Go towards your left side if you traveled
less than 4 hours (all told) to get here.
Travel Time to Claggett

7. Go towards your right side of the room if
your institution has more than 6,000
undergraduates.
Go towards your left side if your institution
has fewer than 1,000 undergraduates.
Institutional Size

8. Go towards your right side of the room
if enrollment grew or is up for your
institution.
Go towards your left side if enrollment
is down or declined for your institution.
Enrollment Trend

9. Go towards your right side of the room
if your center has
fi
ve or more staff.
Go towards your left side if your center
has one staff (or you don’t have a
center).
Center Staff Size

10. Go towards your right side of the room if your institution
has a VP, Dean, or Assistant Dean level position for DEI
and a link of that person with your center.
Stay in the center if you have some staff but not a clear
link.
Go towards your left side if your institution does not
have a VP, Dean, or Assistant Dean level position for DEI.
DEI Connections

11. Go towards your right side of the room
if your institution’s student body is
predominantly of color.
Go towards your left side if your
student body is predominantly white.
Racial/Ethnic Diversity of Study Body

12. Go towards your right side of the room
if your institution’s student body has
more than 50% Pell Eligible students.
Go towards your left side if your
institutions’s student body is less than
25% Pell Eligible.
Economic Diversity of Institutions

13. Where Are
We Now?

14. Identify a challenge
and successful
practice in your
program around
student leadership.

15. Student Leadership Analysis
•Rebuilding expectations
after pandemic
•Accountability & buy-in
•Burnout & mental health
•Staff transitions
Themes from 2021-22 Bonner Leadership Team Annual Report Letters
Challenges
Successes
•Accomplishments and
resilience amid challenges
•Return to in-person service
•Rebuilding sense of
community
•Adaptation and creativity

16. Student Leadership:
Examples & Best Practices
• Rebuilding expectations and roles and persisting
through barriers (Carson-Newman University)
• Early burnout and Senior Intern developing new
trainings on self-care and wellness (Sewanee: The
University of the South)
• Staff transition and value of a student-led program
(High Point University)

17. Student Leadership:
Examples & Best Practices
•Issues maintaining attendance led to increased focus on
communication skills and outside of of
fi
ce hours support
•Rebuilding to sense of community and belonging
through meetings and BLT led activities (Macalester
College)
•Bonner cornerstone postponement leading to new
model of “Camp Appalachia” experience tied to faculty
engagement and an academic course (Siena College)

18. Student Leadership Reflections
This year served as one of slight
reinvention. Coming out of the pandemic gave us the
opportunity to looks and do things differently. What works? What
doesn’t? We were able to answer those questions and take stock of
where the Bonner Leader Program had been and what we wanted it to
look like moving forward. While this new way of being was
imperfect it was a breath of fresh air that the program
needed coming out of what has been
memorable years. (CSBSJU)

19. Bonner Leadership Team Analysis
•Average size of a Bonner Leadership Team is 8
students (with average size of a Bonner Program at 35-40
students).
•The largest size reported is 18 students (for
programs of roughly 100 students).
•20% BLT rule of thumb
•BLT Training = average 842 minutes | 14 hours |
~ 1 hour every 2 weeks (7 schools)*
From the 2021-22 Bonner Leadership Team Annual Report Letters

20. Bonner Leadership Team
High Point
University
50 Bonners
(2)

21. Bonner Leadership Team
University of
Houston
100 Bonners (7)
• 4 Senior Interns
• 1 Member
Engagement
Coordinator
• 7 Project Leads
& Executive
Teams

22. Bonner Leadership Team
(5-7)
(10-12)
Sewanee: The
University of
the South
40 Bonners
Site Leaders
at every
community
partner site

23. What is one idea or
strategy you can take
back to strengthen student
leadership within your
program in the next year?

24. Identify a challenge
and successful
practice in your
program around
education and
training.

25. Bonner Education & Training
Themes from 2021-22 Bonner Annual Report Letters & Check-In Calls
Successes
•Return to in-person
meetings
• Strong support for FY
cohort (Orientation +
meetings)
• Prioritized community
building and wellness
•Low morale & challenges
with in-person transition
(course-load, attendance)
•Limited staff capacity
•Fewer cornerstone activities
due to the pandemic (esp. FY
trip, Sophomore Exchange)
Challenges

26. Bonner Meetings:
Examples & Best Practices
• Created new student leadership positions to boost
morale & help with programming (Allegheny College,
Slippery Rock University - “Bonvos")
• Increased team-building & community-building
activities (Montclair State University, Siena College)
• Set-up informal advising meetings with assigned
program manager at least 2 times a semester (Brown
University)

27. Bonner Meetings:
Examples & Best Practices
• Piloted Bonner Program Coordinator Fellowship to
enhance meeting structure & programming (Averett
University)
• Staff collaborated with community partners in Summer
to develop a list of potential CB/capstone projects
(Lindsey Wilson College)
• Redesigned capstone building timeline to a 2-year
Capstone process (Carson-Newman University)

28. T&E: Highlights
•95% schools reported holding All Bonner Meetings
regularly
•71% schools reported Seniors completing Presentations of
Learning
•71% schools reported conducting In-Person Orientation
•83% schools reported designing Capacity-Building Projects
Total # of Capacity-Building Projects = 285

29. •Meetings around Bonner Common Commitments
•Self-Care & Wellness
•Current Issues: War, Human Traf
fi
cking, Immigration
•Awareness - Diverse Groups / History / Heritage
Month
•Green Dot Bystander Intervention Training
•Public Policy
All Bonner Meetings:
Frequently Discussed Topics

30. Cohort Meetings:
Frequently Discussed Topics
•Identify Circles / Privilege
•River Stories
•Asset Mapping
•Leadership Compass

31. T&E: Academic Integration
•26 Schools = Courses, other Academic Pathways
The major initiative that we did
make signi
fi
cant progress on was the
fi
rst-year
of teaching in our new Community and
Nonpro
fi
t Leadership major. We designed and
taught two new regular courses, three new
fi
eld/
internship courses, and graduated our
fi
rst
student. (Mars Hill University)

32. What is one idea or strategy you
can implement within the next
year to improve your goals for
training and enrichment within
your Bonner Program?

33. Identify a challenge and
successful practice in
your program around
community partnerships
and placements.

34. Community Partnerships
Themes from 2021-22 Annual Report Letters & Check-In Calls
Successes
• Return to in-person service
• Establishing new or bringing back
student leadership roles focused
on community partnerships
• Fostering new partnerships &
placements
• More than 50% schools reported
doing CB projects
• Partners’ capacity to manage
Bonner students
• Diminished connections and
relationships with partners
• Limited in-person service
opportunities
• Transportation to service sites
Challenges

35. Community Partnerships:
Examples & Best Practices
•Transportation issues led to developing a new community
partnership (Slippery Rock University)
•Return to in-person service increased accountability and
engagement (The College of New Jersey)
•Returned focus on developing community partnerships and re-
establishment of site coordinators (Allegheny College, Christopher
Newport University)
•Challenges re-connecting with partners led to developing
Community Partner Intern (Montclair State University)

36. Capacity-Building Projects
Academic Year 21-22 in Bonner Network = 285 Projects*
8%
12%
15%
20%
45%
Program Development
Research
Communications
Volunteer Management
Fundraising

37. Example: Capacity-Building Project
Example: Erin Spence’22, Siena College
Community Partner: Albany Victory Gardens
Faculty Mentor: Beverly Thompson, Sociology
Project Description: Participatory Action Research on the motivation
of urban farmers in the West Hill neighborhood of Albany, NY. The
student used PhotoVoice (combined photography and semi-structured
interviews) to gain a deeper understanding of community experiences.

38. Community Partnership Example
Data from the previous year demonstrated
students' longing desire for more direct contact
with partners and the local community. All Bonner
Scholars had the opportunity to serve in person this year, with virtual
service utilized for ef
fi
ciency and safety purposes as needed. As a
result, collectively the program completed twelve
thousand hours more compared to the previous
year when we were solely virtual. (TCNJ)

39. Given current realities and
challenges, what is one
approach or idea to reimagine
community partnerships and
projects in the coming year?

40. Takeaways