The latest issue of the eJournal of Public Affairs features an article co-authored by the Center for Democracy and Civic Life’s Romy Hübler and David Hoffman. Tools for Living Democracy: Putting the CLDE Theory of Change into Practice tells the story of national innovations in civic learning and democratic engagement that have been informed and inspired by work at UMBC.

The practices described in the article “challenge the ideas that students are mere spectators and consumers of public life and that institutions are static. Instead, these alternative practices prepare students to be empowered contributors in all of their communities, including their higher education institutions, neighborhoods, and places of work.”

The article describes the unconventional approach to civic learning and democratic engagement Romy, David, and Craig Berger (former UMBC Coordinator for Campus and Civic Engagement) incubated at UMBC: “With support from UMBC’s senior administrative leadership, the three of them had worked with students, faculty, and staff colleagues to develop and lead BreakingGround, an initiative that used grants funded by the Provost’s Office to support the creation of innovative courses and community programs. The philosophy of civic engagement embodied in this approach located democracy and community in everyday settings, not only in government, elections, and off-campus service projects.”