Social Innovation Generation: Student Leadership Initiative (SIG:SLI) is part of California Campus Compact’s three-year initiative that is catalyzing and mobilizing colleges and universities to aid in the state’s recovery and renewal. SIG:SLI encourages and supports change-making student-led service and service-learning projects that will not only aid those hardest hit by California’s economic crisis, but also help California emerge from the crisis with a more innovative, green and sustainable economic future.

California Institute of Integral Studies. By identifying community trauma and developing methods to enable community-based
Cohort 4 organizations to work on healing and overcoming emotional and social challenges, the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) Student Leadership Initiative project has the potential to serve as an intervention and prevention tool for economic policy. By demonstrating and responding to community trauma, and through the relationships and collective identity of a community, non-profits will be better positioned to identify and advocate for holistic and integral public policy that allows individuals and organizations to work together. Clinical students will be developing and trained on reflective “community trauma” learning curricula to work with community based organizations. They will collaboratively develop a community workshop for these organizations and, ultimately, the curricula will be used to develop an on-going CIIS course.

Pitzer College.  The Social Innovation Project is a group of projects and activities developed by Pitzer College in response to requests by local tribal leaders to “help get our kids to college.” As part of tribal service learning partnerships, involving over 12 classes and scores of students, Pitzer has sought to establish a broad Native “pipeline” to college, which is a factor in promoting minority college matriculation and success.  Through participation in the proposed and ongoing Social Innovation Projects, a combination of diverse service-learning programs which include a conference, an Native open house at Pitzer, an Elder in Residence program, and other activities throughout the year, Pitzer students will be given opportunities to sustain important relationships with Tribal Nations, expand alliances and interaction with local Native American youth, create new programming, participate in teambuilding, plan events, facilitate agendas, learn intercultural skills, exercise leadership abilities, and assist in public education.

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California Campus Compact gratefully acknowledges the Corporation for National and Community Service, Learn and Serve America Higher Education for its significant support in making the Social Innovation Generation grant initiative possible.