Cal State L.A. Course Selected for Carnegie Political Engagement Project


Political Science faculty member Siegrun Freyss’ course, “Government and American Society,” at California State University, Los Angeles, has been chosen to participate in a new initiative by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to address the growing disengagement of young people from politics.

Twenty-one courses and programs were selected for inclusion in the Carnegie’s Political Engagement Project. Selection was based both on the general excellence of these efforts and on the desire to establish a set of courses and programs that represented a range of curricula approaches at different types of educational institution.

“Colleges and universities have great potential to shape the civic identities, values, and skills of young adults, but few take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen students’ political engagement,” said Carnegie President Lee S. Shulman. “Those efforts that are under way remain isolated from each other and little is known about their efforts.”

The three-year project will investigate what is working and will work with participants to investigate, document, and improve their programs. The result will be a better sense of how best to foster and assess key elements of political engagement. At the end of the project, Carnegie will publish recommendations and descriptions of exemplary approaches.

Funding for the project is provided by The Atlantic Philanthropies, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, the Ford Foundation, and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, as well as The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Elizabeth Beaumont, Anne Colby, and Thomas Ehrlich of the Carnegie Foundation head the project. More information on the project can be obtained through the Foundation’s Web site at <www.carnegiefoundation.org/PEP/>.

Dr. Siegrun F. Freyss, who received her Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate School, is an expert on public administration, especially human resource management, diversity management, labor relations, and management innovations. A second area of expertise deals with urban politics and governance. A third area of specialization covers the management of nonprofit organizations and third sector issues in general. She is active in the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) and also a consultant to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). She is the editor of the book, Human Resource Management in Local Government: An Essential Guide, published by the ICMA in 1999. Other research appeared in various academic journals and as book chapters. She is a resident of Los Angeles-90042. <http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sfreyss/sfreyss.htm>

Contact: Margie Yu, Public Affairs Specialist(323) 343-3047