Connected to community
The bottom floor of Nunemaker Center bustles with activity. Bags rustle, dishes clang, and shoes squeak as students weave in and out of Nunemaker’s downstairs kitchen. With determined expressions and armfuls of produce, these students are on a mission: to prepare a nutritious meal for under $20.
These students haven’t taken this challenge on a whim. Instead, it’s the culmination of a learning module on food insecurity, part of their seminar, “Connect, Learn, Act for a Common Cause.”
A staple of the University Honors Program, HNRS 195 — a seminar for students joining the program after one or more semesters at KU or another institution — has undergone a redesign that’s taking students into the community.
Though the goal of HNRS 195 has always been to provide a cohort of new-to-KU-Honors students with foundational experiences, program staff asked if there was more the seminar could provide.
“These students have likely already solidified some of their core college experiences,” says Thom Allen, associate director of the honors program and co-lead of the redesign initiative. “We wanted to figure out how to connect students with other parts of KU’s campus and the community they might not have otherwise.”
A model came from Common Cause, an annual symposium and series of service events that unite the honors community through an issue of shared concern. The program’s success since 2020 in cultivating student involvement inspired Allen and his co-lead, student experience coordinator Preston Braun.
“We got feedback from students which showed that, because they participated in Common Cause, they felt like they belonged in the program,” Braun says. “Knowing that, we hoped to use that model to help another group of students feel included.”
The two applied Common Cause’s “Connect, Learn, Act” framework to the 15-week course, with five three-week modules — one for each phase. That year’s Common Cause theme of human rights then led to relevant community partners, like Just Food, for each module.
Students initially connected with the pantry’s staff, then learned more about food insecurity in Lawrence and Douglas County through independent research. Finally, students acted by volunteering.
Another module levereged the program’s nature walk through Baker Wetlands, as well as KU’s landscape manager Joe Fearn, to inspire a campus green-space visioning exercise.
The spring 2024 pilot proved a success, and the format was scaled up to the four HNRS 195 sections offered that following fall, with each instructor responsible for designing a module.
“The faculty start to have these connections amongst each other because they’re working more collaboratively,” says Allen. “This builds in a more interdisciplinary approach.”
Allen and Braun are, in their own ways, builders. While Allen, who is a professor of practice in the urban planning program, focuses on sustainability, Braun’s expertise lies in course design. Both brought their professional perspectives as they evaluated and launched this new direction for HNRS 195.
“Tom really brought his creative, community-based partnership experience,” says Braun, “where I brought a lot of the structure.”
Whether in the wetlands or the pantry, the classroom or the kitchen, the concept of community has broadened for HNRS 195 students — one of Braun’s favorite outcomes.
“I have a really deep, passionate love for KU and for Lawrence and Douglas County,” says Braun, “so it’s been nice to have students see where we are as more than just campus.”