Engaging Students: First In the Nation is an interdisciplinary collaboration between Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, and Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H., focused on educating and engaging students and the public regarding the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary during the 2008 presidential election cycle. This initiative will:

• Facilitate informed student engagement in the political process;
• Highlight unique characteristics of the presidential candidate selection processes of the nation’s caucuses and primaries;
• Provide venues for presidential candidates to discuss issues, addressing campus and local communities directly and the nation more broadly through the media;
• Host policy experts for in-depth analysis of issues of national interest, such as health care, the environment or national security.

A healthy democracy is dependent upon the legitimacy of its government, measured in part by levels of participation in the electoral process by an engaged and informed public. College-age citizens of the United States often fail to live up to that challenge. Most do not involve themselves in the local or national electoral process, suggesting they will also be less engaged later in life. Ideally, all voters choose candidates based on full knowledge of the issues at hand. Yet according to the Gallup Organization, in 2004 more than two-thirds of Democrats admitted to not paying close attention to their candidate’s choices. A survey that same year by the University of Michigan showed that persons between the ages of 18 and 29 scored significantly lower on a “political information” scale than did older Americans. As for participation, during the 2004 presidential election only 64 percent of voting age citizens went to the polls, with older Americans voting at a rate higher than younger Americans. The rate was only 47 percent for young adults between 18 and 24, the age category in which most college students fall.

America’s 2008 presidential election is fast approaching, and soon the nation’s eyes will be focused on the lead-up to the first-in-the-nation caucuses in Iowa and primary in New Hampshire. Wartburg College and Franklin Pierce University are therefore strategically located to capitalize on this attention to educate students and the general public about campaign issues and the distinct caucus and primary systems themselves, as well as provide unbiased venues for the candidates and recognized experts to participate in public discourse. The faculty and administrations of both institutions recognize tremendous educational and civic value in addressing these needs and have jointly developed a dynamic, interactive and analytical pilot project to do so.

Engaging Students: First In the Nation encompasses 10 distinct components as detailed below. They are designed to provide comprehensive and diverse opportunities for public scholarship among students, faculty, staff and the general public. The intended outcomes are to increase interest and informed student participation in the political process, to highlight distinctions and comparisons between the caucus and primary systems, and to provide venues for public deliberations on the issues facing our country and on the presidential candidates themselves. Media connections will play a key role in this project. Marlin Fitzwater, who served for six years as White House Press Secretary for presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, will be personally involved.

In addition, through the Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University; various campus, community and national media outlets; and the internet This initiative will reach and impact an audience much greater than the college and university campuses alone through the Fitzwater Center for Communication, various campus, community and national media outlets and the Internet.

Specific Programs:

I ES Scholars Program
A core group of 20 students (10 from each campus) will be designated as Engaging Students (ES) Scholars to serve as student leaders for the project.

II ES Summer Program
The 20 ES Scholars will enroll in a specially designed, four-week course taught by ES faculty and staff at both campuses during the summer of 2007.

III Common Reading Project
The two colleges will jointly identify one common reading relevant to the presidential election that all members of the college communities are asked to read. This will become a focal point for conversations throughout the year.

IV College Presidents and Marlin Fitzwater “Kick-Off” Events
Franklin Pierce University President George J. Hagerty, Wartburg College President Jack R. Ohle and Marlin Fitzwater will travel to both campuses for opening convocation ceremonies to launch this initiative.

V Course Offerings at Each Campus
Each campus will develop and offer new courses related to this project to be open to ES Scholars and other students alike during the fall of 2007.

VI Keep on Learning
The colleges will incorporate related topics in four community seminars, modeled after Wartburg’s popular “Keep on Learning” program.

VII Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary
The ES Scholars will travel to each campus to observe and participate in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary for a first-hand learning experience.

VIII National Conventions
Half of the ES Scholars from each campus will cover the Democratic National Convention and the other half will go to the Republican National Convention. They will provide live reporting on the conventions.

IX Issue Forums and/or Candidate Debates
Throughout the 2007-2008 academic year, each campus will host issue forums with expert panelists and/or presidential candidate debates. Details are to be determined.

X Media Connections
Throughout the project, media connections will be crucial. This will entail a freelance publicist for each campus, involvement from Marlin Fitzwater and the Fitzwater Center for Communication, and technology improvements to hook up with media outlets and provide a comprehensive internet portal.