Fulfilling the mission of Colleges and Universities today calls upon the creation and strengthening of a community of learners dedicated to teaching and scholarship. Encouraging the development and application of knowledge and ideas through research and outreach activities is key to the mission and supports the preparation of students to be thoughtful, responsible and successful citizens capable of making a contribution to the college or university’s community as well as the neighboring community and beyond.

“Community” is a key concept essential to the goal of a University. A sense of community aids student retention and conveys values and ethics that inform and guide expectations for student behavior and academic achievement. Colleges and universities can now have an opportunity to strengthen their own sense of community and, through scholarship, research and civic engagement, contribute to the surrounding communities, the state, nation and world. This can be accomplished through the creation of an Institute for the Study and Advancement of Youth and Community Development through Rites of Passage®. Below we have spelled out the rationale for such an Institute and outlined an agenda for its first year of operation.

Rationale for an Institute
The future of higher education in America is dependent upon its ability to meet the challenges of today’s world. The changing demographics and economic turmoil will present new challenges and opportunities. These include baby boomers coming into the age of anticipated retirement facing uncertain economic resources, a growing unemployed and underemployment trend and military personnel in need of a more adequate reentry and transition back into civilian life. Along with these changes are first year college students needing additional supports to successfully complete their degrees. Youth and community development strategies that employ rites of passage are perfectly situated to help with these adult and elder states of transition and the challenges of first year college students.

To respond to those changes and increased demands placed on institutions of higher education we propose an Institute for the Study and Advancement of Youth and Community Development Through Rites of Passage® (The Institute®). The Institute will focus on service to others and support the creation of a new infrastructure for youth and community development that has significant potential to increase student retention, promote civic engagement and stimulate economic energy for the university as well as the surrounding communities.

Among its many roles, College is a place for students to come of age, a place for rites of passage. While we acknowledge this to be true, as many have done, rarely do we intentionally capitalize on the natural power of college as a place of rites of passage to positively affect students and the rest of the college community.
 A new infrastructure for human development involves transforming institutions, including institutions of higher education, into places of initiation for supporting a large portion of the population undergoing transition. New terminology will have to be crafted to adequately define and operationalize what rites of passage are and how they can positively impact youth and community development outcomes.

New terminology and language could result in institutions of higher learning supporting a Center for Civic Engagement® project. This would include a formalized sequence of education engaging adult participation in the initiatory experience to facilitate their remaking and integrate them into a Smart Age (Smart-Age®). This new Smart-Age supports and augments existing institutional goals and intentionally engages youth and community development through rites of passage. It would also enhance a First Year Experience program, strengthening student capacity and their commitment to higher education, increasing retention and impacting the climate of the university community.

Possibilities for the Structure and Function of The Institute

The Institute would be organizationally situated and affiliated academically with the college or university community. The mission of The Institute is to convene diverse groups of constituencies including academicians and practitioners, youth and adults, philanthropic organizations, policy makers, and citizens, in research and conversations that explore the historical evidence and contemporary forms of rites of passage. The purpose is to increase knowledge of rites of passage for more effective human development across the life cycle, strengthen student capacity and commitment to successfully engage in and complete college and civic engagement that promotes healthy community development.

The Institute would bring together people from within and outside the University to advance their knowledge about rites of passage and bring it into service for multiple constituencies already mentioned. The Institute would be at the cutting edge of developing knowledge that would be put into practice in multiple environments for the benefit of the University, surrounding communities, and beyond.

During the first year of start-up, The Institute could be involved in the following series of activities that would provide a foundation for advancing the mission of The Institute.

Year #1
Identify and convene an advisory board comprised of scholars and practitioners related to the fields of youth and community development, developmental psychology, education and other disciplines interested and aligned with the mission of The Institute.

• Establish a knowledge base – Compile and summarize existing scientific literature on Rites of Passage; survey and identify programs that use the label, Rites of Passage. This might include copies of materials from the Human Relations Area Files at Yale University. It would also include a list of all relevant websites and course syllabi that pertain to Rites of Passage.
  
  
• Build awareness of rites of passage on (and off) campus – This would include one or more conferences bringing key practitioners/experts to campus as well as conducting a series of meetings with key faculty in education, psychology, sociology, counseling, etc., to: (1) explain rites of passage concepts; (2) integrate concepts with theoretical models that faculty currently use from developmental psychology, educational leadership, etc.; (3) discuss possible field applications; and (4) University community conversations on how this content material might be integrated into existing coursework. If done well, this might evolve into an ongoing “rite of passage users group” where faculty and possibly graduate students in psychology, educations leadership, etc. could regularly meet to advance knowledge and application strategies for the University and beyond.
  
  
• Publish at least one conceptually-based article in a professional journal regarding rites of passage and disseminate knowledge for increased public conversations to stimulate community engagement of youth and community development through rites of passage.
  
  
• Develop and teach one or more courses in youth and community development through rites of passage through and appropriate academic department (Psychology, Sociology, etc.). This would serve as part of a First Year Experience prototype: prepare students to assist with retention, and positively impact the University climate and civic engagement through the establishment of test sites for examining the impact of a Rite of Passage Experience® (ROPE®) youth and community development strategy. While it may not be financially feasible to do a full-blown evaluation of ROPE®, it may be possible to identify evaluation strategies and tools that capture the application of a new paradigm as well as identify school/community test sites.
  
  
• Examine how the actions proposed above could be maximally integrated into the long-term strategic plan of the University.
  
  
• Identify a broad resource base of funding and human capital to advance the Mission of The Institute and begin fundraising efforts.
  
  
• Identify one or more community-based agencies, in partnership with public and/or private secondary schools, to help those schools advance community-based rites of passage. College students would serve as Mentors and help support the implementation of youth development activities through rites of passage.
  
  
• The full range of first year activities would be refined by a core group of the Advisory Board.

Starting a New Initiative in a Time of Financial Crisis
One could rightly question the wisdom of moving in a new direction during these dire financial times. With campuses across America struggling to meet their obligations to students, staff and the community with reduced resources, starting this proposed Institute might seem like total folly. We believe it is not.

The current economic situation requires colleges and universities to rethink their future direction and how they can achieve their mission in a cost effective way. We believe the mission and goals of The Institute are entirely consistent with advancing colleges and universities to meet the challenges of today, and can actually help them reach their strategic objectives more efficiently. We also believe The Institute opens new avenues for engaging with the community and providing opportunities for students to serve in the community.

Presented by:
David G. Blumenkrantz, Ph.D., M.Ed.
Executive Director

Marc B. Goldstein, Ph.D.
Vice-President

The Center for the Advancement of Youth, Family & Community Services, Inc.

For more information, please contact TheCenter@rope.org or visit www.rope.org.

Copyright © 2009 The Center for the Advancement of Youth, Family & Community Services, Inc. All rights reserved. For permission to distribute copies of this article in any form, please contact us at TheCenter@rope.org.