Bonner Center for Community-Engaged Learning, Teaching, and Research

Mission

The Bonner Center is Oberlin’s hub for connecting the classroom to communities engaged in social change and public service. We support students, faculty, and staff to partner with organizations, both local and global, on projects of mutual interest that serve the public good. Our partners include nonprofit, public sector, and non-governmental organizations in a range of fields, from the arts and public humanities to food and nutrition security, education, environmental sustainability, global health, and more.

Aligning community-identified needs and interests with student and faculty learning goals, our opportunities include off-campus employment, internships, winter term projects, and community-based research. Our namesake program, Oberlin’s Bonner Scholars, is a highly selective service scholarship, but the Bonner Center serves all students, faculty, and staff.

Programming

Each year, our students collectively work around 20,000 hours of community service in Oberlin! Nonprofits in town can request that college students work with them as one-time volunteers for special events or as long-term, consistent helpers. Having students volunteer with you can be a great way to alleviate some of the workload from your staff. Students are helpful in many ways, including: task completion, administration tasks, brainstorming, outreach support, tech support, and more. If you are interested in having students volunteer with your organization, please email mbrito@oberlin.edu.