New Andrew Young School Initiative Will Foster Civic Innovation and Action

ATLANTA—The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (AYS) is developing an interdisciplinary, experiential undergraduate initiative, the Social Action Alliance (SAA), designed to train future community leaders in public service, advocacy, philanthropy and civic engagement.

SAA will launch with a new perspectives course, Collective Social Action, spring semester 2022. It’s the first step towards a new certificate program in development and will be open to students across all Georgia State University campuses and majors.

The new program will lead with social action in classroom and field learning opportunities, focused on teaching students how to solve pressing public problems that require collaboration among the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Opportunities for scholarships, stipends and paid internships will be available.

Its curriculum and transformative field experiences will feature multidisciplinary faculty who will educate the next generation of social collaborators on how to produce meaningful impact through public service and continuous civic engagement, regardless of their degrees and career choices.

The Social Action Alliance was developed through a unique partnership with the Next Generation Service Corps, a national initiative led by the Volker Alliance and Arizona State University that seeks to strengthen American democracy by encouraging broad participation in public service, diverse leadership and constructive collaborations. NextGen Service member universities fill a critical educational gap by helping undergraduates develop the values, nimble thinking and collaborative leadership required to effectively serve. Georgia State is one of 10 universities selected as a NextGen Service member.

“As a NextGen member, Georgia State will help radically expand the reach of public service education by exposing undergraduates of all majors—rather than only those who state an interest in government or policy—to values that bolster public service and civic duty,” Dean Sally Wallace said. “This new program will inspire and prepare our students to better serve their communities and the nation.”

By the end of the program, Georgia State’s SAA student members will be able to effectively self-reflect and collaborate to address complex problems that are important in their communities.

“These future leaders are socially conscious, active collaborators who will learn how to better engage their personal and professional skills to impact social change,” said  Tammie Green, the SAA’s senior project manager. “I believe our students will be equipped with the best self-reflective and action- oriented tools to make a real difference in this complex world.”

For more information about the Social Action Alliance, please contact Tammie Green at [email protected].