Edward L Walker

Description:

The purpose of this class is to explore civic engagement in hope of inspiring students to become civic entrepreneurs themselves. We will survey the topics of Justice, Place, Transit, Entrepreneurship, Education, and Healthcare. We will analyze how each issue intersects with and influences the other to create community and place. Four classes will be devoted to each topic, each involving fieldtrips, guest speakers, and class discussions.

Texts/Readings:

The readings come from a variety of sources, including newspaper articles, periodicals, and scholarly journals, and are all included in a single course packet. 

Requirements:

Students will be assessed according to their performance in the following two categories:

Category 1: Class Participation; Attendance and Timeliness; Attention

Category 2: Essays, Semester project

Each category makes up fifty percent of the final semester grade.

About the Professor:

Raised in Three Rivers, Texas, Lee Walker graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Physics (class of 1963) graduating Phi Kappa Phi (top academic 5% of his class), receiving NASA and National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for his post graduate work in nuclear physics (theoretical cosmic ray research).  He was named Honorable Mention All Southwest Conference Basketball Team his senior year.  Lee received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1967.  He served as the President of Dell Computer Corporation through its formative years.  After leaving Dell in 1990 for health reasons, Lee was asked to teach at the University of Texas at Austin.  The success of his “Elements of Entrepreneurship” and “Not for Profit Excellence” courses in the Graduate School Business Management Department earned him best teaching award three times.  Lee teaches freshman courses “Pathways to Civic Engagement” and “Civic Perspectives” in the Plan II Honors Program.  The Austin Chamber of Commerce recognized Lee as their 1998 Austinite of the Year.  In 2000 Lee was a founder of Envision Central Texas.  In 2004, Lee received the Texas Nature Conservancy Lifetime Achievement award.  In 2006 Lee and his wife Jennifer Vickers received the AFP’s Outstanding Philanthropists of the year.

Lee lives in Austin with his wife Jennifer and their two daughters, Gabriella and Giulia.  In addition, Lee has two older daughters, Amanda and Suzanna Walker and a grandson, Sam, who also reside in Austin.

Description:

The purpose of this class is to explore civic engagement in hope of inspiring students to become civic entrepreneurs themselves. We will survey the topics of Justice, Place, Transit, Entrepreneurship, Education, and Healthcare. We will analyze how each issue intersects with and influences the other to create community and place. Four classes will be devoted to each topic, each involving fieldtrips, guest speakers, and class discussions.

Texts/Readings:

The readings come from a variety of sources, including newspaper articles, periodicals, and scholarly journals, and are all included in a single course packet. 

Requirements:

Students will be assessed according to their performance in the following two categories:

Category 1: Class Participation; Attendance and Timeliness; Attention

Category 2: Essays, Semester project

Each category makes up fifty percent of the final semester grade.

About the Professor:

Raised in Three Rivers, Texas, Lee Walker graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Physics (class of 1963) graduating Phi Kappa Phi (top academic 5% of his class), receiving NASA and National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for his post graduate work in nuclear physics (theoretical cosmic ray research).  He was named Honorable Mention All Southwest Conference Basketball Team his senior year.  Lee received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1967.  He served as the President of Dell Computer Corporation through its formative years.  After leaving Dell in 1990 for health reasons, Lee was asked to teach at the University of Texas at Austin.  The success of his “Elements of Entrepreneurship” and “Not for Profit Excellence” courses in the Graduate School Business Management Department earned him best teaching award three times.  Lee teaches freshman courses “Pathways to Civic Engagement” and “Civic Perspectives” in the Plan II Honors Program.  The Austin Chamber of Commerce recognized Lee as their 1998 Austinite of the Year.  In 2000 Lee was a founder of Envision Central Texas.  In 2004, Lee received the Texas Nature Conservancy Lifetime Achievement award.  In 2006 Lee and his wife Jennifer Vickers received the AFP’s Outstanding Philanthropists of the year.

Lee lives in Austin with his wife Jennifer and their two daughters, Gabriella and Giulia.  In addition, Lee has two older daughters, Amanda and Suzanna Walker and a grandson, Sam, who also reside in Austin.

CIVIC VIEWPOINTS

Description:

The purpose of this class is to define and explore civic engagement, with the intention of inspiring students to become civic entrepreneurs themselves in their respective areas of interest. We will survey the topics of Justice, Place, Transit, Entrepreneurship, Education, and Healthcare.

Readings:

The readings come from a variety of sources, including newspaper articles, periodicals, and scholarly journals, and are all included in a single course packet. 

Requirements:

Students are required to attend all seven class meetings and submit a short reflection paper in order to receive full credit.

About the Professor

Raised in Three Rivers, Texas, Lee Walker graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Physics (class of 1963) graduating Phi Kappa Phi (top academic 5% of his class), receiving NASA and National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for his post graduate work in nuclear physics (theoretical cosmic ray research).  He was named Honorable Mention All Southwest Conference Basketball Team his senior year.  Lee received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1967.  He served as the President of Dell Computer Corporation through its formative years.  After leaving Dell in 1990 for health reasons, Lee was asked to teach at the University of Texas at Austin.  The success of his “Elements of Entrepreneurship” and “Not for Profit Excellence” courses in the Graduate School Business Management Department earned him best teaching award three times.  Lee teaches a freshman course entitled “Pathways to Civic Engagement” in the Plan II Honors Program.  The Austin Chamber of Commerce recognized Lee as their 1998 Austinite of the Year.  In 2000 Lee was a founder of Envision Central Texas.  In 2004, Lee received the Texas Nature Conservancy Lifetime Achievement award.  In 2006 Lee and his wife Jennifer Vickers received the AFP’s Outstanding Philanthropists of the year.  Lee was elected as one of the 200 members of the Philosophical Society of Texas in 2005.  In 2005, The Lance Armstrong Foundation created The E. Lee Walker Imagination Award, an annual grant up to $500,000 to researchers in cancer survivorship.

Lee lives in Austin with his wife Jennifer and their two daughters, Gabriella and Giulia.  In addition, Lee has two older daughters, Amanda and Suzanna Walker and a grandson, Sam, who also reside in Austin.

TC 302: Pathways to Civic Engagement, Spring 2010
Professor Lee Walker
MW 9:30 am – 11 am, CRD 007a

Professor Lee Walker: lee@communityinvestments.org
Sarah AndesAshley Crooks, Teaching Assistant: sarah.andesCrooks.Ashley@gmail.com

Course Overview
The purpose of this class is to explore civic engagement, with the intention of inspiring students to become civic entrepreneurs themselves in their respective areas of interest.

Syllabus:
The course will be divided into six “quadrads” (so called because of the four class days devoted to each topic). We will explore each quadrad through various media, including pertinent readings (fiction, nonfiction, news publications, policy papers, etc.), individual research, guest speakers, and field trips. Each quadrad will culminate in a 3-page essay assignment and class discussion.  The course will close with group projects at the end the semester.

Course Website:
Most communication and pertinent postings will be done via Blackboard. Blackboard is at courses.utexas.edu. Students are responsible for checking Blackboard frequently for updates.

Morning Coffee Chats:  
In Order to get to know each student as much as possible, Professor Walker will meet with students individually throughout the semester.  These informal conversations are mandatory and considered a part of class participation.  Each student will have several meetings with professor walker by the end of the semester, to be held for 20 minutes each between 8:20 am and 9:20 am before class at J.P.’s Java, a coffee house located at 2803 San Jacinto Blvd.

Office hours:
AshleySarah will hold office hours on Wednesdays from 1:00-2:00 pm at Café Medici, at Guadalupe and 22nd. Please do not hesitate to schedule an appointment if this time is inconvenient for you.

Grading Policy:
Students will be gradeassessed according to their performance in the following two categories:
Category 1: Class Participation: ; Attendance and  Timeliness; Attention
Category 2: Essays, Semester project  
Each category makes up fifty percent of the final semester grade. The division corresponds to the two varieties of learning that students are hoped to ascertain from this course: the profit, rectitude, and methods of (1) individual and communal scholarship and (2) information analysis, imagination, and applied problem solving.

Class Participation:
Another goal of this course is to handle the topics productively and creatively, which can only be done if students come to class prepared for each day’s agenda. Readings should be completed prior to the first discussion day of each quadrad. Short reading quizzes will be administered via Blackboard and should be completed prior to the first day of each quadrad.  When class is held in a discussion environment, sStudents are expected to participate in athe dialogue after having thoughtfully completed the assigned material. During guest lectures or fieldtrips, students should come to class prepared with relevant questions to contribute to the class experience. Because only four days are devoted to each quadrad, adequate preparation and participation are vital to each topic’s development



Attendance/Punctuality:
Attendance for this class is required and will be recorded. Punctuality is imperative, particularly on a day of a field trip or guest speaker.  If a student plans to miss a class meeting, pleasecourteously inform AshleyProfessor Walker.  

Attention:
Students are expected to be in attention, show (or feign, if necessary) interest, and act respectfully (no private conversations, sleeping, or other misbehavior) during class. Professor Walker will not publicly criticize a student for lack of courtesy, but attitude and action are noted. Please silence cell phones during class. Laptops will not be needed for this course’s purposes and are considered a distraction from discussion. If a student is incapable of performing adequately for a class period, please refrain from attending.

Fieldtrips
The class will leave and return as a group from each fieldtrip. The group van will leave promptly at 9:30am and return by 10:45am. Students should meet at the entrance of Carothers several minutes early to avoid being left behind. Permission forms must be turned in by January 25th.

Speakers
Students will be given profiles of each speaker prior to the speaker’s class visit. Each speaker has been invited because he or she is a highly respected authority on his or her respective quadrad, and each has kindly accepted the request to share his or her perspective with the class. The speakers are a signature component of this course and are hoped to be stimulators of thought-provoking discussion. Students are expected to prepare for the speaker’s visit in order to participate in the question and answer session following the speaker’s lecture.

Thank you Notes:
Students will turn in hand-written thank you notes after each guest speaker’s visit. Notes should be written on appropriate stationary and presented in an un-sealed envelope. Each note should include in its message something that you learned from the speaker. Thank you notes will be read before they are sent off, and not for the sake of proofreading but for the assessment of each speaker’s success. The quality of the thank you note will contribute to grading be graded.  

Essays
For each quadrad, students will turn in a 3-page essay, due at the beginning of the class day after the 4th (and final) day of each quadrad. The essay prompts may range from personal essays and response papers to policy analysis and problem-solving. The essay topics are provided with each quadrad’s reading materials so that students may begin to formulate an essay response as each quadrad is introduced. Because essays are only 3 pages in length, it is suggested that studentsstudents should begin essays in advance so as to produce quality conciseness that fluently handles each topic, as well as to allow for thoughtful reading of the next quadrad’s materials.

Semester Group Projects:
Students will be expected to complete a semester group project and deliver a presentation during the last session of class.  A timeline for the semester project is included in the schedule.






Schedule


Wed. January 20      Welcome

Quadrad 1: Justice

Mon. January 25      Discussion: Readings

Wed. January 27      Field Trip: Austin Children’s Shelter

Mon. February 1      Guest Speaker: Mark Strama

Wed. February 3      Guest Speaker: Gary Priour
•    Sign up for quadrads of interest for semester projects


Quadrad 2: Place

Mon. February 8      Discussion: Readings
                Class Held in Harry Ransom Center
Meet at Carothers
•    ESSAY 1 DUE
•    Groups for semester projects distributed

Wed. February 10      Field Trip: “Around Austin” Tour

Mon. February 15      Guest Speaker: Will Wynn
2003-2009)
Wed. February 17      Guest Speaker: Jana McCann
•    Topics for Semester Projects Due


Quadrad 3: Entrepreneurship:

Mon. February 22      Discussion: Projects
•    ESSAY 2 DUE

Wed. February 24      Guest Speaker: Brian Sharples

Mon. March 1        Field Trip: Lance Armstrong Foundation

Wed. March 3          Discussion: Projects


Quadrad 4: Healthcare:

Mon. March 8         Guest Speaker: Charles Barnett
•    ESSAY 3 DUE

Wed. March 10          Field Trip: Seton Children’s Hospital
Leave Carothers at 9:10am

SPRING BREAK

Mon. March 22         Discussion: Readings

Wed. March 24         Discussion: Continued
                

Quadrad 5: Education:

Mon. March 29         Field Trip: Garza High School
•    ESSAY 4 DUE

Wed. March 31         Field Trip: Kipp Austin Prep

Mon. April 5        Guest Speaker: Jill Kolasinski

Wed. April 7         Discussion: Continued


Public Speaking Tutorial

Mon. April 12          Guest Speaker: Margaret Keys, Communication Specialist
•    ESSAY 5 DUE

Wed. April 14          Guest Speaker: Margaret Keys, Communication Specialist


Quadrad 6: Innovations: New and Old

Mon. April 19          Field Trip: Foundation Communities

Wed. April 21      Field Trip: Caritas

Mon. April 26          Speaker: Adam Dell

Wed. April 28          Discussion
•    Group project presentation PowerPoints should be emailed to Ashley before 5pm Sunday, May 2nd.  


Final Class Sessions:

Mon. May 3                        Presentation Day
•    Arrive at 9:15am. A reception will follow the presentations until 12:00pm.
•    ESSAY 6 DUE (there will be a drop-off folder at Presentation Day)

Wed. May 5            Final Class