FAMU Partners with The Citizens Campaign to Establish Citizen Leadership Training Base

Submitted by FAMU Public Relations

Florida A&M University (FAMU) and The Citizens Campaign today announced the establishment of a Citizen Leadership Training Base designed to train students and members of the community in no-blame, pragmatic problem-solving skills and provide opportunities for them to put their training to use as “citizen leaders” working to better their communities and our country. FAMU is one of 25 colleges around the nation where model Citizen Leadership Training Bases are first being developed in partnership with The Citizens Campaign.

The FAMU Citizen Leadership Training Base will have two core components: (1) offering citizen leadership training to students and the broader community via the college’s online continuing education program; and (2) hosting a Civic Trust where those who have completed the citizen leadership training work together in No-Blame Problem Solving sessions to better their communities by searching for and advancing cost-effective, evidence-based solutions.

People who complete the online course will receive a certificate in “Leadership and No Blame Problem Solving issued by FAMU. The course is now open to students, community members and university employees. Those interested can register at https://training.thecitizenscampaign.org/courses/famu-leadership-no-blame

“We know our students and the public at large are committed to improving Tallahassee, the surrounding communities and the nation as a whole. It is part of our mission to give them the skills and knowledge to do so,” said Phyllis Watson, director of Continuing Education at FAMU. “Partnering with The Citizens Campaign in establishing a Citizen Leadership Training Base at FAMU will help us fulfill this critical mission. It will empower our students and interested members of the public to be effective, active leaders contributing to the betterment of their communities and our country.”

This initiative will make a difference locally and nationally, said Michelle Curry, The Citizens Campaign’s Civic Trust manager.

“The work done here at Florida A&M University will help create a national model for the development of citizen leaders whose example of unselfish service and No-Blame Problem Solving can bridge our divides and heal our nation,” said Curry, a FAMU alumnus.

The core components of the Citizen Leadership Center are elaborated upon briefly below:

• Leadership and no blame problem-solvingtraining provided to students and community members in an online certificate-earning course:  “Leadership and No-Blame Problem Solving introduces students and members of the broader community to the power levers of local government, a proven No-Blame Problem Solving method developed by ‘successful practitioners’ in local and state government, and accessible opportunities  to put this knowledge to work as non-partisan Civic Trustees or in accessible local government and civic leadership posts.

Hosting the Tallahassee Civic Trust:

Florida A&M University will serve as the host of the Tallahassee Civic Trust, to be comprised of about 24 Civic Trustees, who come together in monthly no-blame problem solving sessions, searching the nation to identify successful solutions to better Tallahassee. People who complete the Leadership and No Blame problem solving course will have the opportunity to become trustees. Trustees.  `commit to at least one year of service and pledge to work to “leave their city better than they found it.”

About Florida A&M University and The Citizens Campaign

Florida A&M University (FAMU), founded in 1887, is a public, historically Black university located in Tallahassee, Florida. What distinguishes FAMU from other universities is its legacy of providing access to a high-quality, affordable education with programs and services that guide students toward successfully achieving their dreams. FAMU is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

 The Citizens Campaign is a community of problem-solvers dedicated to restoring service, mutual respect and pragmatism to America’s political culture by establishing a new, citizen-driven national public service based at colleges throughout the nation. It designed all aspects of the Leadership and No-Blame problem solving training, including toolkits for professors, online videos, and drop-down course notes. The course text is Citizen Power authored by Harry Pozycki and published by Rutgers Press.