2025-2026 Learning in Community (LinC) Workshops

Foundations of Community Engagement is an interactive workshop that introduces principles and practices of equitable, ethical community engagement. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of what the term “community engagement” means, as well as the many forms it might take - from research and course-based projects to philanthropy, activism, policy, and direct service. Across all these forms of engagement, participants will learn concepts and actions that promote equitable partnerships, center community-defined priorities, and disrupt entrenched power dynamics between universities and community members. Participants will also discuss real-world community engagement scenarios that ask them to apply what they’ve learned in the workshop to various situations.

**This workshop is an updated version of Ginsberg’s long-standing Entering, Engaging, and Exiting (E3) session. If you’ve attended that session in the past, you’ll gain additional knowledge from this session.**

Foundations of Community Engagement is an interactive workshop that introduces principles and practices of equitable, ethical community engagement. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of what the term “community engagement” means, as well as the many forms it might take - from research and course-based projects to philanthropy, activism, policy, and direct service. Across all these forms of engagement, participants will learn concepts and actions that promote equitable partnerships, center community-defined priorities, and disrupt entrenched power dynamics between universities and community members. Participants will also discuss real-world community engagement scenarios that ask them to apply what they’ve learned in the workshop to various situations.

**This workshop is an updated version of Ginsberg’s long-standing Entering, Engaging, and Exiting (E3) session. If you’ve attended that session in the past, you’ll gain additional knowledge from this session.**

Foundations of Community Engagement is an interactive workshop that introduces principles and practices of equitable, ethical community engagement. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of what the term “community engagement” means, as well as the many forms it might take - from research and course-based projects to philanthropy, activism, policy, and direct service. Across all these forms of engagement, participants will learn concepts and actions that promote equitable partnerships, center community-defined priorities, and disrupt entrenched power dynamics between universities and community members. Participants will also discuss real-world community engagement scenarios that ask them to apply what they’ve learned in the workshop to various situations.

**This workshop is an updated version of Ginsberg’s long-standing Entering, Engaging, and Exiting (E3) session. If you’ve attended that session in the past, you’ll gain additional knowledge from this session.**

Are you passionate about social justice, advocacy, or service and trying to determine your next steps at UM or beyond? Interested in pursuing a career that allows you to enact positive social change? Join us for our Learning in Community workshop focused on “Pathways.” 

“The Pathways to Civic Engagement and Community Change” is a framework that describes a range of possibilities by which you can exercise your own power to create a better world, including direct service, community organizing, policy-making, community-engaged research, social entrepreneurialism, and philanthropy. These pathways intersect and overlap, demonstrating the interdependent nature of working toward the common good. At the end of this workshop you’ll be better able to assess what kinds of opportunities are the best match with your personality, talents, and passions. Whether you are considering what extracurriculars to get involved with, or making choices about graduate school and careers, the Pathways workshop can help guide you the next steps in your social justice journey. 

• For students who are:

• Beginning to explore ways to engage with communities

• Making decisions about what classes to take

• Trying to choose extracurricular activities 

• Interested in pursuing a career in community engagement or social impact

Foundations of Community Engagement is an interactive workshop that introduces principles and practices of equitable, ethical community engagement. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of what the term “community engagement” means, as well as the many forms it might take - from research and course-based projects to philanthropy, activism, policy, and direct service. Across all these forms of engagement, participants will learn concepts and actions that promote equitable partnerships, center community-defined priorities, and disrupt entrenched power dynamics between universities and community members. Participants will also discuss real-world community engagement scenarios that ask them to apply what they’ve learned in the workshop to various situations.

**This workshop is an updated version of Ginsberg’s long-standing Entering, Engaging, and Exiting (E3) session. If you’ve attended that session in the past, you’ll gain additional knowledge from this session.**

An advanced discussion of how to prepare for, conduct, and wrap up interviews/qualitative data gathering. In this session, staff from U-M’s Ginsberg Center will share methods for skills in appreciative interviewing, an approach to interviewing that emphasizes interviewee expertise and encourages interviewers to guard against deficit-based thinking. Throughout the session, we’ll model discussions and activities from Ginsberg Center that you can use to prepare  for interviewing; in the process, you’ll have the opportunity to practice skills that will strengthen your own communication be it in office hours, classroom instruction, supervision, or other contexts.

Foundations of Community Engagement is an interactive workshop that introduces principles and practices of equitable, ethical community engagement. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of what the term “community engagement” means, as well as the many forms it might take - from research and course-based projects to philanthropy, activism, policy, and direct service. Across all these forms of engagement, participants will learn concepts and actions that promote equitable partnerships, center community-defined priorities, and disrupt entrenched power dynamics between universities and community members. Participants will also discuss real-world community engagement scenarios that ask them to apply what they’ve learned in the workshop to various situations.

**This workshop is an updated version of Ginsberg’s long-standing Entering, Engaging, and Exiting (E3) session. If you’ve attended that session in the past, you’ll gain additional knowledge from this session.**

This workshop is an introduction to Washtenaw County community engagement for U-M students. Do you want to help make your community a better place, but you’re not sure how? Do you envision your college career including volunteering, organizing, philanthropy, service projects or other community change work? Join the Ginsberg Center for a workshop to help you understand the communities beyond U-M’s campus and the different steps you can take to become a true change-maker. Whether you’re a townie or a newcomer to Michigan, this workshop can help you look at your community from a new angle. 

• For students who are:

• New to the University of Michigan

• Interested in making a difference as a college student

• Exploring ways to engage with communities

An important goal of community-engaged learning experiences is for students to have a positive, humanizing, and sustainable impact on the communities they work with. Students reaching the end of a community-engaged course or service project should prepare to exit a community with these goals in mind. In this interactive session, students will explore what it means to exit a project sustainably; discuss the outputs, outcomes, and impacts of their project; identify important questions to ask their community partners in preparation for exiting a project; and discuss and work on their exit plan.

Who makes the every day policy decisions that shape your local community? What options do you have to influence your local elected representatives? In this session, you'll get to know how local government works in Washtenaw County, home to over 28 cities and townships including Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. From Sheriff to Water Resources Commissioner, you'll learn about each elected offices’ responsibilities, importance, and reason for being an elected office. Participants will leave with an understanding of the structure of local governance in Washtenaw County, and skills you can use to interact with any local government. Whether you're new to U-M or looking to get involved in local decision-making, this session is for you!

For participants who are:

• New to University of Michigan and/or Washtenaw County

• Interested in deepening civic engagement

• Voters seeking applicable knowledge 

• Interested in continued learning about Washtenaw County

Foundations of Community Engagement is an interactive workshop that introduces principles and practices of equitable, ethical community engagement. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of what the term “community engagement” means, as well as the many forms it might take - from research and course-based projects to philanthropy, activism, policy, and direct service. Across all these forms of engagement, participants will learn concepts and actions that promote equitable partnerships, center community-defined priorities, and disrupt entrenched power dynamics between universities and community members. Participants will also discuss real-world community engagement scenarios that ask them to apply what they’ve learned in the workshop to various situations.

**This workshop is an updated version of Ginsberg’s long-standing Entering, Engaging, and Exiting (E3) session. If you’ve attended that session in the past, you’ll gain additional knowledge from this session.**

Are you passionate about social justice, advocacy, or service and trying to determine your next steps at UM or beyond? Interested in pursuing a career that allows you to enact positive social change? Join us for our Learning in Community workshop focused on “Pathways.” 

“The Pathways to Civic Engagement and Community Change” is a framework that describes a range of possibilities by which you can exercise your own power to create a better world, including direct service, community organizing, policy-making, community-engaged research, social entrepreneurialism, and philanthropy. These pathways intersect and overlap, demonstrating the interdependent nature of working toward the common good. At the end of this workshop you’ll be better able to assess what kinds of opportunities are the best match with your personality, talents, and passions. Whether you are considering what extracurriculars to get involved with, or making choices about graduate school and careers, the Pathways workshop can help guide you the next steps in your social justice journey. 

• For students who are:

• Beginning to explore ways to engage with communities

• Making decisions about what classes to take

• Trying to choose extracurricular activities 

• Interested in pursuing a career in community engagement or social impact

Foundations of Community Engagement is an interactive workshop that introduces principles and practices of equitable, ethical community engagement. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of what the term “community engagement” means, as well as the many forms it might take - from research and course-based projects to philanthropy, activism, policy, and direct service. Across all these forms of engagement, participants will learn concepts and actions that promote equitable partnerships, center community-defined priorities, and disrupt entrenched power dynamics between universities and community members. Participants will also discuss real-world community engagement scenarios that ask them to apply what they’ve learned in the workshop to various situations.

**This workshop is an updated version of Ginsberg’s long-standing Entering, Engaging, and Exiting (E3) session. If you’ve attended that session in the past, you’ll gain additional knowledge from this session.**

Are you planning or participating in an alternative break program? Trip-based service experiences can be transformative for students and a crucial component of sustainability for community-based organizations that rely on volunteers to advance their mission. Join the Ginsberg Center for a workshop that covers everything you need to know to get the most from your alternative break experience. From the nuts and bolts of planning and preparing, to the big-picture questions of how to engage ethically and equitably with the communities you serve, this workshop is for you – whether you are leading a trip, participating in a trip, or thinking about whether to get involved with a trip-based service experience in the future. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how to make these trips successful, and the university resources available to help you get there (literally and figuratively). 

• For students who are:

• Part of a class or organization that is planning a trip-based service activity or similar “alternative break” experience 

• Looking for activities to do when classes are not in session (e.g. winter, spring, and summer breaks)

• Exploring ways to engage with communities 

• Trying to choose extracurricular activities