“Building the Bonfire from Scratch” (UMBC News, 2023). “Thomas Locastro says David Hoffman, Ph.D. ’13, language, literacy, and culture, the director of UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life, was his biggest supporter in [initiating the Homecoming Bonfire]. Hoffman […] says, ‘The big lesson in Thomas’s story is that students really can bring their vision and talents to the collaborative work of making UMBC’s future bright.’”
“Why We Love It Here”(UMBC News, 2023). “Campus offices like the Center for Democracy and Civic Life work alongside students to engage the community and make a difference.”
“Orientation for ‘Gen P’”(Inside Higher Ed, 2023). “Take the University of Maryland Baltimore County, for example. One-day, on-campus orientation sessions held throughout the summer used to run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Now they run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. These shortened sessions prioritize community-building, including through an inclusive excellence workshop run by i3b (Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion and Belonging) and the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, called ‘I Am, We Are, I Will.’”
“Inaugural UMBC Paw Poll Reveals High Levels of Student Civic Engagement” (UMBC News, 2023). “The quest to understand student perspectives on civic engagement and to encourage greater levels of it continues among the Paw Poll partners. For example, David Hoffman, Ph.D. ’13, language, literacy, and culture, and the director of UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life, is working with intern Musa Jafri ’24, political science, and others to gain further insights that will inform future Center programming.”
2022
“Finding Joy in the Democratic Process” (UMBC News, 2022). “As exciting as [Election Night Extravaganza] is, it’s only one part of efforts put forth throughout the year by the Center for Democracy and Civic Life to engage students in the day-to-day processes of democratic involvement. Leading up to elections, students are encouraged to ‘cast your whole vote’—an idea from Henry David Thoreau’s essay on civil disobedience—to commit fully to building strong, inclusive, just communities in which everyone can thrive.”
“Voting is an Everyday Practice” (UMBC News, 2022, quoting David Hoffman). “One of the premises of Center for Democracy and Civic Life’s work is that democracy is not just a form of government, it’s not just politics and elections, it is a way of life that can be enacted in everyday settings. Ideally, people vote because they are so thoroughly engaged with the issues in their community and nation and understand them so well that voting is an obvious way to contribute. It’s one facet of how we shape our collective future, but far from the only one.”
“Exploring Pathways to Social Change” (UMBC Magazine, 2022, quoting Faith Davis). “The ASB program at UMBC is unique because the goal is not to find something to fill your spring break but to use your spring break as an introduction to how meaningful change is made in Baltimore City.”
“Co-Creating Our Campus”(The College Tour, 2022, quoting Kara Seidel ’18). “Students have quite literally shaped UMBC’s history, from the design of campus and how our pathways are literally paved based on where students walked to intellectually in how students dedicate and foster spaces for collaboration and democracy. We now have a Center for Democracy and [Civic] Life, created by UMBC staff who are also alum. The Center engages students from all major colleges on campus […] As a campus community, we center student voice in a way that empowers co-creation, from students all the way up through administration. And that’s one of the many reasons why I love it here.”
“Learning to Lead” (The College Tour, 2022, quoting Nailah-Benā Chambers ’23). “UMBC creates an environment where I can enhance my advocacy and leadership skills, both socially and academically. Our leadership programs such as [the] Center for Democracy and Civic Life help us as students in becoming stronger leaders, both on-campus and post-graduation. […] Leadership here can mean anything from learning how to have a hard conversation to volunteering in one’s community to instituting big changes here and beyond.”
“Maryland Political Map Ruling Sparks Conversations about Partisanship” (The Retriever, 2022). “‘[There is danger that people will lose faith in] the prospect that they will be treated fairly, that they will have an equal voice, that their elected leaders will focus on their interests and make their lives better,’ said [David] Hoffman. ‘So, anything that undermines people’s confidence in the fairness of the system is problematic.’”
“Stories Matter: My Alternative Spring Break 2022” (The Retriever, 2022, written by ASB 2022 participant Glynne Christine del Rosario.) “When people think of justice as working for a larger sense of belonging, giving suppressed stories a space to be told, we are able to create necessary change, to show how wellness for all members of a community, of a city, matters.”
“Building Community through Art in Baltimore and at UMBC” (The Retriever, 2022). ‘As students, it can be hard to hear that [college] isn’t ‘the real world’ and we are just passing through,’ said [Tess] McRae. ‘But we are literally here, and there are stories everywhere and people who want to matter and belong. […] Your contribution can help to shape our community.’”
“Academic Innovation and Transformation Monthly Update: January 2022” (American Association of State Colleges and Universities, 2022). “Our campuses must model for a society in turmoil what respectful disagreement, civil debate, and peaceful protest can look like. There are many AASCU members who are modeling the way. … The University of Maryland Baltimore County through its Center for Democracy and Civic Life fosters healthy civic relationships in the campus and community.”
2021
“Changing University Culture” (UMBC Magazine pg. 34, 2021, quoting Romy Hübler). “We are constantly making and co-creating UMBC. Students are not just customers floating through to get a degree, but we all have responsibility for our own community. And if we want to co-create our space, there are skills, knowledge, and dispositions that we need that are pretty much the same as what we need when we work with communities elsewhere.” In “Mutual Flourishing.”
“UMBC Together: Graduating Retrievers Reflect on Building Community Through Conversations” (UMBCNews, 2021). “[David] Hoffman shares that [Meghan] Lynch, [Brandon] Liu, and [Tirzah] Khan all ‘embody the idea that we can bring our whole, unique selves to the work of shaping our communities.’ He says, ‘Their contributions have helped make UMBC even more deeply and visibly what it has been all along: caring, inclusive, and engaged.’”
“UMBC’s Jordan Troutman to Continue Algorithmic Fairness Research as Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford” (UMBCNews, 2021). “Roles in SGA and participating in UMBC’s STRiVE student leadership retreat and Alternative Spring Break ‘helped me understand my own sense of agency and my ability to make an impact,’ Troutman says. He realized that solving massive, intimidating problems often starts with a single person, and says, ‘Learning that has just made me believe that I literally could do anything.’”
“Center for Democracy and Civic Life Debuts Retriever Tales Podcast” (The Retriever, 2021). “Driving the podcast is the Civic Life Maxim that ‘stories are everything.’ ‘They have the potential to connect the UMBC community, spark inner reflection and create a sense of belonging,’ continued [Romy] Hübler. … ‘There are a lot of good stories that not a lot of people have heard,’ said [David] Hoffman. ‘We want to find and tell them, to create a culture of sharing stories.’”
“Unsurprised but Appalled: UMBC’s Community Reacts to the Storming of The Capitol” (The Retriever, 2021). “‘UMBC is at the forefront of a national movement in higher education that aspires to build a thriving democracy through civic learning focused on critical thinking, imagination, courage, storytelling, and coalition-building strategies,’ said [David] Hoffman. ‘Conversations like this week’s Together Beyond program are sending ripples well beyond UMBC. We need more of them.’”
2020
“Then & Now: Electoral College” (UMBC Magazine pg. 62, 2020). “UMBC has since 2004 created a much more exciting and communal way to spend the evening [of Election Day]—an Election Night Extravaganza, to be precise—filling large sections of The Commons with balloons, streamers, and activities to celebrate democratic engagement. Thanks to COVID-19, this year’s celebration was reenvisioned via the online chat platform Discord, complete with chat rooms to match the communities found in the #skylight-room, #sports-zone, and other physical spaces everyone was missing this semester.”
“The Center for Democracy and Civic Life Urges Students to Cast Their Whole Vote” (The Retriever, 2020, quoting David Hoffman). “Build the community that you want to live in, talk to people in a way that builds strength over the long term. … Build coalitions around a common goal, not necessarily a common enemy: What is the society that we all want to be a part of?”
“Higher Education Should Lead the Efforts to Reverse Structural Racism” (The Atlantic, 2020). “A final imperative for universities is to do more to encourage our students of all backgrounds in the work of civic engagement and voting. … To foster civic action, [UMBC has] established a Center for Democracy and Civic Life, which provides programs and initiatives for students to establish civic purpose and find agency through actions that they take on campus or in the community.”
“Retrievers Focus on Community to Prepare for a Fall Semester Unlike Any Before” (UMBCNews, 2020). “Staff and students in the Center for Democracy and Civic Life (CDCL) have met regularly throughout the summer to plan meaningful events that will be held online during the fall. These include events related to the 2020 election and online Change Makers Dinners that will create space for community conversations among students and local leaders.”
“Community Minded” (UMBC Magazine pg. 8, 2020). “BreakingGround is another long-standing UMBC community engagement initiative with significant impacts, both on and off-campus, including environmental justice initiatives and work to improve Baltimore City’s aging water infrastructure. The work of BreakingGround now fits within UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life, launched in 2018.”
“Stories are Everything” (UMBC Magazine pg. 46, 2020, illustrated by Tess McRae). “In grade school, we learn about the importance of voting. At UMBC, we learn that civic life can really mean much more. It is a mindset, strengthened by places and relationships, to empower change at big and small levels. And the Civic Courage Journaling Project, launched last year by UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life, is helping students imagine exactly what that might mean on an individual basis.” In “There’s No Such Thing as Small Politics.”
“The Carnegie Foundation Honors UMBC as a Leading Community-Engaged Institution”(UMBCNews, 2020). “BreakingGround is one long-standing UMBC community engagement initiative with significant impacts, both on and off-campus. … Examples of projects funded by BreakingGround include environmental justice initiatives and work to improve Baltimore City’s aging water infrastructure. The work of BreakingGround now fits within UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life.”
“UMBC Faculty Member Heads National Collegiate Democracy Movement” (The Retriever, 2019). “While [David] Hoffman is proud of the Center’s work that catapulted him to this new position, he noted that it was built on a very strong foundation: ‘[The Center’s] ideas have become highly influential in the network because of the work of a lot of people at UMBC.’”
“UMBC’s Top 10 Highlights of 2018”(UMBCNews, 2019). “The center will help students develop knowledge, skills, and approaches for deep and effective community work, in collaboration with on- and off-campus partners.”
2018
“Engagement Centers”(UMBC Magazine pg. 7, 2018, quoting David Hoffman). “We can develop the knowledge, skills, and resourcefulness to work across differences and address challenges together, and to build thriving civic communities. UMBC is the perfect setting for that kind of learning, with so many people and programs already contributing to a vibrant civic culture.”
“The Great Leap Forward” (The Retriever, 2018). “Studies and other pieces of evidence suggest that UMBC is doing well and is improving as a university. The first piece of evidence is UMBC’s recently created Center for Democracy and Civic Life.”
“Staff Ed: Civic Participation Means Voting — And So Much More” (The Retriever, 2018). “The Center for Democracy and Civic Life is founded on the idea of helping students fully embrace that truth, ‘that sense of being a producer of UMBC and not just a consumer of it,’ [David] Hoffman explains. ‘And if you’re experiencing that every day, I think voting is something that you do very naturally rather than having to be persuaded.’ “
“Voting Does Not Make Democracy” (by Mariko Silver, Forbes, 2018). “Creating a college environment that is rich with practical democratic experiences is crucial to achieving the personal and social ends of a more robust democracy. This approach can be woven into the fabric of the college experience, from debate in the classroom to the physical design of dormitories.”
Awakening Democracy through Public Work: Pedagogies of Empowerment (by Harry C. Boyte, 2018, citing research by David Hoffman and describing UMBC as an institution that supports students as “artisans of possibility”). “One team of Jewish and Muslim students worked with the administration to bring kosher and halal options to the campus cafeteria. Others redesigned spaces to make them more public, reduced the school’s greenhouse gas emissions, encouraged healthy lifestyles, and sought to boost campus spirit.”
“Why Should College Students – or Anyone Else – Bother Voting?” (coauthored by David Hoffman and Romy Hübler; Forbes, 2018). “Voting is a demonstration of hope and faith that a better collective future is possible. It affirms the dream of a society governed wisely and justly by its members, without asserting that we live in such a society yet.”
“Non-Partisan Politics Pervade New SGA Event” (The Retriever, 2018, quoting Romy Hübler). “Oftentimes we look at UMBC as an institution — it’s a community. The media, higher education … they’ve all been telling undergrads that they need to be more knowledgeable when it comes to civic life and voting. Well, we all need to be more knowledgeable.”
Awakening Democracy through Public Work: Pedagogies of Empowerment (by Harry C. Boyte, 2018, citing research by David Hoffman and describing UMBC as an institution that supports students as “artisans of possibility”). “One team of Jewish and Muslim students worked with the administration to bring kosher and halal options to the campus cafeteria. Others redesigned spaces to make them more public, reduced the school’s greenhouse gas emissions, encouraged healthy lifestyles, and sought to boost campus spirit.”
Awakening Democracy through Public Work: Pedagogies of Empowerment