OVERVIEW
The CIC Leadership Institute (CIC-LI) was CIC2020′s first significant initiative to address the group’s mission. The program was first offered in 2006 and has evolved over the years to become what it is today: a four-credit course at Binghamton University known as the Proseminar in Civic Entrepreneurship.
2006 – Inaugural year: CIC-LI offered as 10 week non-credit program
2007 – CIC-LI offered as a four-credit course at Binghamton University
2008 – CIC-LI students present The Confluence Project
- Student leaders organize the 2008 Binghamton Blowout Block Party as a demonstration project
2009 – Course becomes known as the Proseminar in Civic Entrepreneurship
- Students research how to manage intellectual capital in order to create an environment that fosters innovation conceptualize and present The Partnership for Knowledge Entrepreneurship
2010 - Students expand upon previous years of research and present Leading from the Confluence
2011 - Students focus on how-to encourage student enterprise, leadership, and innovation in social, civic, and business sectors in the Southern Tier and present Catalysts for Enterprise Development at the Confluence
HISTORY
In the spring of 2005, Jason Bronowitz and Brian Ross met with Michael Fosbury, of the Broome Leadership Institute, to design a course that would expose students to the opportunities available in the Greater Binghamton region. Coined the CIC Leadership Institute, the class was launched in the spring of 2006 with funding raised through contributions from local businesses and Binghamton University’s Office of the Provost. The program’s unique format caters to CIC2020′s mission in multiple facets. Through weekly off-campus classes, the local community and business members have a chance to meet with students and share their views, while the students have the opportunity to learn from and form connections with the area’s leaders.
EVOLUTION
The inaugural class was a non-credit opportunity offered to 22 students from various academic backgrounds. Every week for four hours the group visited a different site in the community and learned about a specific aspect of the area through discussion with community leaders. By the spring of 2007, the CIC2020 directors expanded the breadth of the Leadership Institute, offering it as a four-credit course to a selective group of undergraduate and graduate students. In addition to the weekly trips into the community, it included a classroom component in which students met to reflect on their four hours of off-campus experiences and to discuss economic development principles with guest speakers.
TODAY
The course is currently named “Proseminar of Civic Entrepreneurship”, with the “CIC Leadership Institute” describing the outstanding group of students who complete the semester-long endeavor. The CIC2020 directors hope to continue administering this class annually, allowing more students to hone their leadership skills, learn about the community, and hopefully consider staying in the Binghamton area after graduation.
