Establishing an Ecosystem of Purpose

Most college campuses do not offer coordinated opportunities for students to engage in experiences that promote identity, agency, and purpose. Bucknell University proposes the development of a structured methodology that can be applied to any institution to identify and coordinate existing high-impact experiences, missing links between these experiences, and elements necessary to establish a true Ecosystem of Purpose. Building on existing literature and successes in the mapping of entrepreneurial ecosystems, we will generate

1) a graphical representation of purpose opportunities,

2) a determination of interconnectedness of components in terms of student participation, people, spaces, time, and other resources, and

3) a gap analysis to determine where resources should best be invested.

A missing component of similar mapping projects has been that they are from the perspective of those who have built and maintained them and are not from the perspective of those who navigate them — namely the students.

We will create and test a methodology across several institutions with a particular focus on elements of the ecosystem that spark a true sense of student purpose. We will additional create a set of purpose exercises (“Purpose Cards”) with which we will engage students in Community Dialogs and in Bucknell’s Residential College Foundation Seminar and Dinner Seminar programs.