Mission
The mission of the Jones Center for Leadership and Service is to engage students in transformational learning experiences that inspire a commitment to socially responsible leadership and service.
Vision
We envision a world where University of Tennessee-Knoxville graduates are prepared and empowered to be active change-makers who have the ability and responsibility to engage in leadership as a process, cultivate caring and just communities, and understand the interconnectedness of our society.
Our Beliefs
Beliefs about Leadership
- Leadership is a process. It is an on-going reflection on one’s experiences and learning to improve one’s leadership skills. As Volunteers, as we know better, we do better.
- Leadership is strengths-based and should reflect one’s commitment to growth. Leadership is about knowing your talents and how to use those to continually improve every day.
- Leadership is for everyone. Leadership is not positional or based on innate traits. Instead, leadership is a learned set of skills and competencies; anyone with effort and interest can learn how to be a leader.
Beliefs about Service
- Service is mutually beneficial, where the institution, students, and community partners all experience meaningful outcomes. It relies on an understanding of community needs identified by trusted organizations and partners.
- Service is an experiential learning process that requires intentional reflection. Meaningful service experiences connect us to a larger purpose and provide new perspectives on the interconnectedness of our world.
- Service requires humility. As Volunteers, it is our responsibility to understand and appreciate our collective humanity, respect the experiences and perspectives of others, and value the impact our community partners create every day.
Our Principles
Guiding Principles
- Students will engage in transformative, high-impact learning experiences while reflecting on their own past experiences to create new understanding of themselves and how they exist in the greater community.
- Students will become socially responsible leaders and active community members who are aware of their impact on others and their surroundings, leading and serving with ethical integrity, and focused on creating positive and sustainable social change.
- Guided by the spirit of the Torchbearer’s Creed, students will learn self-authorship and personal agency by articulating a sense of purpose and living in congruence with their goals and values.
- Students will learn to respect the lived experiences of others, learning to be open to multiple truths in times of disagreement, leaving space for grace and dignity while also recognizing and appreciating their own values and experiences.
- Students will engage in collaborative partnerships on campus and in the community, learning to be good stewards of our personal and fiscal resources, celebrating our collective strengths, and recognizing our shared responsibility to the betterment of our society.
Our Commitment
As we work to educate and engage all students to lead and serve in a global community, we are committed to providing experiences that are either free or at cost with scholarship options for all participants. As part of that commitment, we absorb most participant expenses for food, transportation, supplies, housing, etc. To provide leadership and service experiences for as many students as possible, we recover these costs for students who fail to attend by assessing a financial hold.
One Campus. One Community. Celebrate the Differences.
The Jones Center for Leadership and Service is dedicated to facilitating meaningful experiences that expose students to diverse cultures through community involvement in a broad array of activities that extend learning, foster leadership skills, and promote civic responsibility. We strive to promote a culture of inclusion and a community where diverse opinions, backgrounds, and practices have the opportunity to be voiced, heard, and respected. We are a welcoming, safe, affirming, and nurturing environment based upon cherishing the dignity of each individual. As an office, we celebrate individuals who represent different groups as defined by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, age, disability, national origin and religion.
We hope you will join us.
Learning Outcomes
Through participation and involvement in the Jones Center for Leadership and Service, students will be able to…
- recognize that considering perspectives other than their own will lead to better outcomes and relationships;
- reflect on experiences to learn and shape their future actions;
- recognize one’s own leadership style, beliefs, and values;
- explain the importance of voluntarily serving others to create and maintain a thriving community;
- identify strategies to work with others toward a common objective through the sharing of ideas and distribution of responsibilities across groups;
- Understand the importance of exposure to people of different backgrounds; identities, beliefs, or experiences and including them in communities, roles, and processes;
- effectively communicate verbally with others one on one and in groups;
- take responsibility for one’s own behavior by admitting mistakes, apologizing, rectifying the situation, and accepting the consequences of one’s actions.