Thoughts from the Heads of the APEX Hubs:

It’s been roughly seven months since the start of the school year and the implementation of APEX. Seeing as the school year is about halfway through, what better time than now to check in with the heads of some Hubs and see how it’s going? I interviewed the heads of three Hubs to discuss what their Hub is and their successes and challenges, as well as what the school can do to continue to support their Hub.
Dr. Anthony Nadler, Professor of Media and Communication Studies
Alex Zelaya: “How would you describe what your Hub is and does?”
Anthony Nadler: “The APEX Hub that I’m the director of right now is called Building a Humane Digital World. Our mission is to help Ursinus students and community members at large—including staff and faculty—become leaders who are thinking about, ‘How do we take the potentials of technology and channel them towards ways that contribute to human flourishing and satisfying social relationships, while being aware of how technology can potentially be harmful to the way we live?’ One way I describe this is, from the 90s to the late 2010s, there was a time of great technological optimism. There was a sense that there is a competitive market that is driving the creation of these products, that what people like and enjoy will thrive in that market. The market itself will sort out what technologies we want and what will benefit society. I think, starting in what became known as the ‘techlash,’ a lot of people across society, including people in the tech sector, began to question that. They felt like, ‘Hey, technology like mobile devices is making us feel less present. We are losing some of the habits that let us form deep connections with others, among other concerns.’ The Hub is about trying to help people think about how technology can be appropriately used in ways that don’t contribute to those problems and help us flourish.”
AZ: “Have there been any successes and/or challenges that your Hub has faced that you’d like to highlight?”
AN: “Definitely a range of both. This is the first year of the Hubs, so they’re definitely experiments. We’re still trying to figure out, ‘What does it mean to be a Hub?’ Most of what the Humane Digital World Hub has been doing… is focusing on putting on events that are especially geared for first years who are connected to the Hubs… I would like to see us build more student fellows programs, or ongoing research projects where faculty and students, maybe staff, are all working on public facing projects that are tackling these kinds of issues with tech… We have not gotten much off the ground on the starting sustained project side. I’m not terribly worried that we haven’t done that yet, but that’s what we need to turn to.
AZ: “What can the school do to continue to support your Hub?”
AN: “I think the school as a whole needs to figure out how exactly these Hubs are going to be sustained financially: Is there gonna be administrative support staff? Are there gonna be grants that the Hubs will support? What are gonna be the primary responsibilities of each Hub? The current plan is that we have eight Hubs, and the idea is that those eight Hubs will move under three different centers… There is going to be a Parlee Center along the lines of the name Center for Science and the Common Good. Other Hubs will move underneath that center and will be part of a larger center. We do not yet know what Hubs go under which centers; we are working on that right now.”
Dr. Rebecca Evans, Associate Professor of Politics
Alex Zelaya: “How would you describe what your Hub is/does?”
Rebecca Evans: “The Melrose Hub for Global Leadership aims to prepare students to approach global challenges by exploring local and global interconnections, combining classroom learning with real-world experience… We encourage students to increase global awareness, improve cross-cultural communication skills, and build leadership experience. We do this through globally themed programs, including study abroad, Model UN, Peace Corps Prep, Melrose Fellows, Bonner Leader and Scholars in Service. We see a connection to all departments and majors, whether students are interested in international law and diplomacy… or planning to work in the increasingly globalized world of business. The Melrose Hub is also for students interested in scientific research, [or in] traditional medicine through travel to Yucatan, [or] in history and human rights in the context of South Korea. Whether students’ interests lie in global food, music, art, literature, science, politics, health, journalism, or travel, the Melrose Hub offers opportunities to promote positive engagement and responsible actions in our interdependent world.”
AZ: “Have there been any successes and/or challenges that your Hub has faced that you’d like to highlight?”
RE: “One of the things that I think the Hubs are focused on eventually doing is broadening opportunities for people beyond their first year. Since this is a new program that’s just being rolled out, I think the Hubs have been introduced to first year students, but the first-year students don’t have an echo of how this fits into their career because the sophomore, juniors, and seniors don’t have that experience. So, for first-year students, there’s some exposure to the Hubs that get a Hub director coming in once in their first semester saying, ‘Hi, I’m the director of the Melrose Hub, and here’s our mission, here’s what we do, here’s our opportunities,’ but… students who are in their first year aren’t hearing from upperclassmen who they meet and look up to, and what they’re doing. So, I think in terms of successes and challenges, a challenge is to have the Hubs become a more meaningful opportunity and identity for students. I think the Melrose and Parlee Hubs have had more success because we’ve been around longer and have more opportunities and already established programs… Expanding those opportunities for students to see what it means to be part of the Hub beyond their first-year introduction, which is a little bit nebulous, is at the moment both a challenge and a success.”
AZ: “What can the school do to continue to support your Hub?”
RE: “The School is putting a lot of backing into rolling out APEX and the Hubs, and that is very focused especially on the first-year experience. I think the things that were offered to first year students like Experiential Learning Week, were also advertised to other students but because of the timing, before the semester started, and a little bit of uncertainty about what that involved, I don’t know that many upperclassmen participated. I can think of one exception, Annie Karreth’s Civic Spark, which had a policy lab and had several students beyond the first year who participated in that… I think that is a great model. The school supported the Experiential [Learning] Week program… but it will also be important for the school to support these programs by getting out the word about the opportunity for anyone, regardless of the class they’re in, to participate and make it more convenient for students to do so. Thinking flexibly about scheduling so it’s not ‘If you want to do this you have to come back a week before classes start,’ [or] having maybe a CoSA day where people could do these kinds of things, or mini versions of them, could be fun.”
Dr. Annie Karreth, Associate Professor of Politics
Alex Zelaya: “How would you describe what your Hub is/does?”
Annie Karreth: “Civic Spark originated in an observation. Ursinus students are hungry to make change—at the college, in their communities, in their nation. But they don’t always know where or how to start. Civic Spark is meant to address this gap. Our Hub works to do two main things: to give students the knowledge to understand key public policy debates in America today, and to give students the skills to become part of the policy process, as analysts or advocates, or even just as informed citizens. This year, Civic Spark has put a spotlight on policy issues that students care about: food insecurity, affordable housing, and public health… with more great programming to come!”
AZ: “Have there been any successes and/or challenges that your Hub has faced that you’d like to highlight?”
AK: “Civic Spark had an exciting Experiential Learning Week. We ran an ‘Affordable Housing in Action’ experience, in which students learned about housing policy by visiting non-profits, the office of a PA House Rep who sits on the Housing Committee in Harrisburg, and City Hall in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, back on campus, another group of students participated in a Policy Skills Bootcamp with an alum who works at the UK Mission to the UN, where they learned to write a policy memo and use data visualization tools. And this semester, we launched the Civic Spark Policy Lab, where a group of students are conducting applied policy research for Montgomery County and Ann’s Heart Basic Needs Shelter in Phoenixville!”
AZ: “What can the school do to continue to support your Hub?”
AK: “Ursinus has been very supportive of our Hub! The administration is looking for ways to further collaboration between the Hubs and to improve the integration of the Hubs in the first year experience. I’m looking forward to what lies ahead!”