Another feather in the cap for Graves and Alfred State College!
From ASC, pictured is Dr. Grave with college President Steven Mauro
ALFRED, NY, September 9, 2026 – Dr. Angela Graves, Associate Professor in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department at Alfred State, has been announced as a member of a new cohort of Pericles Civic Fellows. The new national initiative led by Project Pericles supports faculty, staff, and other campus leaders to develop, pilot, and strengthen initiatives that cultivate students’ civic identity, agency, and participation throughout the 2026–2027 academic year.
“I’m really grateful for the chance to build on work that is already happening at Alfred State,” commented Graves, “Because we have such an unusual mix of programs, we have a unique opportunity to think about what civic learning looks like for students preparing for all kinds of professions. I’m excited to learn from people doing this work across the country, strengthen what we are implementing here, and eventually share our model with other campuses.”
The Fellowship provides $3,000 to support projects and is a catalytic opportunity to test or expand civic and community-engaged learning initiatives within institutional structures over time. Fellows participate in a year-long community of practice that includes virtual convenings, peer learning, reflective assessment, and support from Project Pericles staff. In addition to funding, Fellows will contribute to a growing resource-sharing ecosystem through reflective artifacts such as syllabi, memos, frameworks, and toolkits that will help other institutions strengthen civic learning on their campuses.
Dr. Graves’ fellowship entitled “Applied Civics: A Curriculum for Teaching Community and Professional Standards in Tech and Trades Programs.” will support the refinement, implementation, and assessment of Alfred State’s new Applied Civics curriculum during the 2026–27 academic year.
The project grows out of her ongoing work with the School of Applied Technology to bring important liberal arts, social science, humanities, and general education learning into technical programs in ways that connect directly with students’ professional preparation. “Applied Civics” expands our previous work through a new set of modules incorporating SUNY’s Civic Discourse competency and connecting civic learning with the situations students will encounter in their workplaces and communities.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Carrie Cokely looks forward to seeing the influence the initiative will have throughout the school year and beyond “Dr. Graves has been instrumental in developing our civic discourse curriculum components for our AOS degree programs and students. Her work allows students to understand their roles as informed citizens and how they can be leaders in their workplace and communities. I look forward to seeing how this fellowship further enhances the curriculum and student learning on our campus.”
The Fellowship expands Project Pericles’ longstanding commitment to placing civic engagement at the heart of higher education by extending opportunities beyond the Periclean consortium to institutions across the country.
“Faculty and staff are vital players in activating vibrant civic learning for students, but too often lack the time and support to build it well,” said Sanda Balaban, Executive Director of Project Pericles. “This fellowship provides promising practitioners with funding and, equally importantly, a talented community of peers to bolster their work. A healthy democracy depends on students leaving college motivated and equipped to take action on what they care about.”
Dr. Graves is the only faculty member in the whole SUNY system to take part in the program. One of only twenty faculty members across the country, she will work on initiatives to cultivate students’ civic identity, agency, and participation during the 2026-27 school year. Read more about Dr. Graves history of achievement at Alfred State:
About Project Pericles
Project Pericles is a higher education nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing civic learning to the heart of higher education. Through curricular innovation, faculty leadership, and community-engaged learning, Project Pericles works to make democratic engagement a core component of undergraduate education.
