2025 New Bonner Staff Orientation

July 27 - 30

Princeton, New jersey

Meeting Location: The Erdman Center (Princeton Seminary)

 

This orientation is designed to support new staff and faculty who are closely connected to a Bonner Program or working to launch a new one at their institution.

 

The New Bonner Staff orientation provides a thorough overview of the history, vision, and operational details for managing a Bonner Program and integrating it into campus-wide civic engagement courses and programming. 

You’ll have a chance to learn about the fundamentals and best practices for managing the Bonner program, and how the program is tied to student access and success, community engagement, and campus-wide involvement. We will also discuss how the Bonner Program provides campuses with student leadership that helps strengthen their culture and infrastructure for community-engaged learning.

The meeting will be held over four days beginning Sunday, July 27th with dinner and ending Wednesday, July 30th before lunch.

MEETING LOCATION

The orientation will be held at Princeton Theological Seminary’s Erdman Center in walking distance from downtown Princeton.

Receptions will be held at the Bonner Foundation headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, located just a few blocks away.

REGISTRATION

The cost to attend the meeting is $200 per person, which covers all lunches and dinners. Breakfast is on your own. Refreshments will be available during the meeting.

Use this link to register by Sunday, July 20th. The registration form will have “pay by credit card” option only, so keep your credit card handy when registering for the meeting.

Click here to register

LODGING

Participants will be responsible for their own housing. For your convenience, we have blocked rooms with reserved rates at Doubletree by Hilton in Princeton. (You are free to book a stay at a hotel elsewhere).

Doubletree is located 4.7 miles from the Bonner Foundation and 4.9 miles from Princeton Theological Seminary’s Erdman Conference Center. Complete your booking by Sunday, July 20th using the links below to receive the reserved rate.

Please note that if you check out early after making the reservation, “early checkout fees” will apply.

If you have any questions about the booking process, contact Kerry Gavaghen at 609.945.2512 or kerry.gavaghen@hilton.com.

Address: 4335 US-1, Princeton, NJ 08540

Phone Number: (609) 452 2400

TRAVEL

Flying

If you are flying in to Princeton, NJ, below are the airport options:

  • Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)

    • 3 Brewster Rd, Newark, NJ 07114 (41 miles)

  • Trenton-Mercer Airport (TTN)

    • 1100 Terminal Cir Dr, Ewing Township, NJ 08628 (Limited flights, 12 miles)

  • Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)

    • 8000 Essington Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19153 (58 miles)



  • Driving

    If you plan to drive, the Bonner Foundation is located at 10 Mercer St., Princeton, NJ 08540. We have some parking spots at the Bonner Foundation office, but if the parking is full, metered street parking will be available on Mercer Street.

PREPARATION

We encourage you to:

  • Download the 2024 New Bonner Staff Orientation Handbook, with handouts and worksheets to use while you review the material.

  • Review presentations and other orientation materials that will acquaint you with the frameworks, work plans, and tools you need for many aspects of the role, including student recruitment, planning training and education, developing community partnerships and positions, advising students and running meetings, linking with faculty and courses, integrating with offices across your institution, and building your center.

  • Join the Bonner Learning Community platform. You’ll be able to connect with other veteran Directors and Coordinators and glean wisdom and experience from them and their programs.

Agenda

Here is a tentative agenda for the orientation.

  • SUNDAY, July 27

    • Dinner at Bonner Foundation (5:00pm to 6:45pm EST)

    • Welcome, Bonner Program: History & Goals (beginning at 7:00pm EST)

    • Reception at Bonner Foundation (8:30 to 10:00pm EST)

  • MONDAY, JULY 28

    • Bonner Program: Recruitment & Financial Aid (beginning at 9:00am EST)

    • Bonner Program Management (beginning at 10:45am EST)

    • Lunch (12:00pm to 1:20pm EST)

    • Bonner Student Development Framework & Curriculum (beginning at 1:30pm EST)

    • Community Partnerships: Guiding Principles (beginning at 3:15pm EST)

    • Dinner (5:30pm to 7:30pm EST )

    • Reception at Bonner Foundation (7:30pm to 9:00pm EST )

  • tuesday, JULY 29

    • Managing Community Partnerships (beginning at 9:00am EST)

    • Campus Center & Campus-Wide Engagement (beginning at 10:45am EST)

    • Lunch (12:00pm to 1:20pm EST)

    • Bonner Program: Accountability, Tracking, Visibility (beginning at 1:30pm EST)

    • Bonner Cornerstone Activities (beginning at 4:00pm EST)

    • Dinner (6:00pm to 8:00 pm)

  • WEDNESDAY, JULY 30

    • Bonner Initiatives and Campus Support (9:00am to 10:30am EST)

    • Next Steps and Closing (10:30am - 11:15am EST)