2026 New Bonner Staff Orientation

July 26 - 29

Princeton, New jersey

Meeting Location: The Erdman Center (Princeton Seminary)

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 26th with dinner and ending Wednesday, July 29th before lunch.

MEETING LOCATION

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

Address: Erdman Center, 20 Library Pl., Princeton, NJ 08540

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

Address: Bonner Foundation, 10 Mercer St., Princeton, NJ 08540

REGISTRATION

The cost to attend the meeting will be announced soon. The registration fees will cover all lunches and dinners. Breakfast is on your own. Refreshments will be available during the meeting.

The registration form will have “pay by credit card” option only, so keep your credit card handy when registering for the meeting.

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)

  • Train directions from Newark Airport to Princeton 

    New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) train is the most convenient way to get to Princeton from EWR. From the terminals at EWR there is a free "Airtrain" monorail that goes to the Rail-link station. There, you buy a ticket on NJ Transit to Princeton Junction, and proceed to track 5. You need the NJ Transit train on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) to Trenton (not Long Branch). They go every 30-40 minutes during peak times. You can see the schedule at njtransit.com and your ticket is valid for any train on this route. (DO NOT BUY A TICKET FOR AMTRAK OR TAKE AN AMTRAK TRAIN.) The ride takes 40-45 minutes, and you get off at Princeton Junction station.  After arriving at Princeton Junction, you can Lyft/Uber to the Bonner Foundation (10 Mercer St. Princeton, NJ 08540). It's about a 10 minute ride.

• 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:

• Review the 2025 New Bonner Staff Orientation Handbook and Checklists.

• 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 (Eastern Standard Time/EST)

• SUNDAY, July 26

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

  • Welcome, Bonner Program: History & Goals (7:00pm - 8:30pm)

  • Reception at Bonner Foundation (8:45pm - 10:00pm)

• MONDAY, JULY 27

  • Staffing Your Bonner Program (9:00am - 10:30 am)

  • Bonner Program: Recruitment & Financial Aid (10:45am - 12:15pm)

  • Lunch (12:15pm - 1:30pm)

  • Community Partnerships - Part 1 (1:45pm - 3:15pm)

  • Community Partnerships - Part 2 (3:30pm - 5:00pm)

  • Dinner (5:30pm - 7:30pm)

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

• tuesday, JULY 28

  • Student Development: Bonner Orientation (9:00am - 10:00am)

  • Training & Education: Calendar Planning (10:15am - 12:15pm)

  • Lunch (12:15pm to 1:30pm)

  • Reflection Suite (1:40pm - 3:15pm)

  • Work Time: Open Space with Foundation & Network Staff (3:30pm - 5:00pm)

  • Dinner (6:00pm - 8:00 pm)

• WEDNESDAY, JULY 29

  • Formational Bonner Experiences (FY Trip, Sophomore Exchange., etc., (9:00am - 9:45am)

  • Center Operations, Community Engaged Learning, Social Action (10:00am - 11:15am)

  • Next Steps and Closing (11:15am - 12:00pm)