Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Civic Engagement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council office pilots university internships, law externship for committee research support
Summary
The executive committee discussed internship pilots with Vanderbilt University political science and a potential Vanderbilt Law externship that could provide limited legal research support for committee work; Pro Tem Sepulveda and chairs signaled interest in scaling similar programs with other universities.
The Metro Council office described two pilot programs intended to expand student engagement with council work: a political-science internship pilot administered by Vanderbilt University and an approved Vanderbilt Law externship that could provide committee-level legal support.
Vice Mayor and Pro Tem Sepulveda said Vanderbilt approached the office with a proposal to pilot internships with a geographic focus tied to Council Member Cash’s district; Vanderbilt would administer the internships. "They're gonna kinda see how that goes, put together a proposal again to be administered by them," the vice mayor said.
Chair Capp said the Vanderbilt Law externship is approved for course credit and could provide roughly the equivalent of one class of work (about eight hours a week) to assist with research and resource development for the charter revision committee if needed.
Staff emphasized these are pilots to be administered by the partner institutions rather than by the council office and that programs could be adapted if the pilots are successful. No stipend, selection criteria, or formal application deadlines were provided in the meeting.
