No More Hiroshimas! Assessing Personal Narratives of Survivors of Hiroshima on a Campus Community Using University-Wide Goals and an Applied Project in a Graduate Research Methods Course

Guest speakers are a common feature in institutions of higher learning. Being so common, we might assume that exposure to individuals discussing a distinctive life experience has a positive impact on students. However, there is virtually no research on assessing the impact of guest speakers intended for the entire campus community. This paper offers a framework to assess campus-wide co-curricular initiatives aligning with overarching institutional goals and/or mission, rather than specific course outcomes. The assessment framework was applied to a large scale university-wide co-curricular project. In September 2010, three atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima, Japan and their interpreters completed a 10-day residency at a mid-sized, Midwestern university. The speakers shared their stories of survival and pleas for peace to over 1,000 members of the campus and community. A survey assessed the impact on students who saw the speakers in terms of two university goals: “engaged” student experiences and developing a “worldly perspective.” Students in a graduate research methods class aided in the creating, administering, and analyzing results of the survey. Results included both an increase in worldly perspective and a high level of engagement with the speakers. This framework provides a foundation for assessment of campus-wide co-curricular programming that could be used by both faculty and administrators.