Capstone
The Capstone is the culminating field course at the Clinton School, designed to provide students with an
opportunity to demonstrate their public service expertise. This course employs an independent study format
primarily overseen by a Capstone advisor, and is taken during a student's final year in the program.
Students select their own Capstone projects either from those submitted by community partners or from
opportunities they create for themselves. These projects can be completed anywhere in the world but
most will be completed in close proximity to Little Rock. Capstone projects begin at various times
throughout the year depending on a student's course load.
Once a project is chosen and approved by the faculty, students spend time researching and developing a
project plan. That project plan is approved by a Capstone advisor and a community partner. Students are
expected to devout at least 250 hours to the Capstone project. At the end of their projects, students
write about what they accomplished and what they learned through their work. The final step is to defend
their experience to the Clinton School faculty demonstrating a ability to work effectively in public service.
Previous capstone projects include:
826 Valencia, San Francisco, Calif.
Evaluated an inner-city creative and expository writing program.
Amani Children's Home, Moshi, Tanzania
Developed a long-term marketing strategy focusing on fundraising, marketing, networking and partnerships.
Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, Ark.
Created a moderator guide to conduct focus groups and interviews to better understand minority child
health disparities in Arkansas for the third edition of the Natural Wonders report.
Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ACADV), Little Rock, Ark.
Wrote a Best Practice Manual to improve the effectiveness of service delivery by shelters and other
service providers for victims of domestic violence.
Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of County Operations, Office of Program Planning and Development, Little Rock, Ark.
Developed recommendations and strategies to bring more Arkansas seniors, age 65 and above, to participate
in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Arkansas Governor's Office, Little Rock, Ark.
Organized a Green Cabinet meeting of all state agencies and services to facilitate efforts to reduce
greenhouse gas emission created by state government entities.
ENDA (Environment and Development in Action), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Evaluated disaster management policy.
Green Valley Development, Fayetteville, Ark.
Helped create structure for the organization founded in 2009 by creating a strategic plan, marketing
materials and a Board of Directors' orientation packet.
Kansas Volunteer Commission, Kansas City, Mo.
Designed a standards evaluation plan to audit the operations of the commission.
Central High School National Historic Site, Little Rock, Ark.
Wrote curriculum, created a sustainability plan, developed a step-by-step manual and implemented a
Youth Leadership Pilot Program to promote volunteerism, nonviolence, youth empowerment and stewardship
for the National Park Service.
Media and Democracy Coalition, Washington, D.C.
Evaluated broadband policy as it affects media reform organizations around the country.
The Arkansas World Trade Center, Rogers, Ark.
Evaluated trade policies and economic opportunities related to African trade and development.
University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), Little Rock, Ark.
Expanded an African American Male Initiative at UALR to improve the retention and graduation rates
of African American males.
William J. Clinton Foundation, Clinton Climate Initiative's Arkansas Home Energy Affordability Loan (HEAL AR) Program, Little Rock, Ark.
Completed sections of a pilot program template that is being developed for scaling up and expanding
HEAL AR that will bring energy affordability to low-income Arkansans by offering an energy benefit
through their employer.