FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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Dear Friends,
I hope your semester is off to a great start! I want to thank you for your inspiring dedication to engaging with the community. This semester, the university is offering 158 sections of service-learning courses with more than 1600 students.
As you may have heard, the Tulane community has pledged 750,000 hours of service by May 2, 2014. We need your help to accomplish this lofty goal! You can do your part by registering for the Cowen Service Challenge, which will allow you to record your hours of service and be in that number. All service counts! We know you are already doing countless hours of service in the community - volunteering at your child's school, serving on a non-profit board or giving your time consulting with a non-profit - so let's recognize those contributions by recording them along with those of the entire Tulane community.
Please find included in this newsletter information on student leadership programs that support faculty engagement and voices from our public service student leaders. In addition, please see our funding resources for faculty, new additions to the CPS lending library, and additional resources from the field.
Be sure to stop by and see us in Alcee Fortier Hall and share with us your stories of successful community engagement.
In service,
Vincent Ilustre
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HOW STUDENT LEADERS CAN SUPPORT YOU
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As service-learning offerings grow at Tulane, more coordination support is needed to ensure the best experience for all participants- faculty, students, and community partners. CPS currently provides opportunities for nearly 50 student leaders to support service-learning courses. Learn more about these programs below.
The Public Service Fellows program provides students the opportunity to further their leadership skills through an academic course and by partnering with a faculty member or community organization in assisting with a service-learning course. Students not only receive credit, but also the mentorship of a faculty and/or community partner. Faculty members receive extra support in their course or in developing a new and unique course, and the opportunity to work with a student leader to improve the quality of the service learning experience. Let CPS know if you are interested in being paired with a Fellow in the spring semester, or if you would like to nominate a student.
The Service-Learning Assistant (SLA) program supports student positions within CPS that allow students to provide assistance in coordinating service learning courses. With less emphasis on faculty mentorship, this position promotes public service leadership and professional development to students, who after a semester of training, are assigned a number of service-learning courses to assist in coordinating. SLAs play a similar role to that of our staff coordinators, yet this program allows CPS to give more individualized support to each course we assist.
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Public Service Fellow Suzanne Storms
Senior, English
"I was first introduced to the idea of being a Fellow by the professor I now work with, Dr. Supriya Nair. She had previously taught Food and Culture with a service learning component and was eager to have the assistance of a Fellow. She offered the opportunity to me, I was very flattered and felt it was a great compliment. It was also important to me that I be of service to Professor Nair, as she had been so supportive of me in my studies and my future goals. I also wanted to do something for Tulane and the New Orleans community as I am grateful to be a part of both.
The Fellowship with Professor Nair in the Food and Culture class allows me to work with community partners, students and a faculty member. Due to the organization and details involved in setting up service learning experiences for students, I perform those tasks which free up time for the professor. I am also able to utilize some of my experience and expertise, having worked as a volunteer previously with many of the partners. It allows me to be involved in one aspect of student learning at the university while still being a student. I meet and have ongoing relationships with community partners and members."
Watermelon Day Samuel J. Green School Edible Schoolyard Garden and Kitchen NOLA - September 2013
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FUNDING RESOURCES FOR FACULTY
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Course Development GrantsUpper Level Course Development Grant (PDF) to support the development of service-learning courses designed to serve students at the upper course levels (3000-6000). Deadline October 7.
Community Based and Participatory Research GrantsCommunity Based Research Grant to support faculty conducting community-based research. CPS defines community-based research as collaborative, change-oriented research that engages faculty members, students, and community members in projects that address community needs. Deadline November 8.
Community Based Participatory Research Grant to support our community partner organizations in their efforts to research topics of importance in the community with the aim of creating knowledge that "contributes to making a concrete and constructive difference in the world." CPS definesCommunity-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) as a collaborative approach to research that promotes positive change with and within the community. It involves an equitable relationship between community organizations and university researchers that is reflected in all levels of project design and dissemination. Deadline November 8.
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DID YOU KNOW? CPS maintains a library of textbooks, manuals, and other published resources with an online bibliography for quick reference. Recent additions to the library include:
  
The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads
--Rita Axelroth Hodges and Steve Dubb
Drawing on ten diverse universities as case studies, this eye-opening book explores practices and strategies that can be employed to improve conditions in low-income communities and emphasizes the critical roles of university leaders, philanthropy, and policy in this process.
Transforming Cities and Minds through the Scholarship of Engagement: Economy, Equity, and Environment
--Lorlene Hoyt (Ed.)
Written by engaged scholars and practitioners, Transforming Cities and Minds is an "instrument for action" on the problems faced by US cities that have suffered from decades of disinvestment. The book advocates the concept of reciprocal knowledge: real learning on both sides, campus and city, through a complex network of human relationships.
University Engagement With Socially Excluded Communities
--Paul Benneworth (Ed.)
This volume provides insightful analysis of the way higher education engages with socially excluded communities. Leading researchers and commentators examine the validity of the claim that universities can be active facilitators of social mobility, opening access to the knowledge economy for formerly excluded groups.
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"The Journey of a Community-Engaged Scholar: An Autoenthnography"
--Nick Cutforth
Recognizing the lack of resources about the career paths of faculty who engage in community-engaged scholarship, Cutforth uses an ethnographic style to reflect on the motivations, influences, and experiences that have informed his intentional efforts to integrate teaching, research, and service into his professional identity as a community-engaged scholar.
Link to full-text: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00336297.2012.727369
Op-Ed: "Does Community Engagement Have a Place in a Placeless University"
--Dan W. Butin
Butin addresses the role of place-based community-engaged learning and the increasing popularity of online learning and MOOCs as published in the New England Journal of of Higher Education.
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Tulane University Center for Public Service
Alcee Fortier Hall
6823 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70118
504-862-8060
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Deadlines
Monday, October 7 Spring 2014 Service Learning Course proposals and renewals due via CPS Online
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Friday, November 8
CBR and CBPR Grant proposals due to Amanda Buberger
Friday, December 6
All receipts for use of Course Activity Funds due to Bridget Smith
Need assistance?
Contact Bridget Smith, Program Manager for Service Learning or one of the service learning coordinators - Ashley, Nick, or Kyle.
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CPS Events
Click here for more info.
Saturday, October 26
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Tulane Make a Difference Day of Service - contact
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Monday, November 4
12:30 - 2:00 PM Faculty Workshop: Critically Integrating Community / Place-Based Learning Into the Classroom - contact
Monday, November 11 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Shell Shocked screening, panel, and dialogue - contact
Amanda BubergerMonday, November 185:30 - 7:30 PM Dialogue on Mental Health - contact
Amanda BubergerTuesday, December 3 4:30 - 6:30 PM
Faculty Appreciation Event - contact
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External Events
November 6-8, 2013
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Connect with Us If you have any questions or would like to be featured in the newsletter, please email Kyle Patrick Williams at kwilli26@tulane.edu |
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