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January 15, 2014   
In This Issue
Upcoming Events
February 5
What:
CASLE Mini Grant Workshop 

Where:

Room 1405, Mitchell Memorial Library

When
1
-3 pm

February 27-28
What: 
Annual MS 4-H Volunteers Conference

Where: Bost

When: TBD


 

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new-year-header5.jpg
Letter from the Director

Dear Colleagues,

 

Happy New Year! The fall 2014 semester was the most productive semester thus far for The Center for the Advancement of Service-Learning Excellence (CASLE) and our service-learning faculty, students, and community partners. As we begin the spring semester, we are excited about the reach of our service-learning classes; the opportunity to provide faculty, through our service-learning mini-grants and students with the Dawn Brancheau Service-Learning Scholarships, with funding to continue their community engagement efforts; and with new innovations via our sweet potato innovation challenge.

 

Our partnership with the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) continues this spring as CASLE hosts two workshops. The first workshop will take place on February 5th (mark your calendars) and will provide faculty and Extension agents with a chance to learn about how to apply and obtain a CASLE service-learning mini-grant. The second workshop occurs in April and is a partnership with the Maroon Volunteer Center (MVC). At this event, faculty will learn about OrgSync software and how it can be used to register student's service-learning hours and much more. Please watch our website for details or register at the Center for Teaching and Learning (www.ctl.msstate.edu). 

 

I invite you to contact our office if you have any questions about service-learning or ways in which we can assist you in what you do at MSU. CASLE is always looking for opportunities to help others to learn, serve, and become.

 

Best wishes for a successful semester,

 

Dr. April Heiselt

Director, Center for the Advancement of 

Service-Learning Excellence (CASLE)

 

Sweet Potato Innovation Challenge Update
Five faculty members led their students in the Sweet Potato Innovation Challenge during 2014 Fall semester. The Challenge aims at finding uses for cull sweet potatoes, reducing significant farmer loses, and benefiting our local economy. Student efforts culminated in judged presentations; out of 23 teams, 11 were offered funding for product prototype development. The products proposals included nutritional supplements, a sweetener, edibles (quick bread, beignets, and power bars), a sweet potato ale, a deer attractant, a dye, ethanol, and a feminine hygiene product. We are delighted to be a part of the process which has a potential to positively impact a vital Mississippi industry.
Service-Learning Project Ideas for 4-H 
Pets bring joy to their owners, and are often treated like family members. However, owning a pet is a responsibility not to be taken lightly. 4-H youth can participate in a service-learning project to create and distribute information about responsible pet ownership as well as a summary of the local pet laws. Participants can learn about the local pet licensing requirements, leash and noise ordinances, as well as basic recommendations including selection and care, emergency preparedness for pets, and limiting pet reproduction. The information can be summarized in a pamphlet or an electronic file and distributed in municipal offices, public libraries, or online. 4-H youth can reflect on what they have learned through discussion, or social media.
CASLE Mini-Grant Workshop
On Thursday, February 5th,  Dr. Heiselt will lead a workshop on CASLE Mini-Grants in room 1405 of the Mitchell Memorial Library, at 1 pm.
The workshop will provide an overview of the service-learning mini-grant program offered by the Center for the Advancement of Service-Learning Excellence (CASLE) including the mini-grant application process, and examples of funded service-learning projects. Former service-learning grant recipient, Ms. Alexis Gregory from the College of Art, Architecture, and Design (CAAD), will share her service-learning grant project and Dr. Ryan Akers of the Service-Learning Advisory Committee will discuss the best ways to write proposals that will be funded. If service-learning funding is on your mind, do not miss this workshop. 
Monthly Highlights
Publication venue
Focus Area:
Campus-community partnerships
Publication Title:

 JPSHE provides a venue for higher education faculty and administrative leadership to reflect on the ways that community engagement affects work in higher education - and its outcomes for broad issues such as classroom teaching, the advancement of research and knowledge creation across the disciplines, faculty development, tenure and promotion processes, the preparation of graduate students, etc. All submissions must identify implications for the growth and viability of public scholarship in the academy.

Service-Learning Fact 
Results of a recent study suggests that service-learning promotes diversity-related mindsets, including increased  
tolerance and valuing diversity.

 

Reference 

Holsapple, M. A. (2012). Service-learning and student diversity outcomes: Existing evidence and directions for future research. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 8(2), 5-18.
Service-Learning Funding Sources
In each of our newsletters we feature a number of grants which could be used for a variety of initiatives. Perhaps browsing through them will spark an idea for a service-learning project; let us know if we can help you bring it to life!
Youth Development

 * College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP)

 

The purpose of CAMP is to provide academic and financial support to help migrant and seasonal farm-workers and members of their immediate family complete their first year of college and continue in post-secondary education. Application deadline: February 12, 2015.
Health Promotion and Nutrition

The purpose of this grant is to have a significant impact on reducing rates of teen pregnancy and existing disparities by replicating evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs to scale in at least three settings in communities and with populations at greatest need. Application deadline: April 1, 2015.

This program supports active long-term collaborative partnerships between K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, Computer and Information Science, and Mathematics (STEM) teachers and community college and university faculty and students to bring knowledge of engineering or computer and information science and engineering as well as technological innovation to pre-college/community college classrooms. The goal of these partnerships is to enable K-12 STEM teachers and community college faculty to translate their research experiences and new knowledge gained in university settings into their classroom activities. Application deadline: April 8, 2015.
Economic and Consumer Development

National Institute of Food and Agriculture requests applications for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program for fiscal year 2015 to support the development of educational outreach curricula, workshops, educational teams, training, and technical assistance programs to aid beginning farmers and ranchers in the United States and its territories with entering, establishing, building and managing successful farm and ranch enterprises.
Application deadline: March 13, 2015.
Global Affairs

Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. embassy in Beijing seeks to support activities that help explain American culture to the people of China. The goal of these grants is to allow Chinese audiences to better understand the United States, its culture, society, government, language, law, economic system, and values. PAS seeks to fund creative and sustainable projects in China that build upon existing partnerships between U.S. institutions/organizations and Chinese counterparts, as well as those that create new partnerships. Project examples include: performing arts endeavors, travelling art exhibits, or American participation in Chinese cultural events. Application deadline: February 28, 2015. 
Center for the Advancement of Service-Learning Excellence
[email protected]
311 Bost Extension Center
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Phone: (662) 325-2370

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