President Beering signs Presidents’ Declaration:
* In the first week of April, 2000, the name of Purdue University – West Lafayette was added to the list of signatories of the “Presidents’ Fourth of July Declaration on the Civic Responsibility of Higher Education.” This signified that in late March, President Steven C. Beering had joined over 300 other leaders of university and college campuses around the nation by signing the declaration. (Purdue University – North Central, under the leadership of Vice Chancellor James B. Dworkin, is also listed as a signatory institution with respect to the declaration.)
* The Presidents’ Fourth of July Declaration, which can be found at the web site of Campus Compact, emerged from the 1999 Presidents’ Leadership Colloquium and was crafted by some leading figures in higher education. The purpose of the declaration is “to articulate the commitment of higher education … to their civic purposes and identify the behaviors that will make that commitment manifest.” The declaration and list of signatories is followed by a list of questions provided to encourage each signatory institution to conduct a self-assessment of current campus activities to promote civic responsibility and to fulfill its civic mission.
* The Campus Compact web site can be accessed at http://www.compact.org/ .) It contains the entire declaration (and a page on the Erlich Award, below).
EPICS Founders are Finalists in Campus Compact’s Erlich Award
* Purdue’s professors Edward J. Coyle and Leah H. Jaimeson, co-founders and two of the three current co-directors of the highly successful Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program, are recognized among the national finalists for Campus Compact’s 2000 Thomas Erlich Faculty Service Learning Award.
* EPICS is nationally known as the leader in service learning in the field of engineering. Professor Jamieson acts as part of the AAHE Campus Compact Consulting Corps, a group of just twelve individuals nationwide providing technical support for service learning. (Professor Jamieson was also recently recognized by Purdue’s Council on the Status of Women with the 2000 Violet Haas Award.)
Volunteer Office Opens on Campus
* The Office of Community Service and Learning (a.k.a. the campus “Volunteer Office”) opened on Monday, April 17, 2000 in Stewart Center G-4 [next door to the offices of Purdue Student Government].
* The OCSL, with the blessing and support of the central administration, emerged from a collaboration that includes Purdue Memorial Union, Greater Lafayette Volunteer Bureau, the Purdue Retirees (also known as the President’s Advisory Council on Retirement), and the Task Force on Citizenship Education.
* For the remaining two weeks of the current semester (April 17 – 21 and April 24 – 28) the OCSL will be open Mondays through Thursdays, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Fridays. From May 1 through the summer, the OCSL will be open Mondays through Fridays (major holidays excepted), 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Based on experience over the summer, office hours for fall will be determined and announced by early August. There will also be a Grand Opening early in the fall semester.
* More details of the plans for the OCSL are given in extended coverage later in this newsletter. The phone number for the OCSL is (765)-494-8864. The office will be known informally as the home of the Boiler Volunteer Network. For more information, contact Sara Solloway, Program Coordinator for Purdue Memorial Union (494-8907) or Tiffany Burks of the Greater Lafayette Volunteer Bureau (742-8241).
* The Task Force on Citizenship Education is grateful to all the stakeholders and supporters of this exciting new development. Undoubtedly it will take a while for the new office to build to its full potential, but it fills an important need in further coordinating involvement of campus members in the community. The OCSL will serve a wide range of curricular and co-curricular forms of engagement by Purdue University in the Greater Lafayette area.
Service-Learning Proponents Win Murphy Awards:
* Professors Jonathan M. Harbor (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) and Robert W. Sovinski (Landscape Architecture), both instructors of SL courses, are among the five Charles B. Murphy Award winners for 2000. The awards recognize outstanding undergraduate teaching across the campus.
Robert K. Chalmers, 1937 - 2000
* Members of the Task Force on Citizenship Education shared with many others on campus, in the community, and in the area of Pharmacy Practice, a deep sense of loss with the announcement of the death, on April 9, 2000, of Professor Robert K. Chalmers. Bob Chalmers had made innumerable important contributions to his department, school, and to Purdue University, and to the academic development of the pharmacy profession. But equally he will surely be remembered as a person of grace, caring, thoughtfulness, and – not least – deep and abiding faith.
* When the Task Force on Citizenship Education was formed in June 1997, Bob was not only a valued part of that process, but already an experienced hand at service learning. Professor Ed Coyle remembers Bob Chalmers as a rare and comforting voice of understanding in the very early days of EPICS, well before the nature, value and potential of the EPICS program were widely recognized. But Bob’s contributions in this area go back before that, not least to a 1993 report on the future of undergraduate education at Purdue University. That report, from a committee chaired by Bob Chalmers and Dean Marilyn Haring of the School of Education, has been the blueprint for a series of developments in teaching excellence at Purdue University (as was noted during the recent North Central Accreditation process). The Committee for the Education of Teaching Assistants, programs like Conversations About Teaching and Focus on Teaching, the Teaching Academy, the Center for Instructional Excellence, and much more, all have roots in this influential and visionary report.
* For the Task Force, Bob Chalmers was a member of both the 1997 and 1998 Purdue University (WL) teams that participated in ICC’s Universities as Citizens’ Summer Planning Institutes. His wisdom, thoughtfulness, diligence, and affirmation were all invaluable both at the Summer Planning Institutes and later as the Task Force developed a mission statement, goals, and objectives and then moved to fulfill that mission. Bob was a key player in creating the first half-day service-learning retreat (in October 1998) highlighting campus-community interactions. He was part of the November 1999 CIE workshop highlighting excellence in service learning at Purdue University. And despite his many other responsibilities Bob was a highly reliable and effective member of the Task Force.
* Bob Chalmers was an inspiration to many colleagues, students and friends, and his presence and his contributions will be sorely missed. While his impact on service learning at Purdue was only a small part of his many contributions on campus, Bob contributed stability, encouragement and conviction in abundance.
* As a gesture of respect, several members of the Task Force are contributing to a memorial fund to build a service-learning resource library at Purdue University. This is intended to complement, and not to compete with, the scholarship memorial fund in the School of Pharmacy,
Purdue joins GLVB Recognition Lunch
* Seven Purdue students were recognized for their community-service activities at the April 13 Greater Lafayette Volunteer Bureau luncheon. Numerous community agencies take advantage of this wonderful event to recognize an exemplary volunteer. With support from ODOS and University Residences, the Task Force brought an explicit Purdue representation to the event.
* Recognized were Amanda N. Brown, Traverro L. Harden, Angela M. Jones and Jamie R. Ulbrich (all finalists for Purdue University’s ICC Wood Award Nomination for 2000), Erin D. Taylor (ICC Wood Award Nominee and Campus Compact Swearer Award Nominee, both for 1999), and Jason C. Jarrett and James D. Rio (representing exemplary volunteers from the Residence Halls). (Two other Wood Award Nominee finalists, Andrea L. Carollo and Nicole Kelsey, were unable to be present at the luncheon.)
SAVE Active in Food Drive, Grand Alternative
* Erin Taylor, a member of the Task Force on Citizenship Education and President of the Purdue chapter of College Mentors for Kids, has taken on the presidency of SAVE (Students Assisting Volunteer Efforts). DeAnna Schonk, Executive Director for Service in Purdue Student Government, is the new Treasurer. Matt Pistilli, Program Coordinator for Purdue Summer Start, and Sara Solloway, Program Director for Purdue Memorial Union, act as advisors to SAVE.
* On April 7 and 8, 2000, SAVE collected about 500 cans in a food drive, Sack Out Hunger 2000, for the Beth Fraley Food Pantry in Purdue Village. (Collections of cans will continue in the Office of Community Service and Learning on an ongoing basis.) SAVE will also co-sponsor a Habitat Build at the end of Grand Alternative week, on Saturday, April 29.
Barbara Jacoby Makes Three Presentations
* The visit of Dr. Barbara G. Jacoby to campus on March 30 and 31, 2000, resulted in three very informative and encouraging talks to varied audiences.
* The “Service Learning and Student Development” seminar audience included community members, faculty, graduate students, and representatives from areas such as academic counseling, career counseling, the Office of the Dean of Students, and the University Residences.
* A smaller audience for the “Service Learning as Pedagogy” included academic deans and associate deans and representation from the Teaching Academy.
* The regional meeting of Indiana Campus Compact at the county extension office heard a keynote speech on “Service Learning at the Cutting Edge.” Attendance there included faculty and staff at Purdue, community members, the ICC staff, and representatives from academic institutions such as IU-Bloomington, Valparaiso University, Purdue-Calumet, and the IUPUI Institute on Philanthropy.
Information on a new Volunteer Office at Purdue University
Name: The official name will be The Office for Community Service and Learning. The unofficial/student “friendly” name will be The Boiler Volunteer Network.
Central Purpose: To provide a volunteer clearinghouse on campus to connect Purdue University students, faculty, staff, and retirees with community service and campus volunteer opportunities and to create and implement a variety of service experiences.
Mission Statement: To strengthen partnerships between Purdue University and the Greater Lafayette communities by facilitating intentional and meaningful community service and learning opportunities that meet societal needs.
Vision Statement: To positively impact society and encourage life-long commitments to service and learning by facilitating the volunteer involvement of the Purdue community.
Services Provided:
Ø Community service referrals/consultations for groups and individuals
Ø Community service resource library
Ø Coordinate community service placements into agencies
Ø Refer agencies needing volunteers to service student organizations and other campus groups
Ø Database to match volunteer skills and interest to agencies
Ø Volunteer opportunities both on and off-campus for Purdue retirees
Ø Coordinate a variety of long-term and short-term volunteer/community action projects
Ø Assist in educating student groups and individuals on service learning
Ø Support departments and groups on campus that engage in community service and volunteer experiences
Ø Assist the Dean of Students Office with placement of students under disciplinary sanction
Ø Network and support service-based student organizations
Ø Assist with the advisement of Students Assisting in Volunteer Efforts (SAVE)
Ø Purdue retirees to mentor and inform students in the area of community involvement
Ø Assist Purdue retirees with on-campus and off-campus volunteer opportunities
Intended Audience: Purdue students, staff, faculty, and retirees will utilize the services of the Office.
Grand Opening Date: Fall 2000
Location: Stewart Center G4
Structure: The Program Department of the Purdue Memorial Union will act as the department on campus that administers the program. The Program Director for the Program Department will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Office and supervise the staff. An advisory committee made up Purdue students, faculty, staff, retirees and Greater Lafayette community members will be established to assist in the overall direction of the Office.
Hours of Operation: Until April 28, 2000 we will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Fridays. During the summer we are planning on being open at least 20 hours a week, depending on staffing schedules. In the fall we expect to be open 40 hours a week, including some Saturdays.
Student Involvement: Beyond the two student assistants who will be staffing the office, a student organization was started, Students Assisting with Volunteer Efforts (SAVE), to collaborate with the Office in organizing different long-term and short-term service projects. SAVE is not affiliated with the Office, but is co-advised by the Program Director for the Purdue Memorial Union Program Department, and has a desk in the Office.
-- excerpted from an in-house report by Sara Solloway, Program Director, Purdue Memorial Union.
ICC News:
· On April 27, 2000, the nominees from various member campuses for the Richard J. Wood Student Community Commitment Award will be recognized. Purdue University (West Lafayette) will be represented by Angela M. Jones, a junior majoring in Math Education. The Awards Dinner will be at the Lilly Conference Center of the St. Vincent Marten House in Indianapolis.
· At the same location, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 28, 2000, there will be a conference “Exploring the Connection Between Service Learning and Retention.”
· Featured speakers at the conference will be Dr. John Gardner and Dr. Edward Zlotkowski. (For registration information for either event, contact ICC at 850 W. Michigan Street, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46202, or by phone at 317-274-6500, fax at 317-274-6510. Or contact Brenda Allie, at 496-6912, .)
· Community Service Mini-Grant applications can be submitted each month by the 15th, starting July 15, 2000.
· The planned meeting for Chief Academic Officers has been postponed until Fall 2000.
Progress and Transitions:
* Recent weeks have been a time of considerable activity for the Task Force on Citizenship Education, but also a time for reflection. The untimely death of Bob Chalmers heightened awareness of how fortunate we had been to benefit from his expertise and input in beginning to build the concept of an “engaged campus” at Purdue University.
* At the same time the opening of the Office of Community Service and Learning is both a visible sign of how additional pieces of the puzzle are falling into place and a reminder of the exceptional “heart for community” in Greater Lafayette and among members of Purdue University.