April 13, 2001

Service learning gets boost from grant

Service-learning. These two words sound great together. And the concept means wonderful things for universities and communities. So wonderful, in fact, that the Council of Independent Colleges through its grantmaking unit, the Consortium for the Advancement of Private Higher Education awarded a total of $1,006,500 to 13 universities and their community partners. Loyola and its community partners, Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana and the YMCA of Greater New Orleans, received $79,500 to be paid over a 2.5-year period, from January 1, 2001 ­ June 30, 2003.

Under the title Engaging Communities and Campuses, the national initiative is aimed at assisting independent colleges and universities establish partnerships with community organizations to enhance students' experiential learning activities while addressing specific community needs. The program is based on the premise that to prepare students for a lifetime of contributions to society, colleges should enable students to connect with the world beyond the campusand the interests of those communitieswhile still enrolled in an educational program.

With the funds, Loyola will establish an on-campus Office of Service Learning whose focus will be to develop and institutionalize service-learning across the academic curriculum in order to strengthen student learning and address the needs of community partners, according to Laurie Joyner, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology and a principal writer of the grant. University President Bernard P. Knoth, S.J., former University Provost David C. Danahar, Ph.D., and Interim Provost Lydia Voigt, Ph.D joined Joyner in the grant writing effort.

"We are delighted to be chosen from among 113 universities submitting proposals nationwide, " Voigt said. "This is a tremendous honor for Loyola."

Loyola's plan calls for a director of service learning who will have responsibility for all elements of program development, implementation, and evaluation. The director will work as a liaison between faculty and the community to build knowledge of effective service-learning practices. In essence, the director will encourage ongoing interaction and reward collaboration between members of the university and the community.

The concept of service learning is not new. While the grant was being prepared, nearly one-third of Loyola faculty were integrating experiential education into their courses through internships and course-based learning. Faculty involved represented a broad base of disciplines including biology, business, communications, education, music education, music therapy, psychology, sociology, and the Gillis Long Poverty Center and Pro Bono Center at the law school.

The grant proposal is widely embraced because its is designed to serve the interests of all partners. The proposed objectives and activities engage faculty in a way that more easily allows for the integration of teaching, research, and service. Service learning instills a commitment of lifelong learning and lifelong service into the student that fits perfectly with the Jesuit philosophy of educating of the whole person. Also research has shown that students involved in service-learning programs have stronger relationships with faculty, a greater sense of social responsibility, enhanced academic prowess, and positive personal development (e.g. spiritual growth and moral development) and interpersonal development (e.g. leadership and communications skills). Also, the proposal outlines a more effective use of university resources to address community concerns.

The grant is not only intended to address the immediate needs of students, faculty and the community, it is intended to encourage ongoing interaction that will have long-lasting benefits through an exchange of knowledge and experience.

Michael Rerick A'02, Intern in the Offices of Public Affairs and Publications