Community Engagement News

Presenters include two nationally known scholars

Dr. John Saltmarsh will be the featured presenter at the symposium. The virtual event will begin at 9 a.m. and the final session is expected to end at 3 p.m.

Students, faculty, staff, and community partners are urged to attend Barry’s Eighth Annual Community Engagement Symposium on March 30. The event will include a morning workshop, concurrent session presentations, and a special presentation in the afternoon.

Two nationally known community engagement scholars will be among the presenters. They are Dr. John Saltmarsh, professor of higher education at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and Dr. Timothy Eatman, dean of the Honors Living-Learning Community at Rutgers University, Newark.

Dr. Saltmarsh served as director of the New England Resource Center for Higher Education (NERCHE) from 2005 to 2016. Previously, he was director of the National Program on Integrating Service with Academic Study at Campus Compact.

From 2012 to 2017, Dr. Eatman was the faculty co-director of Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life. He has served as chair of the Board of Directors of the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE).

The slated presenters include, L–R, Dr. April Khadijah Inniss, director of community-engaged research at King Boston; Dr. Tim Eatman, a former chair of the Board of Directors of the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement; and Dr. Melissa Quan, director of the Center for Social Impact at Fairfield University.

Other presenters will include Dr. Melissa Quan, director of the Center for Social Impact at Fairfield University, and Dr. April Khadijah Inniss, director of community-engaged research at King Boston.

A nonprofit organization, King Boston is working closely with the City of Boston to create a memorial and programs about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King.

Drs. Saltmarsh and Quan will conduct the featured workshop on “Epistemic Justice in Practice: Implications for Community Partnerships and Student Learning.”

Drs. Eatman, Inniss, and Saltmarsh will make the special presentation titled “Orienting Campus–Community Engagement Towards Reparations.”

The concurrent presentations are slated for Sessions II and III. Presenters will come not only from Barry but also from the University of Miami and Miami Dade College. And community partners will be among the presenters.

Barry’s provost, Dr. John Murray, will deliver remarks during the opening session of the symposium.

The theme of this year’s Community Engagement Symposium is “Effectively Balancing Community Impact with Student Learning Outcomes.” The virtual event will consist of four sessions, the first beginning at 9 a.m., the second at 11 a.m., the third at noon, and the fourth at 1:30 p.m.

Because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Community Engagement Symposium was held virtually for the first time last year.

Undergraduates May Still Submit Poster Competition Entries for Attractive Prizes

Posters reflecting the “Community Impact with Student Learning Outcomes” theme will be a feature of Barry’s Eighth Annual Community Engagement Symposium on March 30. The virtual, four-session event is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and end at 3 p.m.

The theme of the symposium is “Effectively Balancing Community Impact with Student Learning Outcomes.” Students may showcase their service-learning and civic engagement by means of their posters.

Undergraduates who submit posters will compete for attractive prizes. The poster competition entries will be judged on four criteria: content, relevance, visual presentation, and oral presentation.

“The purpose of the competition is to showcase and recognize students’ course-based and co-curricular work focused on student learning and community impact,” the organizers say.

The first prize will be an 11.6-inch Acer Chromebook; the second prize: a digital air fryer; the third prize: a Litra Glow Premium LED Streaming Light. Prize winners will be announced during the closing session of the symposium.

For further information, please contact Dr. Heather Johnson Desiral, poster session coordinator, at qep@barry.edu or 305-981-8196.

Mentoring Opportunity for Faculty and Staff Still Available with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami

Barry faculty and staff are still being offered a major opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of young people. Through the university’s partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami, faculty and staff members may volunteer to serve as mentors to youth.

Volunteers, called “Bigs,” will provide either “community-based” or “site-based” mentoring to young people between 6 and 18 years of age, called “Littles.” The program requires a one-year commitment from each volunteer.

Community-based mentoring involves “fun activities,” explained Marianne Weiss, vice president of continuing education at BBBS Miami. Bigs and Littles explore the local community and share fun activities at least twice a month for four or more hours each time. Some Bigs meet their Littles on the weekends; others meet in the evenings.

Site-based mentoring is focused on academics—reading, homework help, and the like. However, Bigs and Littles may also play board and computer games, take part in sports, and engage in simple conversations. All such mentoring activities take place for one hour each week at a designated site—either at the Little’s school during the school day or at the Carnival Center for Excellence after school.

An estimated 1,000 potential Littles are awaiting their Bigs, the Center for Community Service Initiatives has learned.

Faculty and staff members interested in becoming Bigs are asked to apply via the BBBS Miami website. Questions concerning the youth mentorship opportunity and procedure should be directed to Marcia Hanna, director of intake, at mhanna@bbbsmiami.org or 305-644-0066.

Information on Barry’s partnership with BBBS Miami is available from Dr. Roxanne Davies, associate vice president for mission and student engagement, via email, rdavies@barry.edu.

New Nonprofit Organization Offers Mentoring Opportunity to College Students

A new nonprofit organization is seeking college student volunteers for its mentoring program in high schools.

The mission of Mentoring America Corp. is “to help high school students in underfunded public high schools reach their academic post-secondary goals,” says Brianna Parsons, director of communications. “Current high school students in Miami public high schools will be paired with a current college student with similar prospective goals and interests as the mentor.”

Parsons explained that mentors will provide individualized college application assistance. They will answer questions about college applications, read over supplements and essays with students, conduct mock interviews, and help with applications for financial aid.

The Mentoring America program includes complimentary standardized test prep and materials as well as internships through which students can gain experience and knowledge in their prospective career fields.

GivePulse is the community engagement platform that supports service-learning courses at Barry.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SYMPOSIUM: The virtual event takes place on March 30; and posters presented as part of the event, including Student Poster Competition entries, go on display.

SUPPORT FOR FARMWORKERS: Representatives of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers came to campus recently to promote the Fair Food Program.

Community Engagement News is a publication of the Center for Community Service Initiatives.

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