April 15, 2019 |
Student, Staff Members, and Department Recognized for Contributions to Community Engagement Florida’s Opioid Epidemic Demands Urgent Attention from Lawmakers, say Deliberative Dialogue Participants Sale of Local Small-Farmers’ Produce Continues on Campus Next Thursday VP Smith Coauthors Article Highlighting Civic Learning, Democratic Engagement Faculty Invited to Submit Applications for Service-Learning Course Designation CCSI Accepting Applications for Barry Service Corps Fellows Program
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Student, Staff Members, and Department Recognized for Contributions to Community Engagement
Book Reuse and Recycling Project Highlighted
Barry University’s Department of Marketing, staff members Merlene Nembhard and Joanne Ittilucksatit, and graduate student Francesca Gerard have been recognized for their contributions to community engagement.
The Department of Marketing has made “immense contributions” to community engagement primarily by promoting programs coordinated by the Center for Community Service Initiatives on behalf of the university, noted CCSI Executive Director Dr. Glenn Bowen.
The CCSI annual report and weekly newsletters, as well as brochures and bulletins, are publications produced and distributed with Marketing’s support, Bowen said. He thanked the Marketing team for demonstrating creativity and a commitment to high standards.
At Barry’s sixth annual Community Engagement Awards, Bowen presented a plaque to the department. On hand to accept it were Michel Sily, assistant vice president for enrollment marketing, and Karen Subran, account manager.
A book collection and recycling project that she currently coordinates earned Nembhard the recognition she received during the recent event.
A reference librarian in the Monsignor William Barry Memorial Library, Nembhard has coordinated the project since December 2010. Organized in support of Better World Books, the project has saved unwanted books from landfills while supporting a literacy initiative in Africa.
Between December 2010 and mid-March of this year, more than 30,380 books were reused or recycled, saving 489 trees. The reuse and recycling of the donated books also saved 258,733 gallons of water and helped to reduce greenhouse gases. In addition, the library received credit of $6,822 from the sale of books while Books For Africa, a nonprofit literacy partner of Better World Books, received $2,274.
Ittilucksatit, assistant to the dean of the School of Education, contributed to the development of the campus garden, which will serve the wider community. She also assisted with Barry’s Community Learning Partnership and the Stamps Scholars service projects.
Gerard, a student in the Master of Science In Curriculum and Instruction program, volunteered in support of such organizations as the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Hands on Broward, and Fanm Kreyol. She focused on promoting empowerment for the Haitian-American community and vulnerable populations.
The major awards presented during the ceremony on March 27 were in the categories of Community Impact, Community Partnership, Community Engagement Educator, Service-Learning Faculty, and Engaged Department.
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Florida’s opioid epidemic demands urgent attention from lawmakers, healthcare professionals, communities, and families. State funds should be earmarked for multiple approaches to addressing this serious public health issue.
During a deliberative dialogue forum on campus, participants emphasized the need for more state-funded programs for people struggling with addiction. Funds should be provided for publicly owned inpatient facilities that provide opportunities to build healthy community relationships, forum participants said.
They called for a harm-reduction strategy and a variety of anti-addiction programs to deal with the opioid crisis. Besides methadone clinics, forum participants said, there should be therapy, support groups, and lifestyle solutions. Educational programs should be designed to make people aware of the value of healthy eating and regular exercise, they added.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared a national opioid epidemic in 2017, prompting then-Governor Rick Scott to declare a state of public health emergency in Florida. According to the Florida Behavioral Health Association, opioid use is to blame for 10 deaths each day in the state.
Against that background, the CCSI hosted a forum in the Deliberative Dialogue Series recently. Campus and community participants acknowledged that the opioid crisis was causing devastating effects – burdening families, communities, workplaces, and the healthcare system.
The CCSI assembled a small panel of local experts for the forum on “Florida’s Opioid Epidemic: A Serious Public Health Issue.” The panelists were James Jiler, co-founder and executive director of Urban GreenWorks; Daryl Lazaro Hawkins, a member of Barry’s nursing faculty; and Jordan Pate, a Barry graduate student in clinical psychology, currently working at a methadone treatment center in Broward County.
Jiler is known for promoting the physical and mental health benefits of gardening. His book, Doing Time in the Garden, outlines the gardening program he established at New York City’s Rikers Island jail.
During the forum, Jiler emphasized the value of a “lifestyle” approach to drug treatment as he spoke about the importance of holistic health. He recommended that people eat nutritious food, including fresh fruits and vegetables, to lessen the body’s need for substances.
Lazaro Hawkins drew on her experience as a nurse consultant for the State of Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, to draw attention to the complex issues surrounding the opioid epidemic in relation to infectious diseases.
Pate referred to her experience working in a mental health and substance abuse facility for three years. She mentioned the medication-assisted treatment for individuals struggling with opioid addiction and her contribution to raising awareness about drug addiction.
Earlier, forum moderator Dr. Sarah Lewis provided a personal context for the forum by sharing the experience of a family member who has struggled with opioid addiction. The associate professor of social work explained that opioid changes the chemistry of the brain, leading to dependence.
Noting that it could cost $60,000 a year for incarceration but only about $16,000 a year for treatment, forum participants suggested that less emphasis be placed on the criminalization of addiction. They said there was a need to raise awareness about the privatization of prisons, which diverse funds from drug rehabilitation and mental health treatment. Barry University has adapted deliberative dialogue as a method of civic learning and engagement. The CCSI organizes an annual Deliberative Dialogue Series to bring together campus and community stakeholders to weigh perspectives, exchange ideas, and propose solutions to social issues of current concern.
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Sale of Local Small-Farmers’ Produce Continues on Campus Next Thursday
The sale of produce cultivated and harvested by local-area small farmers who practice sustainable agriculture will continue next Thursday (April 25) on Barry’s main campus. The Farmers Stand will be in operation that day, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., on the Thompson Hall lawn.
The Barry FairShare Farmers Stand provides produce, including fruits and vegetables, for sale. Purchases provide income and livelihood for the farmers.
Barry FairShare is part of the Barry Urban Garden (BUG), a community agriculture initiative designed to support low-income neighborhoods that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has categorized as urban food deserts. Liberty City and Little Haiti are two such neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County.
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VP Smith Coauthors Article Highlighting Civic Learning, Democratic Engagement
Dr. Scott Smith, vice president for mission and student engagement, has coauthored an article, “Taking a Deep Dive into the Emergent Theory of Change,” published in the eJournal of Public Affairs.
The article highlights the civic learning and democratic engagement efforts at Barry University, New College of Florida, and the University of North Carolina Greensboro. It draws attention to Barry’s Civic Action Plan and Quality Enhancement Plan.
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Faculty Invited to Submit Applications for Service-Learning Course Designation
The CCSI is inviting faculty members whose courses include a service-learning component to apply for the service-learning designation.
Sections of courses, internships, practicum assignments, field education, capstones, community-based research, and similar community-focused or community-based work also may be designated as service-learning.
According to a statement from the CCSI, “Designating courses as service-learning promotes deep integration of thoughtfully organized community service into the curriculum and high standards of service-learning practice. …Service-learning courses demonstrate the value of applied learning, student engagement with the community, and critical reflection.”
The statement also says the service-learning notation in the course schedule “confirms that Barry University is using the curriculum to meet its commitment to collaborative service in community settings.”
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CCSI Accepting Applications for Barry Service Corps Fellows Program
The CCSI is accepting applications for the 2019–2020 Barry Service Corps Fellows cohort. The application deadline is April 30.
The BSC Fellows Program is a civic learning and leadership initiative of the CCSI. Designed to develop civic-mindedness in undergraduates, the program has four major components: (1) Training and development sessions; (2) collaboration with community partners; (3) support of CCSI programs and events; and (4) design, implementation, and assessment of focused projects.
“Program alumni have gone on to become community organizers, professionals in nonprofit organizations, AmeriCorps volunteers, political campaigns organizers, and social entrepreneurs,” noted CCSI Associate Director Courtney Berrien.
Candidates for the program must be in good academic standing with the university, graduate no earlier than May 2020, participate in a weeklong orientation (August 19–23), and attend meetings on Friday afternoons throughout the academic year. The time commitment for this program is approximately seven hours a week.
Interested students may pick up an application form in the CCSI offices – Adrian 208 – or contact Berrien at cberrien@barry.edu or 305-899-4017.
Faculty and staff members are encouraged to contact the CCSI associate director with their recommendations of potential BSC fellows.
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