Community Engagement News

November 27, 2017

In This Issue:

Barry University Receives Engaged Campus Award from Florida Campus Compact

Immigration Reform at Top of Community Agenda in Miami-Dade County

CCSI Calls for Proposals for Community Engagement Symposium

Community Engagement Award Categories Include Community-Based Research

Course Instructors Invited to Apply for Service-Learning Designation

Two Service-Learning Fellowships Available for Next Year

Seminar on Community-Engaged Research Set for This Thursday

Barry University Receives Engaged Campus Award from Florida Campus Compact

Barry University is a recipient of the Engaged Campus of the Year Award from Florida Campus Compact.

The award was presented recently in recognition of the university’s achievements in “advancing the public purposes of higher education, improving community life, and educating students for civic and social responsibility.”

Dr. Glenn Bowen, executive director of the Center for Community Service Initiatives, accepted the award on behalf of the university. The presentation was made by Dr. Edwin Massey, president of Indian River State College and a member of the Florida Campus Compact Executive Committee, at the organization’s Awards Gala hosted byRollins College in Winter Park.

Barry was honored for high achievements among the independent colleges and universities of Florida.

Florida Campus Compact noted that community engagement is an institutional priority and social justice a core commitment at Barry University.

“Holding the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, Barry prides itself on its role in inspiring students to bring positive change to the local and global community,” Florida Campus Compact acknowledged. “Each year, Barry is named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, most recently with distinction, for demonstrating strong levels of institutional commitment and providing a compelling case for partnerships that produce measurable impact on the community.”

Florida Campus Compact also mentioned the significant role of Barry’s Center for Community Service Initiatives as the institutional clearinghouse for community engagement information, resources, and opportunities as well as the coordinating unit for university–community partnerships.

Florida Campus Compact is the state affiliate of a national coalition of college and university leaders committed to the public purposes of higher education. The state network consists of nearly 70 higher education leaders and their institutions.

Eastern FloridaState College and Florida InternationalUniversity also received Engaged Campus awards at the event on November 16.

Barry student leader Paola Montenegro was among 16 Newman Civic Fellows from Florida Campus Compact member institutions recognized at the Awards Gala. Selected by Campus Compact, the national organization, Newman Civic Fellows are “community-committed students who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities.”

Immigration Reform at Top of Community Agenda in Miami-Dade County

Immigration reform has been placed at the top of the agenda of community leaders and advocates in Miami-Dade County.

That’s the outcome of a vote by representatives of faith-based organizations participating in the annual meeting of a countywide coalition named PACT. They voted to address immigration reform through a research-to-community-action process that will get underway in December and continue for several months.

Meantime, PACT (People Acting for Community Together) has decided also to keep gun violence reduction and affordable housing high on its agenda for 2017–2018. Coalition leaders will continue to work with public officials and hold them accountable for previous agreements made to improve access to affordable housing and to implement measures to reduce gun violence.

PACT is a coalition of 39 congregations – churches, synagogues, and mosques – and two universities representing more than 50,000 people in Miami-DadeCounty. A "direct action” organization, PACT aims to unite, organize, and train leaders from diverse congregations, schools, and community groups to build a powerful community voice and hold officials accountable to achieve systemic change by promoting fairness, justice, and democracy throughout the county. 

Student leaders in the Barry Service Corps and students taking service-learning courses supported PACT leaders earlier this semester in a listening process that culminated in the selection of immigration reform as the main issue to be tackled. The student leaders, all fellows in the Barry Service Corps, will continue their involvement with PACT throughout the research-to-action process over the next four months.  

At the annual meeting, PACT members spoke about their fears that immigration enforcement officers could pick up family members and friends and deport them to their countries of origin.

Local officials provided updates on their previous commitments to PACT. Miami Gardens Police Chief Noel Pratt and Miami-Dade Police Assistant Director Stephanie Daniels spoke about their departments’ progress on implementing programs aimed at reducing gun violence.

Michael Liu, director of Miami-Dade County public housing and community development, outlined plans to develop, by 2010, a comprehensive strategy for affordable housing.

Gun Violence

Last year, PACT member congregations voted to address the issue of gun violence with a focus on people under age 25, the population segment that accounted for 37 percent of all gun-related deaths in the county.

PACT won commitments from five law enforcement officials to form a joint exploratory committee to research three programs to deal with gun violence: Group Violence Intervention, Cure Violence (conflict resolution), and Office of Neighborhood Safety. The officials also committed to implementing the programs they consider most suitable for Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami, and the City of Miami Gardens.

Affordable Housing

Thanks to PACT’s work, the county’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund was reactivated in 2015, after eight years of dormancy, and the Miami-Dade Board of County Commission signaled that it would allocate 50 percent of AHTF funds to families making $34,000 and below. The Board of Commissioners has since moved money into the AHTF.

Noting that many people are still struggling to afford safe and decent housing, PACT and its advocacy partners are trying to identify “a sustainable annual source” of $10 million for the AHTF.

At the same time, PACT is monitoring progress on the creation of a five-year plan to address the affordable housing crisis in Miami-Dade. The plan is expected to be ready by early June next year.

Participation by Barry Students

Barry Service Corps fellows assigned to the civic health project team worked weekly with PACT staff this semester to support the listening process, which took place in houses of worship throughout Miami-Dade. They also prepared invitations for PACT’s annual meeting and updated information on public officials such as school board members, county commissioners, and police chiefs for PACT’s records.

Alberto Liriano, Jasmine McKee, Dellayah Pleasure, Shayna Ramirez, Antonio Rodriguez, and Felix Vega Pagan got service-learning and other Barry students involved by facilitating a “house meeting” and discussions on campus. The students learned about PACT’s history, mission, grassroots methods, and annual community-organizing cycle. And they shared their responses to acts of injustice in the community.

Donté Roberts, a CCSI program coordinator, and Liz James, experiential learning coordinator, have been supervising the student leaders.

PACT’s research process will kick off next month and continue through February. The Barry Service Corps civic health team members and other students will contribute to the research and participate in the annual Nehemiah Action Assembly in late March. At the assembly, public officials will be asked to commit to the policy recommendations finalized by PACT leaders during the research process.

CCSI Calls for Proposals for Community Engagement Symposium

The Center for Community Service Initiatives has issued a call for concurrent-session proposals for Barry University’s fifth annual Community Engagement Symposium. Proposals for 60-minute presentations should highlight social responsibility demonstrated through experiential learning.

Successful proposals will emphasize aspects or features of experiential learning activities that engage students, as well as faculty and staff, with community partners at the local, regional, state, national, and/or global levels to achieve social responsibility goals. Proposals should specify the social issues addressed; the strategies, programs/projects, and related activities undertaken; and the social responsibility outcomes achieved.

All proposals for concurrent-session presentations at the March 28 symposium will be peer reviewed and should be submitted by January 26.

Additional information and the proposal form are available in the Community Engagement Management System, accessed from the CCSI homepage, and directly from the CCSI via email, ccsi@barry.edu.

The Center for Community Service Initiatives is organizing the symposium with support from the QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan) Implementation Committee.

Community Engagement Award Categories Include Community-Based Research

Community-Based Research is among the categories for which Community Engagement Award nominations are being accepted.

Students, faculty, staff, and administrators are invited to submit nominations by January 26.

The nomination form is available in CEMS – the Community Engagement Management System.

The other award categories are Community Impact,Community Partnership, Engaged Scholarship, Community Engagement Educator, Service-Learning Faculty, and Engaged Department.

The fifth annual Community Engagement Awards will be held on March 28, 2018.

Course Instructors Invited to Apply for Service-Learning Designation

The Center for Community Service Initiatives 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.

“Designating courses as service-learning promotes deep integration of thoughtfully organized community service into the curriculum and high standards of service-learning practice,” the CCSI said in a statement. “Service-learning courses demonstrate the value of applied learning, student engagement with the community, and critical reflection.”

According to the CCSI statement, the service-learning notation in the course schedule also confirms that Barry University is using the curriculum to meet its commitment to collaborative service in community settings.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has classified Barry as a community-engaged institution.

Two Service-Learning Fellowships Available for Next Year

Two service-learning fellowships will be available to faculty members for the 2018–2019 academic year. The Center for Community Service Initiatives will award the fellowships to successful applicants during the spring semester.

Through the annual fellowships, faculty members participate in a yearlong professional development program focused on service-learning pedagogy, practice, and associated scholarship.

Faculty members are invited to apply for next year’s fellowships by January 15.

Seminar on Community-Engaged Research Set for This Thursday

A seminar on community-engaged research will be held this Thursday (Nov. 29), from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. The CCSI will host the seminar in Adrian Hall, Room 208.

The engaged scholarship seminar is part of the program of the Faculty Learning Community for Engaged Scholarship, a cross-disciplinary group of faculty members who participate in a collaborative program focused on the scholarship of engagement. The seminar is open to all faculty members.