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Community Advisory Committee Appointed to Support QEP Implementation
A Community Advisory Committee has been appointed to support the implementation of Barry’s Quality Enhancement Plan. Composed of nine members, the committee will provide feedback and recommendations on various aspects of the QEP.
“The committee will also assist in shaping institutional involvement with the community by offering suggestions and advice,” said University Provost Dr. John Murray. “Committee members will regularly share their knowledge, experience, and expertise with the university.”
Murray has appointed Saliha Nelson, vice president of URGENT, Inc., as chair of the committee. URGENT (Urban Renewal Greater Enhancement National Team) is a Miami-based youth and community development organization.
Nelson is an experienced non-profit executive, youth development professional, and community coalition builder. Also a trained community psychologist, she is a member of the Society for Community Research and Action.
Nelson holds a Master’s in Education from the University Other members of the committee include leaders of community-based agencies, an elementary/middle-school principal, program administrators in the public and nonprofit sectors, and a representative of the business sector.
All committee members have been appointed for a three-year term. The members will elect a committee vice chair.
The QEP Implementation Committee and the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) recommended the appointees.
The QEP is a core requirement of the accreditation process administered by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges.
QEP Director Dr. Glenn Bowen will coordinate the committee’s work. Bowen also is the executive director of the CCSI, the university’s community engagement clearinghouse.
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Comprehensive Review of Service-Learning Courses Underway
A comprehensive review of the university’s service-learning courses is underway. The primary purpose of the review is to determine the extent to which each course continues to meet the highest standard of service-learning practice.
Since June 2013, nearly 30 courses, with more than 50 sections in all, have been designated as service-learning.
The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI), in consultation with the Office of the Provost, is conducting the review.
Members of the CCSI-appointed Service-Learning Course Review Committee include three faculty members who have won Barry’s Service-Learning Faculty Award: Dr. Tamara Hamilton, an associate professor in the Department of Physical Sciences; Dr. Kevin Kemerer, an associate professor in the School
The CCSI has outlined seven objectives of the review process. One of the objectives is the redesign of course sections to emphasize alignment of learning outcomes, the community service or community-based research requirement, and critical reflection. Another is the delineation of best practices in service-learning by Barry faculty.
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Groups to Spend Spring Break at U.S.–Mexico Border and in Haiti
Two groups from Barry will spend spring break (March 6–12) engaging with communities. One group will be in a United States–Mexico border town; the other will be in the northwestern region of Haiti.
Seven students and a staff member will travel to McAllen
Experiential Learning Coordinator Liz James will learn and serve with the students.
Montanaro, a senior social work major, hopes to “learn about the social justice issues at the border right now and see what is really happening, compared to what we hear in the media.”
Maryknoll Sisters will host the alternative spring breakers. A not-for-profit Catholic organization, Maryknoll Sisters is part of the four-member Maryknoll movement headquartered in the village of Ossining, New York. The Sisters serve the Saint Anne Catholic Community, a quasi-parish that encompasses four churches near the U.S.–Mexico border: Saint Anne Church in Pueblo de Palmas, Peñitas; Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in
A 12-member group – nine students, two faculty members, and a staff member – will journey to Port-de-Paix and Leogane
Teresita Gonzales, an Amor En Acción trip leader and Barry alumna, will accompany the group to Haiti.
Amor En Acción, a lay missionary group of the Archdiocese of Miami, is assisting the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) with building a partnership between Barry University and the Archdiocese of Port-de-Paix, Miami’s sister diocese. Founded by Dr. Alicia Marill, a Barry associate professor of theology, Amor En Acción has been supporting the work of local bishops in Haiti and the neighboring
Dr. Sean Buckreis, an assistant professor of education, and Courtney Berrien, the CCSI’s associate director, will facilitate educational activities with pre-service teachers in Haiti’s Northwest Department. Students Alexis Alexander, Janene Bottinelli, Jessica Darring, Frances Difabio, Talia Garrett, Althea Hylton, and Samantha Ternelus will assist with the activities.
Darring, a post-baccalaureate/pre-med student, looks forward to “being exposed to the issues that are unique to the Haitian community, because they are different than what we experience here.”
According to Darring, the trip “will provide a broader perspective on what others are dealing with and also help us figure out what people in the U.S. can do to help find solutions to these issues.”
Dr. Mureen Shaw, an assistant professor of nursing and coordinator of Nursing Study Abroad, will serve alongside Milouse Boldwyn and Diana Ospina, the nursing students, and Tatiana Rodriguez, a lab operations coordinator for the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. They will provide basic health-related services to residents of the city of
After spending four days in the northwest region, the team from Nursing and Health Sciences will travel south to Leogane to visit the Episcopalian
The purpose of Barry’s Alternative Breaks program is to educate students about social, political, and environmental issues through direct service and group reflections in underserved communities outside South Florida.
Alternative Spring Break participants raise funds toward meeting their travel expenses. They are now accepting donations through the CrowdRise fundraising site for charitable causes <https://www.crowdrise.com/alternative-spring-break-2017>. Campus Ministry, the Student Government Association, and the CCSI will provide some financial support.
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Students Advocate Safer Communities as Part of PACT Program
Barry Service Corps fellows and service-learning students have been assisting community leaders with renewed efforts to make Miami-Dade communities safer. They also have been supporting advocacy efforts regarding reduced criminal records for minors who have committed nonviolent offenses.
PACT (People Acting for Community Together) is coordinating the countywide efforts.
The BSC fellows involved are Kevin Dalia, Victoria Montanaro, Jennifer Sanhou, Felix Vega-Pagan, and John Sem Victor. They recently organized an orientation session for a small group of service-learning students taking a theology course. During the session, the student leaders provided an overview of community organizing strategies and PACT’s community organizing action cycle.
Supervised by CCSI Program Coordinator Andres Quevedo, the BSC fellows also helped the service-learning students make connections between the advocacy efforts and the content of the theology course.
The students were expected to participate in a Justice Ministry Team Assembly at Grace
PACT will hold a rally in early March and its annual Nehemiah Action Assembly on March 27.
In the weeks leading up to the assembly, PACT representatives will meet with public officials to solicit their support of policies designed to address local community issues and to create safer neighborhoods.
Barry students will participate in the meetings and prepare the invitations to the assembly. They will also try to recruit at least 60 faculty, staff, and other students to attend the Nehemiah Action Assembly.
PACT is a “direct-action organization” that hosts large community assemblies where public officials are encouraged to adopt solutions to pressing problems. According to its mission statement, “PACT unites, organizes and trains leaders from diverse congregations, schools and community groups to build a powerful community voice.” The organization aims to “hold officials accountable, achieve systemic change, and promote fairness, justice and democracy in
The Miami Shores-based organization identifies issues through an extensive “listening process” involving its more than 1,500 members drawn from 39 congregations and two universities.
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Community Engagement Symposium Registration Opens
Registration for
The symposium agenda includes a short opening session set for 9:30 a.m., two workshop/seminar sessions by the lead presenter, two concurrent sessions featuring presentations based on peer-reviewed proposals, a poster session, and a community partner showcase.
Dr. Patrick M. Green, director of the Center for Experiential Learning at Loyola University Chicago, will be the lead presenter at the symposium. He will conduct a 10:00–11:00 a.m. workshop on the topic, “Reflecting on Community Work: A Framework for Meaning-Making,” and a lunch-hour (12:30–1:30) seminar titled “Leading with Community: Emphasizing Community in Community-Based (Experiential) Learning.”
The poster session is scheduled for 2:45–3:45 p.m. in Andreas 112. Proposals for poster-session presentations are still being accepted.
For additional information regarding registration, contact Alicia Santos in the CCSI at asantos@barry.edu or 305-899-3696.
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Staff and Faculty Urged to Support Barry FairShare Project
Staff and faculty members are urged to participate in the Barry FairShare Project, a community-supported agriculture initiative of the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) in partnership with Urban GreenWorks.
Sales of produce provide revenue directly to local small farmers who practice sustainable agriculture.
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Engaged Scholarship Seminar Set for this Monday Afternoon
The Faculty Learning Community’s next Engaged Scholarship Seminar will be held this Monday (February 27) from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in Adrian 208. “Student Perceptions of Community Engagement” is the topic of the seminar.
Drs. Laura Finley and Victor Romano, associate professors in the Department of Sociology and Criminology, will review journal articles connected to the seminar topic.
Any faculty member may join the FLC and attend seminars throughout the academic year.
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CCSI Newsletter
Posted On : February 27, 2017
