CCSI Newsletter

In This Issue:

Faculty Members Receive Service-Learning Fellowships

Registration for One-Day Conference in Progress

Workshops on African American History Continue in Hollywood

Barry Intern Touches Lives in the Community

Agency Posts Development and Finance Internship Positions

Faculty Members Receive Service-Learning Fellowships

The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) has awarded service-learning fellowships to two faculty members. Dr. Ligia Mihut, assistant professor of English, and Dr. Raul Machuca, assistant professor of counseling, will be faculty fellows with the CCSI throughout the 2015–2016 academic year.

Mihut (PhD in English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is a member of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Rhetoric Society of America, National Council of Teachers of English, and Modern Language Association. Her research interests include immigrant literacy and writing for social justice.

As part of her fellowship, Mihut intends to develop a curriculum that will facilitate students’ exploration of multilingual issues and literacy in local communities. She also plans to create writing groups in the community, coordinate tutoring for disadvantaged groups, and support other literacy programs.

Machuca (PhD in Counselor Education, University of New Orleans) is the clinical supervisor for Barry’s College Reach Out Program (CROP) and a member of the Counselor Community Engagement Committee of Chi Sigma Iota, the international honor society for professional counselors. He also is a member of the Education Council for the Fort Lauderdale-based SunServe, a social service agency that serves the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) community.

“I recognize the enormous opportunity that service-learning offers for the fulfillment of central competencies required of our counselors in training,” Machuca said. “I hope to continue learning and to inspire other counselor educators and faculty at Barry and across the country to discover and experience the benefits of this and other experiential education tools. I also aspire to contribute to the still small body of community-based research, particularly among counselor educators.”

Faculty fellows support for the coordination and promotion of service-learning at Barry. They serve as workshop instructors and faculty mentors while seeking to become community-engaged scholars.

Registration for One-Day Conference in Progress

Registration for the second annual Community Engagement Symposium is in progress.

The one-day conference consists of a short opening session set for 9 a.m., two hour-long seminar/workshops by the lead presenter, and two 50-minute concurrent sessions featuring peer-reviewed presentations. A short closing session is scheduled for 3:25.

The second annual Community Engagement Awards will coincide with the symposium.

Students, faculty, staff, and community partners are urged to register as soon as possible.

Further information regarding the symposium is available from the CCSI at service@barry.edu or 305-899-3728.

Workshops on African American History Continue in Hollywood

The series of workshops on African American History and Culture continues in Hollywood this Tuesday, February 24. Dr. Walter Pierce, associate professor of social work, will conduct a workshop on the Black Church and the Civil Rights Movement.

Pierce participated in the first workshop on February 10. He reviewed the origins of Black History Month in the context of the centennial of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

“We are more than fortunate to have forged a partnership with Barry University,” said City of Hollywood Community Development Administrator Anthony Grisby. “The high-level educators provided by Barry are supporting the efforts of the African American Advisory Council to increase cultural awareness in the City of Hollywood.”

Dr. John McFadden, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, attended the first workshop. In an email to the CCSI, he wrote: “Tonight, I was especially proud of being part of Barry. You brought together an incredible team of faculty from Barry to open the workshop series on African American History and Culture in the City of Hollywood. Our faculty handled some difficult concepts and challenging conversations with grace and ease. I am so pleased that we are making a difference in this community and living the Barry mission.”

All workshops in the six-part series are held at the City Hall, located at 2600 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, beginning at 6 p.m. The workshops are free and open to the public.

Here is the rest of the schedule:

? March 10: “African American Educators and Social Reform” – Dr. Terrell Brown, assistant professor of social work, and Dr. Evelyn Cartright, assistant professor of English and director of Africana studies.

? March 24: “African American Literature” – Dr. Evelyn Cartright.

? April 14: “African Americans in the Workplace” – Dr. Glenn Bowen, director of the CCSI, and Dr. Victor Romano, associate professor of sociology and criminology.

? April 28: “African American Music and Dance: Sacred and Secular Traditions” – Dionisio Camacho, adjunct professor of music, and Yvonne Goodridge, assistant professor of dance.

The final workshop will segue into cultural performances by residents of Hollywood.

For further information, contact Dr. Glenn Bowen, coordinator of the workshop series, at gbowen@barry.edu.

Barry Intern Touches Lives in the Community

Soledad Nieto-Garcia has touched lives in the IDD (intellectual or developmental disability) population. IDD students have adapted healthier behaviors such as regular walking and healthy eating, thanks to the Barry graduate student’s involvement in the work of the South Florida Healthy Community.

Nieto-Garcia completed her three-month internship with South Florida Healthy Community on February 10.

Director Karlyn Emile sang Nieto-Garcia’s praises: “Three months ago, Soledad was sent from the Master of Public Health dual degree (program) at Barry to conduct her internship at the Healthy Community. We recalled the look on her face when she was told what the internship entailed. We reassured her that she would do great. … Her students adapted healthier behaviors, which include walking and healthy eating. Many of them have omitted soda from their diet. As a result, some have lost up to 7 pounds in the 10-week nutrition program led bySoledad and others.”

In addition, “Soledad took it upon herself to translate English items to Spanish for athletes and families that only speak Spanish,” Emile said. “She truly touched the lives of our athletes/consumers. I am so very proud of her.”

Special Olympics International created Healthy Community in response to the U.S. Surgeon General’s call to action on the healthcare disparities affecting people with an intellectual or developmental disability. Special Olympics Florida supervises the South Florida Healthy Community.

Agency Posts Development and Finance Internship Positions

Feeding South Florida has posted two unpaid positions for college interns. The first is in the Development Department, where the intern will assist with supporter recruitment and communications. The second is in the Finance Department, where the intern will assist with accounting functions such as accounts receivable, accounts payable, tax reporting, and audit compliance.

Each position requires a three-month commitment (five to six months preferred) and a minimum of 12 hours a week.

One of 202 food banks comprising the Feeding America network, Feeding South Florida serves Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties through a network of nonprofit partner agencies, including soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters, group homes, and other emergency food service programs.

Further information is available from Feeding South Florida Volunteer Coordinator Sibyl Brown at sbrown@feedingsouthflorida.org.