CCSI Newsletter

In This Issue:

Three More Courses Designated as Service-Learning

Students Stand Up for Fair Food

CCSI Calls for Proposals for Symposium Presentations

Community Partnership Award to be Presented on March 26

Two Service-Learning Fellowships Available for Next Year

Three More Courses Designated as Service-Learning

The Service-Learning Course Review Committee has approved three additional courses for the service-learning designation.

CHE 490-01: Senior Seminar, FIN 356-01: Student Managed Investment Fund, and a Nursing Study Abroad course will be designated as service-learning in the course schedule and on students’ transcripts.

Dr. Tamara Hamilton, associate professor of chemistry in the Department of Physical Sciences, is the instructor for CHE 490-01. This is her second service-learning course. Hamilton’s CHE 135-01: Consumer Chemistry was the first course to be designated as service-learning at Barry.

Dr. Stephen Morrell, professor of economics and finance in the D. Inez Andreas School of Business, is the instructor for FIN 356-01. He also is the advisor to Barry’s Student Managed Investment Fund, or SMIF, a student-founded and student-run investment research and management organization.

Dr. Paula A. Delpech, assistant professor of nursing in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, is the instructor for the Nursing Study Abroad course. This special-topics course, which has an international service-learning component, is Delpech’s second service-learning course, her first being a section of NUR 422: Community/Public Health Nursing.

The course notation in WebAdvisor and on students’ transcripts says: “This course met the criteria for the service-learning designation, requiring applied learning, student engagement in the community, and critical reflection.”

Students Stand Up for Fair Food

Sixty Barry students marched in solidarity with farm workers in a procession for fair food on November 22 in Coral Gables. The event was the largest of many demonstrations around the country planned to coincide with the opening of Food Chains, a documentary depicting the struggle of farm workers to gain fair treatment and better wages in Florida.

Barry Service Corps (BSC) leaders, Alternative Spring Break (ASB) members, and members of the Ignite (Sociology and Criminology) Club, as well as theology students, were among more than 150 people at the event. BarryUniversity, St. Thomas University, Florida International University, and the Student/Farmworker Alliance collaborated in organizing the event, which received support also from the University of Miami and Miami Dade College.

After attending the Food Chains screening and discussion, the Barry students took part in the procession through downtown Coral Gables in support of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ (CIW) Fair Food Program. The program is described as “a unique partnership among farmers, farm workers, and retail food companies that ensures humane wages and working conditions for the workers who pick fruits and vegetables on participating farms.”

Food Chains features an intrepid group of tomato pickers from South Florida, battling the $4 trillion global supermarket industry through the Fair Food Program. Their story is said to be “one of hope and promise for the triumph of morality over corporate greed – to ensure a dignified life for farm workers and a more humane, transparent food chain.”

Cruz Salucio, a CIW member who appears in the film, led the discussion that followed the sold-out film screening at the Coral Gables Art Cinema. He spoke about the CIW’s efforts to convince fast-food companies and grocery chains to participate in the Fair Food Program. Cruz also emphasized the important role that student advocates and consumers play in this process.

Currently Aramark, Bon Appetit Management Company, Burger King, Chipotle, Compass Group, McDonald’s, Sodexo, Subway, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Whole Foods Market, and Yum Brands support the Fair Food Program. The CIW’s current campaign is aimed at getting Wendy’s and Publix to participate in the program.

At the end of the procession, Barry sophomore Quayneshia Smith, a BSC leader and ASB co-chair, joined two other college students and Cruz to present a petition to the Publix management. The petition proclaims consumer support for fair working conditions and wages and asks Publix to speak with the CIW about joining the Fair Food Program.

Smith, who was one of event coordinators, said her participation helped to develop her leadership abilities and provided an opportunity for her “to make a real difference” in the community.

“I learned that by gathering and informing others, you can help spark a movement,” Smith said. “The Fair Food Program is asking for others just to be treated the way human beings should be treated everywhere, and I want to be a part of that.”

A Barry theology faculty member, Sister Mary Frances Fleischaker, OP, DMin, said it was important for students to be aware of injustices in our society and to learn how they can contribute to positive change. Sister Mary Frances, who attended the film screening, praised the coordinating work of the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) and the involvement of Barry students in this advocacy initiative.

During the next spring break, a group of Barry students will travel to Immokalee, Fla., where they will learn more about injustices in the food supply system and work with CIW and the Student/Farmworker Alliance on their awareness campaigns.

To learn how to support the work of the CIW and its Fair Food Program, visit http://ciw-online.org/.

CCSI Calls for Proposals for Symposium Presentations

The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) has called for proposals for presentations at Barry University’s second annual Community Engagement Symposium. Proposals may be submitted by faculty, staff, students, and community partners for concurrent presentations during two sessions of the symposium.

Relevant topics include service-learning, civic engagement, community-based research, community-focused fieldwork/internships, community-engaged scholarship, and community partnerships. Session formats are: 45-minute oral presentation, panel discussion, roundtable, and poster presentation.

The proposal submission deadline is Monday, January 12.

Additional information is available in the Community Engagement Management System, or CEMS, via the CCSI homepage.

Community Partnership Award to be Presented on March 26

Community partners will be among stakeholders recognized at the second annual Community Engagement Awards on March 26, 2015. Four community partners will be recognized with the Community Partnership Award.

This award recognizes exemplary partnerships between University and community constituencies that produce measurable improvements in people’s lives while enhancing higher education. Special consideration will be given to partnerships that strive to achieve the systems and policy changes needed to address the root causes of social, economic, health, and environmental disparities in the community.

The second annual Community Engagement Awards will coincide with the Community Engagement Symposium. The purpose of the Awards is to publicly recognize community partners, students, faculty, and staff/administrators for their participation, contributions, and achievements in community engagement.

During the inaugural year, Feeding South Florida, Miami Edison Senior High School, and Mount Tabor MissionaryBaptist Church received the Community Partnership Award.

The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) has issued a call for nominations in seven categories: Community Partnership, Community Impact (for students), Community-Based Research, Engaged Scholarship, Community Engagement Educator, Service-Learning Faculty, and Engaged Department.

The nomination deadline is Friday, January 30.

Additional information is available in CEMS—the Community Engagement Management System via the CCSI homepage.

Two Service-Learning Fellowships Available for Next Year

Two service-learning fellowships will be available for the 2015–2016 academic year.

The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) invites faculty members to apply for the fellowships, though which successful applicants participate in a yearlong faculty development program focused on service-learning pedagogy, practice, and associated scholarship. Each service-learning fellow gets a course release to serve as a workshop coordinator/instructor, faculty mentor, and engaged scholar.

For further information and to apply, contact CCSI Director Dr. Glenn Bowen via email, gbowen@barry.edu.