Service & Civic Engagement

Effective community partnerships benefit all parties involved. They benefit students by providing valuable experiential learning opportunities that put theory into practice. They benefit the college by strengthening the relationship between the campus community and the surrounding off-campus community. Finally, they benefit the community partner and undeserved populations by utilizing campus resources to address a local social issue. In addition, experiential learning allows for students from diverse backgrounds to learn in a variety of pedagogical approaches. I discuss how I believe this is an essential component to a liberal arts education in my diversity statement.

Service to Colby College

Inequality Initiative Working Group

Our mission is to bring light to critical issues from a scholarly perspective. Over the last few years faculty groups have deliberated about the possibility of creating a broad-based academic program on inequality. The concept has not been finalized, but the basic idea is to create an “Inequality Lab,” a multi-disciplinary approach to scholarship, teaching, learning, and community engagement. This will lead to many new courses focused on inequality, research that illuminates the causes and solutions to addressing societal challenges, and engaged work in communities designed to facilitate positive change.

Faculty in Residence

Student and faculty interaction outside of the formal classroom setting is considered an essential characteristic of a vibrant campus’s intellectual life. Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) indicate that faculty-student interactions in residence halls, community centers, and dining facilities provide a bridge between formal academic programs and out-of-classroom learning and development activities for students. Research suggests that students experience benefits from such out-of-class interactions that include increased intellectual orientation, growth in autonomy and independence, increased interpersonal skills, and gains in general maturity and personal development. This an opportunity for faculty to encourage our students to think more about their overall well-being, guide them to become better local and global citizens who want to make a difference in the lives of others, and support our goals for a more inclusive and equitable community. Website.

Community Partnerships and Off-Campus Service

Below you can find details about how I have partnered with community organizations in prior courses.