September 14, 2009
Twenty of St. John’s University faculty from across
various disciplines convened at Lourdes Hall on the Queens campus
for a two-day certificate program hosted by the Office of Academic
Service-Learning. Attendees gained insight into the
mission of AS-L, examined its learning objectives, learned methods
to incorporate service reflection into the curriculum and establish
community partnerships.
“The training was very comprehensive in spelling out details and
providing examples from other courses at St. Johns,” says Judith
Ryder, Ph.D, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology
& Anthropology. “As a result of the training, I plan to
establish a more focused AS-L project and work with one
organization, which will ultimately create a beneficial encounter
for the student and the partner.”
Summing up the workshop,
Marc Gillespie, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical
Sciences, notes that he “always liked the concept of Academic
Service-Learning. It was wonderful to see a group with so much
excitement about this program. I am now looking to leverage the
resources offered through the AS-L office to improve the curriculum
for my spring Pharmacogenomics course.”
Building AS-L Ambassadors
Moderated by Lynn Stravino, Associate Director of AS-L, the two-day
seminar, featured guest speaker Dr. Edward Zlotkowski, Professor of
English and founder of the Bentley Service-Learning Center. He has
written and lectured extensively on an array of service-learning
and engagement topics. St. John’s Associate Clinical
Professor
John Conry, Pharm.D lectured on the design of an effective AS-L
syllabus. During a panel discussion, Professors
Nancy McGarr, Ph.D, Heidi
Upton, Ph.D and
Laura Schramm, Ph.D shared related experiences on incorporating
AS-L into their coursework.
“AS-L makes a philosophical point,” adds Dr.
Zlotkowski. “It’s about a constant dialect between the
learning and service aspect. The reflection generates the learning
which goes back to practical faculty skills.”
As part of the agenda, faculty members visited St. John’s Bread & Life
Soup Kitchen, a not-for-profit organization that addresses the
issues of hunger and poverty in Brooklyn and Queens, NY. Bread
& Life serves over 1,000 meals to hungry New Yorkers on a daily
basis. During the trip, faculty met staff members, toured the
facility and gained insight into a student’s service-learning
experience.
“The main objective of this certificate program is to help
professors acquire special skills and knowledge of Academic
Service-Learning to further engage students through
experiential learning while embracing the St. John’s Mission,”
explains Stravino. “It is our hope that at the conclusion of the
program faculty will serve as ambassadors for AS-L throughout the
University community, both locally and globally.”
VISA
Academic Service-Learning enhances the educational experience of
St. John’s students and is a major component of the University’s
2009-2013 Strategic Plan. It’s also a part of the Vincentian
Institute for Social Action (VISA), which was launched by the
University to more visibly embed St. John’s Catholic and Vincentian
mission into the educational experience of its students. VISA
provides an organizational focus for a variety of new and ongoing
programs through which faculty and students can work together to
explore the causes of and develop solutions for poverty and social
injustice throughout the world.