Service-Learning center selects inaugural faculty fellows
The first class of IU East Faculty Fellows have been chosen for the Center for Service-Learning program, a new incentive created as a part of the Building a Service-Engagement Infrastructure grant. These faculty members will develop and deploy their service-learning course plans during the summer and fall.

The Service-Learning Faculty Fellows are:

Elvinet Wilson, assistant professor of communication studies, with the project “Indiana Storycorps.”

Paul Kriese, associate professor of political science, with a project on “From our house to the White House:  Neighborhood Organization Study.”

Teresa Henderson, lecturer of Foreign Languages, with the project “A Study Abroad Exploration of Fair Trade.”

Kriese and Henderson have also been selected as Indiana Campus Compact Faculty Fellows for this work.

In the coming spring, the faculty will present a Service-Learning Showcase of their work for the campus and a curriculum infusion workshop for faculty in collaboration with the IU East Center for Teaching and Learning.

Baxter Neighborhood Center is at new location
The Baxter Neighborhood Help Center is a service program under the direction of the Center for Service-Learning. The center was established in 2004 to provide necessary services to the Baxter community.

The center has moved its location to the Early Learning and Family Literacy Center (ELF), located in the former Baxter Elementary School building. In April 2009, the center began a partnership with Richmond Community Schools and the ELF. The move allows the center to provide services in a central location to Baxter neighborhood residents. Programs provided by the center include after-school tutoring, mentorship/play programs, and a variety of experiential activities and field trips that offer opportunities for valuable interaction between college students and participants. These well-planned, faculty-supervised projects are designed to empower and enrich the lives of children and youth, as well as their families. They also become valuable learning experiences for the college students, and for many, the experiences can be life-changing.

Ange Cooksey, director of the Center for Service-Learning at IU East, established the Baxter Neighborhood Help Center as a cooperative project between IU East and the Richmond community. The center has been a successful learning tool and community outreach program for students. A grant by Indiana Campus Compact, awarded in January 2008, has allowed the program to flourish by establishing the campus office and expanding opportunities for programming to the community. The service-learning program was named to the President’s Honor Roll for the third straight year in 2009 by The Corporation for National and Community Service for exemplary service efforts and service to communities.

Cooksey is also part of the faculty at IU East as a senior lecturer in Humanities. She presented about the history of service-learning, the Baxter Neighborhood Center and the creation of the IU East Center for Service-Learning during a consultation with Ashford University faculty in Clinton, Iowa  from May 11-15.

Cooksey also presented on the History of Service-Learning at the Indiana Campus Compact Community Service Directors Annual Meeting on May 29 at St. Joseph’s Center in Tipton, Ind. She has been invited to present on this same topic at the upcoming Governor’s Conference on Service and Volunteerism this coming October 29-30.

For more information about the Baxter Center Neighborhood Help Center or the service-learning program, contact Ange Cooksey, director of the IU East Service-Learning Center, at (765) 973-8438 or visit the Web site at www.iue.edu/servicelearning.