CCSI Newsletter

In This Issue:

Community Engagement Classification Puts Barry in Top Seven Percent of Universities

School of Social Work Receives Community Engagement Award

Barry Student Connor Randel Named a Newman Civic Fellow

Tuesday’s Deliberative Dialogue Focuses on Industrial Agriculture

Faculty Learning Community Meets April 13

African American History Workshops Continue in Hollywood

Community Engagement Classification Puts Barry in Top Seven Percent of Universities

Attaining the Carnegie Foundation’s Elective Community Engagement Classification has placed BarryUniversity in the top seven percent of community-engaged institutions of higher education.

Dr. Barbara Jacoby, faculty associate for leadership and community service-learning at the University of Maryland, College Park, pointed this out as she congratulated the university recently.

“There are 4600 degree-granting higher education institutions in the U.S., and a total of 361 have achieved this classification,” Jacoby noted. “When you do the math, you can see that Barry is among the top seven percent of colleges and universities that are engaged with their communities.”

Jacoby, who was the guest speaker at Barry University’s second annual Community Engagement Awards on March 26, said students, faculty, administrators, and community partners had done “amazing work” to achieve the Carnegie classification. She called the classification “prestigious.”

School of Social Work Receives Community Engagement Award

The School of Social Work recently received an award for community engagement. The award is emblematic of achievements in advancing the community engagement goals of the university, educating students for civic and social responsibility, and improving community life.

Barry University President Sister Linda Bevilacqua, OP, PhD, presented the award to Dr. Sharon Singleton, associate dean of social work, at the second annual Community Engagement Awards Luncheon on March 26.

In presenting the award, Sister Linda noted that the community engagement work and achievements of social work students, faculty, and staff were “impressive and exemplary.”

Two years ago, Campus Compact gave national recognition for the service and advocacy work of a social work student, who was named among the Newman Civic Fellows – the first Barry student to be so recognized.

The School of Social Work has the only required undergraduate course that is entirely devoted to service-learning. Each spring, students complete more than 1,100 hours of service that “makes a difference in the community.”

Through field education courses as well, social work students engage with the community, providing “meaningful service that addresses pressing needs and challenges faced by marginalized residents.” Last academic year, students provided more than 200,000 hours of service to 248 community organizations.

The School of Social Work houses the Office of the Public Guardian, which provides guardianship services to incapacitated adults of limited financial means, who may otherwise remain subjected to abuse and neglect. In 2014, a total of 240 vulnerable adults received guardian services from that office.

Sister Linda noted also that the partnership-building work of the school was exemplified in the Neighborhood Technical Assistance Program. The program is a collaborative effort with Miami-DadeCounty, which has served to build community capacity to tackle challenging social and economic issues, she said.

The School of Social Work was among the 11 winners of major awards presented at the luncheon hosted by the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI). The award received by the school is reserved for a department; however, the School of Social Work is not structured along departmental lines.

Barry Student Connor Randel Named a Newman Civic Fellow

Connor Randel, a finance and accounting major at Barry University, has been named a 2015 Newman Civic Fellow. This national recognition by Campus Compact honors “promising student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in their community.”

Campus Compact selected 201 student leaders who were nominated by presidents of its member colleges and universities in 36 states and the District of Columbia.

Randel has been engaged in promoting financial literacy and social entrepreneurship in the community. He has supervised a financial literacy program for two years at a high school located in an underserved area. The program forms the service-learning component of a course designed to teach personal finance and investing. So far, more than 120 high-school students have benefited from the program.

Additionally, Randel assisted in planning a social entrepreneurship project under the aegis of the Community Learning Partnership of Greater Miami Shores. He also participated in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, helping local community members to prepare their tax returns.

“Connor has shown considerable potential for making a difference in the lives of marginalized people and for motivating others to get involved,” noted Barry University President Sister Linda Bevilacqua, OP, PhD, in a statement.

According to Campus Compact, the students selected as Newman Civic Fellows are making the most of their college experiences to better understand themselves, the root causes of social issues, and effective mechanisms for creating lasting change.

“These students represent the next generation of public problem solvers and civic leaders. They serve as national examples of the role that higher education can—and does—play in building a better world,” said Campus Compact Board Chair Dr. Richard Guarasci.

“Dr. Frank Newman, a founder of Campus Compact, had a tremendous impact on American education and its role in the development of citizens who are eager and prepared to make a difference,” explained Campus Compact President Dr. Andrew J. Seligsohn. “He dedicated his life to creating systemic change through education reform, and this new group of Newman Civic Fellows would have inspired him. They are reflections and affirmations of his life’s work.”

Campus Compact is a national coalition of more than 1,100 college and university presidents who are committed to fulfilling the public purposes of higher education, educating students for civic and social responsibility, and improving community life.

KPMG Foundation is a sponsor of the Newman Civic Fellows Award.

Tuesday’s Deliberative Dialogue Focuses on Industrial Agriculture

The next forum in the Deliberative Dialogue Series will be held this Tuesday, April 7. The topic is “Industrial Agriculture and Food Access.”

The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) has adapted deliberative dialogue as a method of civic learning and engagement. Students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members work toward a shared understanding of social issues, practical solutions to those issues, and recommendations for workable public policy.

Panelists slated for the event include John Delgado, the operations assistant manager at Farm Share; Roger Horne, director of community health initiatives at Urban GreenWorks; Dr. Silvia Maciá, an associate professor of biology at Barry; Paolo Umberto Guazzini, a Barry alumnus; and Paola Montenegro, a Barry student. A representative the Coalition of Immokalee Workers is expected to be on the panel.

Patricia Siemen, O.P., visiting professor and director of the Center for Earth Jurisprudence at the Barry University School of Law, will be the moderator.

For further information, contact CCSI Associate Director Courtney Berrien at cberrien@barry.edu or 305-899-4017.

Faculty Learning Community Meets April 13

The next meeting of the Faculty Learning Community for Engaged Scholarship (FLC) will be held on April 13 at the Center for Community Service Initiatives, Adrian 208. All FLC members are urged to attend.

African American History Workshops Continue in Hollywood

The series of workshops on African American History and Culture continues in Hollywood next Tuesday, April 14.

Dr. Glenn Bowen, director of the Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI), and Dr. Victor Romano, associate professor of sociology, will be the presenters at the workshop on “African Americans in the Workplace.”

The City of Hollywood and Barry University launched the workshop series on February 10. Scheduled for the second and fourth Tuesdays of February, March, and April, the workshops are held at the Hollywood City Hall, beginning at 6 p.m. The workshops are free and open to the public.

Bowen is the coordinator of the workshop series.

On March 24, Dr. Evelyn Cartright, director of the Africana Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences, conducted a workshop on “African American Literature.” The workshop featured readings from the literature, mainly poetry, by Barry students Ayaitzy Herrera, Melodie Plaise, Elna Honorat, Lee Anna Bazemore, and Travion Leonard.