Anji Seth, Department of Geography
Service Learning Faculty Fellow (2011-2012)
We all know the earth’s climate is changing. The effects are inescapable no matter where we live. Here in New England, some changes are subtle (more humidity, consistently warmer nights), dramatic (more intense rainfall events), confusing (bigger snowfall events), and dangerous (more powerful hurricanes). The science tells us these are expected in a warming world, and indeed, we see them. Full Article Here
CT Colleges Named to President’s Honor Roll for Community Service
HARTFORD, March 18 — The Corporation for National and Community Service has named 14 Connecticut
colleges and universities to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the
highest federal distinction an institution of higher education can receive for its commitment to improving
their communities through community service and service learning.
The 14 Connecticut colleges are among 690 across the nation named to this year’s Honor Roll. Combined,
the 690 Honor Roll awardees engaged 3.1 million students in community service valued at 2.5 billion
dollars across the nation. This year the University of Connecticut is one of five 2013 Presidential Winners,
receiving the General Community Service Presidential Award. This distinction is the highest honor a
college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic
engagement. Compared to a decade ago, UConn realized an increase of 278 percent in student participation
and 540 percent in student service hours. “Student interest exceeds our capacity, at least for now,” says Matt
Farley, UConn’s associate director for community outreach. The other Connecticut 2013 Honor Roll
recipients are:
Across Connecticut, college and university students participate in creative projects to address community
needs, from building decent, affordable homes for low-income families to after-school tutoring of
elementary school children in urban communities. These projects, along with AmeriCorps and other
campus-based community service efforts are administered by the Commission on Community Service
which is housed in the Office of Higher Education
“The University of Connecticut is to be commended for providing a deepened service-learning environment
and preparing students for civic and social responsibility,” stated Jane. A. Ciarleglio, Executive Director of
the Office of Higher Education. “Community service enriches not only students’ academic experience but
also the communities surrounding our campuses. Service is a vital agent to broaden student education and
civic engagement. We celebrate these schools for their foresight and commitment, and encourage other
colleges to follow their lead.” This year, $10.2 million in federal dollars has been awarded to Connecticut
to support community service activities. In addition, the Office has awarded more than $29.8 million in
Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards to help college students with tuition costs and loan repayment.
One of the many benefits of UConn’s Service-Learning classes is the professional development opportunities it offers for the students involved.
Ph.D. first-year student, William Tootle, is the ideal example of just that. It all began in the fall 2011 semester when he enrolled in the Applied Anthropology course for Graduates, taught by Dr. Merrill Singer.
Service-Learning courses that are held throughout the University are part of a major academic initiative which integrates meaningful services identified by the community, while reinforcing course theory and curriculum. For this Service-Learning course, the community partner was Family Life Education, a non-profit organization located in Hartford.
“FLE works with youth, emergent adults, and young families to build a healthy community, enhance family stability, and promote the health and well-being of children and youth through direct, culturally appropriate community-based services,” explained Dr. Singer, a cultural and medical anthropologist with a dual appointment at UConn as a professor in the Department of Anthropology and as a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Health, Intervention, and Prevention.
The seven graduate students in the course worked with FLE for the length of the semester, with a goal of addressing the issue of childhood obesity through exercise and nutritional training for their parents.
But one student in particular made a professional connection with FLE, which resulted in a summer internship for him.
Tootle has an interest as an apprentice medical anthropologist, trying to improve the health of marginalized populations. With this, he says the work he did with FLE in the internship was “even more applicable to my own research interests and professional interests.”
“What they tasked me with was to begin to put together a proposal to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop services for children who have been affected by HIV/Aids and/or substance abuse in their families,” said Tootle, adding that the idea is to develop some kinds of services that are going to ensure that substance abuse or HIV in their family isn’t going to disrupt their normal development, their social skills, their social relationships in their school and in their home, and will protect them from entering any type of foster care. He said that FLE had gotten some “pro bono” help from his internship work.
“I hope this relationship with FLE endures. It seems to be going in the right direction, as long as they can use me and I’m useful to them. I’m hopeful that we will sustain the relationship,” said Tootle, adding that the grant he worked on in the internship is still at very early stages, but hopes that he will be part of the entire process of the grant completion and approval.
“I need to see the beginning, middle, and end stages of that process. And so as long as they’re happy with my assistance, I hope they’ll let me tag along the whole way,” said Tootle.