CAPS ceremony recognizes SU students, organizations for community engagement activities

CAPS ceremony recognizes SU students, organizations for community engagement activities March 24, 2006Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

The Syracuse University community will come together on Monday, March 27, to celebrate the positive power of community service and the impact that SU student volunteers have had on the Syracuse and broader world communities in the past year. Each year, SU students volunteer hundreds of thousands of hours for a variety of projects.

Recipients of the Chancellor’s Awards for Public Service (CAPS) will be honored at a dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium in the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center. The dinner is sponsored by the Chancellor’s Office with assistance from the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service (CPCS). Emcee for the evening will be Melvin Stith, dean of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. Linda Mulvey, principal of Huntington School in Syracuse, will deliver the community response. Huntington School has been named the 2006 Community Partner by CPCS. Those attending the dinner will have the opportunity to purchase white ribbons in support of the White Ribbon Campaign for Vera House against domestic violence.

“I am always truly amazed at the kinds of work and projects our students are doing in and with the community that emanate from SU programs … and I mean the community all over the world!” says Pamela Kirwin Heintz, director of CPCS. “For me, one of the best parts of the event is reading all the nominations and taking the time to really consider the importance and impact of this work not only on our students but also on our community partners.

“For the University to have one short moment, in the midst of all our very hectic and chaotic schedules, to stop, think and recognize these students is very precious to all who are engaged in this work,” Heintz says “It also gives us the opportunity to reflect on the breadth and depth of the University’s commitment to its role as a public good and to the importance of these wonderfully special community partnerships in helping nurture our students towards their ultimate role as engaged citizens.”

Also as part of the evening, Linda Hall and Shiu-Kai Chin, co-chairs of the Community Wide Dialogue to End Racism Advisory Board of the InterReligious Council, will make a special presentation to Chancellor Nancy Cantor in recognition of the leadership she has provided on campus and in the community to encourage addressing the issue of racism through discussion and dialogue.

Following are this year’s CAPS Awards recipients:

Residence Hall

South Campus Organization for Programming Excellence (SCOPE). This academic year, the organization launched the South Campus Kares campaign to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina. They also invited students to carve and donate pumpkins for Beaver Lake’s Enchanted Walk and to volunteer at the Southwest Community Center’s Thanksgiving Program.

Student Organization

Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE). Among this year’s projects were working with the new owners of Salina Shoes Salon to help them open for business, as well as train employees and develop a Retail 101 employee handbook; organizing a trunk show at a local nursing home; performing renovations at Chadwick House; and raising money for Hurricane Katrina victims.

Student Organization Honorable Mention

The Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee and the African Student Union. Both organization are recognized for their involvement in many activities in the Syracuse community.

Student Group

Hughes After-School Tutoring Program. Students from Hughes Elementary School work with students in the SU Honors Program three days a week for help with reading and writing skills.

Empty Bowls Project. Students in the ceramics department raised nearly $10,000 for the InterReligious Consortium Food Bank.

Student Group Honorable Mention

Victoria Woods, Kimberly Storeygard and Joshua Alston. These three graduate students in the Newhouse School are recognized for their work with a newspaper journalism program at Huntington Elementary School.

Academic Service Learning Projects

Selected Topics: Art and Community (ART 500). Student artists collaborate with specific community groups to develop a process-based creative project. Eight projects were developed, and students worked with Girls Inc., Roberts Elementary School, the Alzheimer’s Association and Kirkpatrick Day Program, among other organizations.

Boundaries in Syracuse (GEO/ARCH/WSP 500). Students worked with various organizations, such as the Refugee Resettlement Program, Community Folk Art Gallery and LGBT Resource Center to analyze significant design and/or geographically orientated problems and challenges, and make specific recommendations for change.

Nutrition Education (NHM 511). Students worked with the Girl Scouts of Cortland County to develop a health fair.

Renee Crown University Honors Program. Thesis projects of students in the program have dealt directly with community needs, such as a staff development program for the Boys & Girls Club and a history of Vera House.

Transgender Treatment Team. Doctoral students in the College of Human Services and Health Professions have been specifically trained and are sensitive to the needs of transgendered and gender-variant individuals, their couple relationships and their families.

Community Service Leadership-Individual

Laura Carucci, CPCS Whitman Leadership Intern. Carucci, a senior in the Whitman School, has been the Whitman Leadership Intern since 2003. Her goal has been to connect SU students with the appropriate service learning placement sites to expand their education beyond the classroom.

J. Rochelle Cymerman, CPCS Marion Entwistle Leadership Intern. Cymerman, a senior political science and sociology major in The College of Arts and Sciences, oversees and organizes the CPCS transportation schedule and shuttles about 250 students weekly to sites in the community.

David Iacucci, CPCS Whitman Leadership Intern. Iacucci, a senior in the Whitman School, has coordinated Dome Donation Day and the Earned Income Tax Credit Program with Beta Alpha Psi.

Anwar Nasir, CPCS Marion Entwistle Leadership Intern. A senior communication and rhetorical studies major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, Nasir works closely with Franklin Magnet School on a collaborative performance showcase.

Community Service Leadership-Group

Army ROTC Cadet Corps

Arnold Air Society

Association for Student Elderly Connection

Beta Alpha Psi

Defense Comptrollership Program 2006

Fashion Association of Design Students

Honors Student Association

Residence Hall Association

SU-ESF Habitat for Humanity Student Chapter

Student Athlete Council

Students Offering Service — International Young Scholars and the CROP Walk

Syracuse University Volunteer Organization

These groups, each with service to community as the main purpose and core, are recognized for their continued creative activities, such as tutoring and mentoring, offering free tax assistance, collecting food and other items for local service agencies, and building homes.

Community Service Leadership-Academic

Balancing the Books, a mentoring program at Henninger High School and Huntington Elementary School, focuses on helping students at risk of dropping out of school.

Community Design Center makes a connection between the University and the local community through which students offer their talents and expertise. Students have contributed their vision for the reconstruction of Butternut Street, and their proposal is being used to guide the long-term development of the area.

Genesis Health Project is a community-designed, faith-based initiative of the College of Human Services and Health Professions to reduce obesity and promote healthy lifestyles among African Americans.

College of Human Services and Health Professions Healthy You Magazine is a student-produced health newsmagazine designed to promote health literacy and healthier behaviors among students, faculty and staff.

College of Human Services and Health Professions Interprofessional Learning Community enables students from various departments in the college to work cooperatively with each other and provide a valuable service to community members. Last year, the group did an assessment and staged a health fair for children, parents and staff at Nurturing World Daycare Center.

Individual Resident Advisor Leadership

Amy Hecht, a sophomore in The College of Arts and Science.

Individual Chancellor’s Award for Public Service

Sharon Clott, a junior in the Newhouse School, is recognized for her commitment to Syracuse Signature, a not-for-profit organization that provides inner-city youth with musical instruments and lessons.

Nathalie Quezada, a sophomore in The College of Arts and Sciences, is recognized for assisting in developing the Cross-Cultural Connections program with another student. The program helps to link Latino youth in the Syracuse community with Syracuse police officers in an effort to foster understanding and respect.

Sarah A. Ryman, a junior in The College of Arts and Sciences, is recognized for her work with the Department of Human Mobility in Ecuador to develop a process to handle the cases of missing and detained refugees and immigrants.

Jessica Simon, a senior in The College of Arts and Sciences, is recognized for organizing “Writer’s Block” to allow student poets and performance artists to share their talents with others.

Emily Steakley, a junior in The College of Arts and Sciences, is recognized for her leadership work with Vera House.

SUA Special Award

Ryan Gerecht, a senior in The College of Arts and Sciences, is recognized for his work as a volunteer field supervisor with Syracuse University Ambulance.

Special Award for Civic Engagement

Protestant Campus Ministry — Katrina Disaster Response Group and The Team of Twelve. During winter break, teams of students led by Protestant chaplain the Rev. Kelly Sprinkle and Catholic chaplain Father Tim Mulligan went to New Orleans and Mississippi to assist residents with Hurricane Katrina clean up. The groups’ efforts amounted to more than $30,000 in savings for the families they helped.

Syracuse Cares — Angela Cruz G’06 and Lindsey Duerst G’06, students in the College of Law. The two women designed a limited edition t-shirt to raise money for and awareness of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Their efforts resulted in contributions of more than $10,000 to the American Red Cross.