2010 Chancellor’s Awards for Public Engagement and Scholarship honor students, faculty, staff and community partners for their civic contributions

Syracuse University will honor students, faculty, staff and community partners who exemplify SU’s commitment to engagement with the community and Scholarship in Action with the 2010 Chancellor’s Awards for Public Engagement and Scholarship at a celebration dinner on Monday, April 5, at 5:15 p.m. in the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center’s Goldstein Auditorium.

SU students, faculty and staff engage in tens of thousands of hours of community-based work in partnership with the Syracuse community, the region and the world. Public scholarship is done through the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service (CPCS), as well as many other SU/community partnerships and programs.

“This year’s CAPES nominations make it abundantly clear to me that student and faculty engagement with community is unquestionably woven into the very fabric of the SU experience,” says Pamela Heintz, associate vice president for engagement and director of CPCS. “Our institutional identity as a public good is a result of the deep, reciprocal relationships students and faculty have with our private, public and nonprofit partners without whom none of this work would be possible.  I extend my deepest appreciation and congratulations to all for their commitment to civic engagement.”

This year’s honorees, and examples of their service to the community, include:

Chancellor’s Award for Public Engagement and Scholarship

Residence Hall Awards

• Brewster, Boland and Brockway Complex—Residents set their attention on how they could engage with the world around them and participated in a blood drive, Haiti relief, organized Relay for Life teams and held a Halloween party for students at the MLK School.
• ORL Area C—Booth, Kimmel, Marion, DellPlain, Butterfield, Haven, Washington Arms, Walnut and Ernie Davis Residence Halls—Residents performed service each Friday at the Boys & Girls Club’s Central Village and donated gifts through the Orange Angels program.

Student Organization Awards

• Society of Public Health Education (S.O.P.H.E.)—This organization raises public health awareness and performs outreach in the University community with programs such as Stress Busters, a Say Yes afterschool program, free fitness classes, virtual intoxication demonstration and a collaboration with Healthy Monday.
• Sport Management Club at Syracuse University—The club, which encourages community service, raised $41,000 for local charities through its signature event, the Distinguished Lecture and Charity Sports Auction (2009 and 2010).

Student Group Award (This award is for groups of students who came together informally around issues or interests, but are not formally recognized as student organizations.)

• International Young Scholars (Hendricks Chapel)—Through mentoring, the group supports the educational achievement of teenage refugee and immigrant youth, and seeks to instill within them the belief that college is attainable.

Special Civic Engagement Award

• Cathiana Vital, a senior accounting major in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, is the founding president of the Haitian American Student Association, among many other activities and involvements. After the Jan. 12 earthquake, she organized events and collaborations with other organizations and served as a voice for the Haitian student community.

Academic Service Learning Awards-Course/Project/Programs

The College of Arts and Sciences

• CSD/450/650: The Gebbie Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic—Students provide evaluation and therapy services to the greater community, including free speech and hearing screenings to daycares, preschools and senior centers.
• SPA 402: Hispanic Journalism Practice—Through this hands-on, intensive writing journalism workshop, students reported on issues and events in the Hispanic community.
• WRT 331: Peer Writing Consultant Practicum—The class takes theory-based work and translates it into practical use. Students helped with a book project with the Somali-Bantu Community-Based Tutoring Program.

School of Education

• MLAB + 601 Tully—This is a collaborative design/build project by an interdisciplinary group of SU art and architecture students, funded by Imagining America, to design and create a multipurpose space on Syracuse’s Near Westside.

College of Human Ecology

• BSSW Class and MSW 1^st and 2^nd Year Class—Bachelor’s and master’s of social work students provide tens of thousands of hours of service to the local community through academic practicums. The Syracuse City School District, Vera House, Huntington Learning Center and Hiscock Legal Aid Society are among the many community members that benefit from their service. 
• HPM 400: Ethics in the Hospitality Field—Students in the course are required to perform community service; a Success by 6 Book Fest was planned and executed by one of the students.
• NSD 511: Nutrition Education—Students provided nutrition education to various community groups, including Meacham Elementary School and the Onondaga Nation School.
• Orange Wrap—This is a campus peer nutrition education program that also performs outreach to various groups in the Syracuse community.

S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications

• NEW/RTN 530: Political Reporting—Students in this class contribute to Democracywise, a Web-based news outlet and voter resource that produces relevant and engaging coverage of elections and public issues.

College of Visual and Performing Arts

• Department of Design/COLAB—Students are involved in a number of community engagement projects, including the Urban Video Project (UVP), Centro bus wraps, Ed Smith Elementary School renovation and an interactive projection set for the Syracuse Opera.

Martin J. Whitman School of Management

• SCM 755: Six Sigma—Students apply problem-solving techniques to real world problems. This year, they worked on improving the sterilization process at Crouse Hospital.

Syracuse University Burton Blatt Institute

• Inclusive Entrepreneurship Consulting—This course integrates curricula on disability, civil rights, community inclusion and entrepreneurship. Students were engaged in a learning experience working with people enrolled in the Start Up NY program.

Academic Service Learning-Individual

• Kate Callahan, a senior in nutrition science in the College of Human Ecology and policy studies in The College of Arts and Sciences, serves as a facilitator for Cookshop, a program that exposes children to fruits and vegetables through participation in the cooking process. She is also the nutrition volunteer coordinator for the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service and has worked as a nutrition counselor at the Lions Club’s Camp Hickory for children with diabetes.

Community Service Leadership Awards

Group

The following groups/organizations and academic projects are recognized for their sustained commitment to community engagement and public scholarship. Some of the work they have done in the past year includes tutoring and mentoring, working with organizations that provide food assistance, and working with the elderly and refugee populations.

• Balancing the Books
• Beta Alpha Psi
• Defense Comptroller Program Class of 2010
• Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
• SRC-LCS Engineering Ambassadors Program
• Renée Crown University Honors Program (Honors Student Association, Hughes Elementary After-School Program, Nottingham High School AP World History Tutoring Program, The Breakfast Club at Levy Middle School and the Temple Concord Society Food Pantry)
• South Campus Organization for Programming Excellence (S.C.O.P.E.)
• Syracuse University Students in Free Enterprise (S.I.F.E.)
• Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
• Syracuse University Ambulance (S.U.A.)
• The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Woman’s Club
• The National Association of Black Accountants

Academic Service Learning Awards

College of Human Ecology

• Health in the Real World (HTW 302)—Students worked with the Amaus Health Service in downtown Syracuse and coordinated donation drives.
• Genesis Health Project—The project is a community-designed, faith-based initiative to reduce obesity and promote a healthier lifestyle among African Americans.
• Healthy You (College of Human Ecology)—Healthy You is a student-produced, bi-yearly health newsmagazine designed to promote health literacy and healthier behaviors among students, faculty and staff, and Syracuse residents.
• Culturally Competent Healthcare (HTW 307)—Students in “Culturally Competent Healthcare” evaluated the effects of cultural differences,traditions, values and beliefs of various ethnic groups and how cultural norms influenced healthcare delivery access and outcome.
• Health Literacy (HTW 311/600)—The course explores the many links between health, literacy, health outcomes and health care disparities. Students volunteer at seven community locations to help improve health literacy.
• Nutrition Educators at Diabetes Camp—students work with campers to increase their awareness and consumption of healthy foods for the improvement of their health through nutrition.  Meal and snack time are teaching opportunities providing children hand-on learning about food and how it affects their blood glucose.

Individual Awards

First-Year Leadership Award

• Ariel Norling, a first-year student in The College of Arts and Sciences, consistently performed community service at the Boys & Girls Club’s Central Village.

Resident Advisor Leadership Award

• Brienne Hoak, a junior in The College of Arts and Sciences, worked consistently with the elderly at a local hospital.
• Calvin Iverson, a junior in The College of Arts and Sciences and resident advisor in Flint Hall, performed outreach to the LGBT community and planned an April conference for LGBTQ youth in the Syracuse community. 

Inspiration Awards

2010 Inspiration Awards are selected by the individual award recipients and given to faculty, staff and community partners to honor them for the motivation and support they afford our students as they venture into the community.

• Christopher Anderson, Visitor’s Center, The College of Arts and Sciences
• Henri Idriss Njike, residence director, Office of Residence Life
• Susan S. Wadley, associate dean, The College of Arts and Sciences

Chancellor’s Citations

• Christen Brandt, a junior majoring in magazine journalism in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and English and textual studies in The College of Arts and Sciences, is editor of The Student Voice and editor in chief of 360 Degrees magazine. She founded and is the director of “She’s the First,” a nonprofit media campaign and network to promote education for girls and young women in developing countries.
• John Giammatteo, a junior anthropology major in The College of Arts and Sciences and magazine journalism in the Newhouse School and a student in and the Renée Crown University Honors Program, through a Community Research Fellowship with the Center for New Americans, worked with a group of newly immigrated refugees.
• Arielle Lever, a senior drama major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and a student in the Renée Crown University Honors Program, engaged in drama therapy, mask work and improvisation to promote education and social awareness in support of two schools in South Africa. She is also involved with the Actor’s Workshop, which gives members of the community with disabilities an outlet for creative expression.
• Ann O’Neill, a junior in economics and international relations in The College of Arts and Sciences and a student in the Renée Crown University Honors Program, worked extensively with the mentoring and tutoring program at Hughes Elementary School and with an educational program in Hong Kong.
• Evaline Tso, a senior majoring in public health in the College of Human Ecology, is the founding president of SU’s Society of Public Health Education (S.O.P.H.E.). She has participated in numerous outreach projects at local hospitals, with health literacy initiatives, and to assist refugees.