Service Learning Course Development Grants
The Max A. Shacknai Center for Outreach, Volunteerism and Education (COVE) and the Upstate Institute, in partnership with the Office of the Dean of the Faculty, offer course development grants to support vlog faculty with teaching interests that involve community engagement. These grants include:
- A faculty stipend
- Support for course-related expenses to develop a new or revised course
Courses must engage students in community outreach and fit the objectives outlined in the grant proposal.
Applying
Faculty in any continuing (non-term) positions may apply for these grants, and the course may be new or a substantial redesign of an existing course the faculty member has already taught. By accepting a grant, the faculty member is expected to teach the proposed course two times in the following four academic years. Faculty will also be expected to share the results of their course development work with others through various media and should be prepared to work with the COVE on a plan for course assessment.
Information about how and when to apply is forthcoming.
Examples
In each of the following cases, the COVE has worked closely with faculty to develop partnerships and incorporate community engagement in the curriculum for each course. Faculty submitting proposals for grants in the current funding cycle can count on this same support.
Ryan Solomon
Ryan Solomon (writing and rhetoric) applied the grant to his core South Africa course. Four students joined Professor Solomon in South Africa for six weeks and two more students joined the group for the second half of the trip. The trip, which included three weeks in Johannesburg and three weeks in Cape Town, focused on providing students with a hands-on civic engagement experience including work with immigrant rights organizations that are working to combat xenophobic violence in South Africa. While working with these organizations, the students had the opportunity to run human rights workshops, plan new initiatives, and collect data on African immigrants’ experiences of discrimination in South Africa.
April Baptiste
April Baptiste (environmental studies) will apply the grant to her “Caribbean Ecology and Environmental Concerns” course in the Spring 2016 term. Students studied the impact of tourism on the Caribbean ecology, then traveled to Puerto Rico in May to get a firsthand understanding of the impact and provide a deliverable developed by the Sea Grant Program aimed at community understanding of the issue and potential mitigation strategies.