George Posner, professor of education, poses a question about the Biology Ambassadors program to presenter Laurel Southard (not shown), who co-developed the program, during the Faculty Service-Learning Symposium in the A.D. White House on May 16. Denise Weldon/University Photography
"We're doing some very innovative things at Cornell," said Charles McClintock, associate dean of the College of Human Ecology and the opening speaker at the Faculty Service-Learning Symposium in the A.D. White House on May 16.
The all-day event emphasized Cornell's commitment to community service and experiential learning by highlighting a number of programs, individuals and classes at the university dedicated to the service-learning concept, which links real-world experiences with academic study in the classroom for students.
Ruth Bounous, a lecturer in human service studies and an organizer of the symposium, explained service-learning as a way of teaching centered on the concept that learning is a reciprocal activity. Cornell classes based on the service-learning concept, such as "Housing and Feeding the Homeless" and "Landscape Architecture: Community Design," usually combine organized community participation with methodological learning, reading and reflection to create a mutual learning process for the teacher, the student and the community, she said.
McClintock told the audience, which included about a hundred Cornell faculty, students and community members, that the new policy analysis and management department has just approved an honors program in experiential learning -- a good sign for the future of service-learning.
"In service-learning we see some eternal virtues, namely those of humility and patience. It represents a diversity of approaches among a diverse group of learners," concluded McClintock.
Ithaca Mayor Alan Cohen then took the microphone and with characteristic good humor reminded the audience not to be too self-congratulatory just yet.
"Katherine [Doob, director of Cornell's Public Service Center] is busting her butt to reach out to the community, as is much of the faculty here on the hill, but we can always do more," Cohen suggested.
Bounous outlined the symposium's proceedings, which included a series of presentations of papers on innovations in service learning. The papers will later be gathered into one volume. She encouraged participants, which included secondary and high school teachers involved in service-learning projects with Cornell faculty and students, to listen to the presentations and also offer criticism and suggestions.
"You are the people leading the charge," Bounous said.
The symposium's presentations covered many forms of service-learning and represented Cornell departments from landscape architecture and city and regional planning to communication and biological sciences.
Among those presenting papers early in the day were Donald Birchfield, an instructor in the American Indian Program, who spoke on the importance of American Indian publishing to Native communities, and Laurel Southard, lecturer in biological sciences, who described the Biology Ambassadors program, which she co-developed with Ron Booker, assistant professor of neurobiology and behavior. The program sends Cornell biology undergraduates into local high schools to work with students.
Encouraged by the symposium's success, Leonardo Vargas-Mendez, service-learning coordinator at the Public Service Center and a conference organizer, outlined some future goals for service learning at Cornell:
"We must engage more faculty, enlist more support from administration and inform even more students of these opportunities," he said.