Cornell University undergraduates with a passion for social change can exercise their instincts for community service and receive credits through the new Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels Undergraduate Action Research Fellowship Program.

The Bartels program is a first for Cornell. Designed by Professor Davydd Greenwood, director of Cornell's Institute for European Studies, and coordinated by the Cornell Public Service Center, the program is a response to the growing community service movement among today's college students. Undergraduate students at Cornell are engaging in community service projects but, until now, with only limited access to faculty support, said Leonardo Vargas-Méndez, interim director of the Public Service Center.

"With the increase in community service requirements in secondary schools, more students enter college seeking ways to incorporate academic work with public service; service is a part of their lives, and many hope to continue this dedication while in college," said Vargas-Méndez. "[While] service-learning opportunities with guided reflection are scattered across the university, there is yet to be this type of participatory action research program for undergraduates. It provides the foundation and support necessary to complete a project that is successful for both the student and the community agency."

The Bartels fellowships will provide Cornell undergraduates (freshmen through juniors, in any college or major) with a supportive academic framework in which to undertake community service research projects in the Ithaca area and on campus. Working as a team, students and representatives of community agencies lead the projects, establishing the partnerships necessary for a successful collaboration.

A student-selected faculty member serves in an advisory role for each project. This reciprocal approach encourages the community representative to work with the student to develop the design of the project, manage the project and report the outcomes. In addition, each semester program fellows will take part in a two-credit, faculty-run seminar on the practices of action-research based on community projects. The program encourages respect for local knowledge and multidisciplinary approaches to problem-solving, said Vargas-Méndez. Students are neither interns nor volunteers, and the community partner is not a passive recipient of charitable outreach; both sides are full participants in an academic model designed to encourage positive social change.

Fellowship applications and proposal guidelines are available at the Public Service Center, 200 Barnes Hall, or they can be accessed via the center's web site at http://www.psc.cornell.edu .

The program is open to all Cornell undergraduate students. Eligible Federal Work Study undergraduates, Cornell Tradition students and other subsidized students currently engaged in service projects are encouraged to apply.

An information meeting on the fellowships will be held Tuesday, Feb. 27, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in 134 Goldwin Smith Hall. On March 5, interested students can attend a proposal-writing workshop from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., also in 134 Goldwin Smith Hall. The deadline for the applications and proposal materials is April 1. Fellowship winners will be announced April 9, and projects begin this fall. For more information, contact Leonardo Vargas-Méndez at (607) 255-1148.