On February 13, 2007, the Tennessee Academic Civic Engagement Program (TACEP) sponsored its inaugural Presidents’ Service-Learning Conference at Vanderbilt University. TACEP, a grant project funded through Learn and Serve America, has three primary goals, one of which focuses on training faculty at community colleges to incorporate academic service-learning into their existing curricula.
Academic service-learning is an educational pedagogy through which students participate in community service activities that dovetail with their regular classroom instruction. These students then reflect on the means by which the community service activities have enhanced their understanding of a given subject or issue. This not only provides a more well-rounded educational experience, but it also encourages students to develop a healthy sense of civic responsibility.
The presidents’ from each of the thirteen Tennessee community colleges represented by the Tennessee Board of Regents were invited for the half-day event that was held in the First Amendment Center adjacent to the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies (VIPPS). Dr. Janet Eyler, Vanderbilt Professor of the Practice in Education, served as the keynote speaker for the conference, encouraging the community college presidents to perceive academic service-learning as a piece of higher education reform. Dr. Sharon Shields, Vanderbilt Professor of Human and Organizational Development, spoke about the best practices for institutionalizing academic service-learning. Dr. Shields also moderated a panel comprised of service-learning stakeholders: Dr. Sue Fuller of Tennessee State University, Dr. Jerry Herman of the Corporation for National and Community Service – Tennessee State Office, Ms. Carol White of Volunteer Tennessee, Mr. Jeremy Hawkins of Vanderbilt University, and Ms. Tiffany Cross of Nashville State Community College.
Four of the community colleges represented at the event will host Vanderbilt professors Dr. Carolyn Hughes and Dr. Sharon Shields for two-day training sessions. Drs. Hughes and Shields are both working with TACEP to provide instruction to state community college faculty for implementing academic service-learning into their existing courses and addressing the challenges of the nontraditional student populations that community colleges often serve. They will work with faculty at Jackson State Community College on April 18-19; Southwest Community College on May 17-18; Northeast Community College on May 24-25; and Columbia Community College on June 13-14.
Dr. Hughes is also developing one of the remaining two goals of the TACEP grant: a mentoring program through which college students provide tutoring and college preparation in low-performing high schools in the Nashville area. This opportunity is an academic service-learning experience for the college students, and it encourages area high school students to become civically engaged and to pursue post-secondary educations.
The third goal of the grant is the creation of a Tennessee Campus Compact (TNCC) to serve as a clearinghouse for service-learning and community engagement information for colleges and universities throughout the state. Several of the presidents who participated in the February 13 event expressed interest in becoming involved with the TNCC as it begins to develop.
The TACEP grant’s principal investigator is Debbie Miller, and the program manager is Mani Hull. The grant is affiliated with the Child & Family Policy Center at VIPPS. If you would like more information regarding the February 13 Presidents’ Service-Learning Conference or the upcoming faculty training events, please contact the grant’s research analyst, Lawren Bercaw.
Lauren Bercaw is a Research Analyst for the Child & Family Policy Center at the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies.
