Community of Service-Learning Faculty Fellows

Facutly Fellows for 2006-2007

Charles A. Calahan, Assistant Clinical Professor of Child Development and Family Studies
Calahan's course, Skills for Helping Professions, is a basic listening skills course. He and his students are investigating the potential of recruiting graduate students in the marriage and family therapist program to serve as mentors and partner with an undergraduate listening skills course for students to provide crisis counseling workshops for Hurricane Katrina victims.
Jenna Rickus, Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Jenna Rickus's course covers the fundamentals of biological sensing with a broad array of applications including biomedical diagnostics, biological research, environmental monitoring, biosecurity, animal health and production, food safety, and bioprocessing. Students engage in a semester-long service learning project in partnership with various local and state groups. Projects may include 1) a technology assessment to determine potential for existing and future sensing technologies to solve community problems, 2) evaluation and protocol development for the use of commercially available biological sensors to community problems, 3) gap analysis to direct better direct emerging sensing technologies toward problems that may be currently ignored by the sensors research community.
Deborah L. Saks, Continuous Term Lecturer for Organizational Behavior and Human Resources
In Saks' class, students form teams of six and then choose a service project to complete during the eight-weeks' session. Each student must complete a minimum of eight hours of work on the project. The projects can be virtually anything because the focus is on the teamwork dynamics exhibited during the project rather than the type of project completed.
Heather L. Servaty-Seib, Assistant Professor of Educational Studies
In Servaty-Seib's graduate-level course in Counseling Psychology and School Counseling, students serve as facilitators for the BRIDGe project (By Remembering I Develop and Grow), an 8-session family-focused, psychoeducational support program offered to bereaved children/adolescents and their caregivers. Through the use of Service Learning, students have the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the course in a real world setting.

Faculty Fellows for 2005-2006

Kristina Bross, Associate Professor of English
Bross’ students will catalog and preserve fragile items in the Tippecanoe County Historical Association’s collection. The students’ goal will be to make important records of local history more accessible to the community and academic researchers.
Mark Haugan, Associate Professor of Physics
Haugan works with Purdue students in two physics outreach programs (coordinated by Julie Conlon) for elementary and secondary schools throughout Indiana. Physics Educational Activities, Resources and Learning Strategies (PEARLS) teaches physics to younger students in ways that motivate them to consider careers in science. Educating Next Generations and Generating Enthusiasm (ENGAGE) features Purdue physics students who offer innovative science and technology activities to K-12 students who otherwise would not have access to them.
Mohan Dutta-Bergman, Assistant Professor of Communication
Dutta-Bergman's students develop public relations campaigns for non-profit organizations in Lafayette-West Lafayette. Students perform research and market analysis before producing their marketing materials, which can be stored in a Web-based archive. Dutta-Bergman also received a separate grant from the Office of International Programs to set up a Service-Learning based study abroad program in rural India, through which students will develop communication strategies for non-governmental organizations.
Alka Harriger, Professor of Computer Technology
Harriger’s students develop interactive, customizable Web sites for community groups and organizations. Past clients have included Big Brothers/Big Sisters, West Lafayette Parks and Recreation, and the Wabash Valley Youth Symphony. Harriger will use the grant to purchase a Web server to house the client Web sites after the project ends. The server will provide more time to find a long-term, affordable Web hosting solution for the clients.
Mick La Lopa, Associate Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management
La Lopa’s students perform feasibility studies for non-profit agencies, such as the Museum at Prophetstown, to help them operate more efficiently. As part of the course requirement, students will offer suggestions on how to develop a new gift shop, expand the foodservice operation, and enhance the personal and educational services that are provided to the Museum at Prophetstown’s visitors. La Lopa also has designed a workbook on Service-Learning as a faculty resource.

Faculty Fellows for 2004-2005

Howard Grabois, Professor of Foreign Languages and Literatures
Second-and third-year students in Purdue’s Spanish program help Hispanic students with homework at two elementary schools and McCutcheon High School.
Pamala Morris, Professor of Youth Development and Agricultural Education
Agriculture students mentor and tutor students at Cold Spring Academy in Indianapolis once a week. Lectures and discussion take place during the bus rides to and from Indianapolis. In the process, the Purdue students develop leadership and cross-cultural communication skills.
Kim L. Wilson, Professor of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Horticulture and Landscape Architecture students provide community planning and design services to Lafayette- and West Lafayette-based agencies. They focus on revitalization and economic development projects. Students develop real-life skills outside of the classroom while serving the community.
Janice Sojka, Professor of Veterinary Medicine
Students of Veterinary Medicine provide housing in the vet school for families that need to leave their homes and need temporary shelter for their pets. Many clients reside in the women’s shelter. Students learn about societal issues while serving the community and providing animal care.
William Oakes, EPICS Co-Director
Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS), Purdue’s largest Service-Learning program, enables engineering students to weave volunteerism into their classroom experience. Teams of undergraduates earn academic credit for multi-year, multi-disciplinary projects that solve engineering- and technology-based problems for community service and educational organizations. Currently, the engineering-centered program involves approximately 20 different departments, 300 students and 24 teams working on projects ranging from homelessness prevention to environmental protection to creating toys for children with disabilities. Programs based on the Purdue model are operating at 20 other universities in the United States. Many of these programs work with Habitat for Humanity.

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