Center for Service and Learning

Teaching and Learning

• During 2007-08, 96 faculty members from 13 schools offered 147 service learning courses at IUPUI.  The 1,772 participating students contributed 41,063 hours of service to 166 community organizations.  

• The Office of Service Learning also coordinated three faculty workshops with 19 participants, three Faculty Learning Communities whose 15 faculty participated in year-long activities, and 49 one-on-one consultations with faculty members.

• In 2007 Michael Thompson, Indiana Business Research Center, estimated that the economic impact of IUPUI service learning courses in 2006-07 was nearly $700,000.

• CSL awarded 297 scholarships ($433,132) to 180 students through the Sam H. Jones Community Service Scholarship Program. Scholarship recipients provided an estimated 18,590 hours of service to Indianapolis and the IUPUI community.

Civic Engagement

• The Office of Community Work Study hired and trained 114 federal work-study students as tutors in math and reading to 456 youth. The tutors provided 11,830 hours of service at 12 community sites. In addition, six students participated in the Team Works program, providing an estimated 2,805 hours of community service to five nonprofit organizations. 

• The Office of Community Service coordinated 34 volunteer service events that involved 1,089 students, faculty, staff, and guests. These volunteers contributed over 4,700 hours of service to 90 community organizations in the Indianapolis area.  In addition OCS coordinated fall, winter and spring alternative breaks, which included seven trips involving 136 students who provided 5,340 hours of service at eight different sites.  

• The Office of Neighborhood Partnerships continued the $150,000 HUD COPC New Directions grant, which included service learning courses provided by 10 different IUPUI schools or departments.  The New Directions grant also supported a variety of workshops and activities through the Westside Cooperative Organization (WESCO).  WESCO is a longstanding community partner in the neighborhood just west of the IUPUI campus.

Best Practices

• The Association of American Colleges and Universities awarded $10,000 for the Bringing Theory to Practice Grant, coordinated by the Office of Service Learning.  The purpose of this grant was to increase the positive impact of engaged learning, particularly service learning.

• Beyond the Books Project: In 2007 IUPUI was selected for inclusion in the inaugural edition of the Guide to Service-Learning Colleges and Universities.  This is a national college recruiting tool for incoming students.  IUPUI was recognized as a “school with an excellent service-learning program,” and the Sam H. Jones Community Service Scholarship Program was highlighted as an outstanding program.

• The Center for Service and Learning collaborated with the IUPUI Office of International Affairs, Indiana Campus Compact, and the International Partnership for Service Learning to host a conference on International Service Learning, with 124 attendees and presentations by 21 IUPUI faculty, staff, and students. 

Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

• In 2007-08, the Center for Service and Learning was designated one of the first Signature Centers for IUPUI.   First-year activities for the Center for Service and Learning Research Collaborative (CSLRC) focused on international service learning. 

• CSL also hosted two symposia for 23 authors (eight from IUPUI) and 11 respondents, leading to the publication of a book titled International Service Learning: Conceptual Models and Research. 

• As part of CSLRC activities, CSL began a partnership with the National Service Learning Clearinghouse in 2007 to develop web-based resources for service learning research.

External Awards and Appointments

• The 2008 edition of America’s Best Colleges from US News and World Report listed IUPUI as one of 38 universities with outstanding service-learning programs. 

• The IUPUI Center for Service & Learning received the Community Award from the Indianapolis Christamore House.

Dr. Robert Bringle, School of Science, was awarded the 100 Points of Light Award from Hanover College, for his contributions to service learning and civic engagement in higher education, as well as his social psychology research on close relationships and jealousy.