Purdue News

September 29, 1995 Purdue Joins National Community Service-Based Group WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University has joined a national effort that promotes community service among college students and strives to incorporate such experiences into the classroom. Purdue recently became one of 13 members of Indiana Campus Compact; the parent organization has more than 500 members in 16 states. "Purdue has always had a rich tradition of service-learning," Purdue President Steven C. Beering said, "and membership in the Indiana Campus Compact will expand and strengthen opportunities for our students to commit even further to lifelong community service." Service-learning teaches students how to recognize and meet community needs by combining in-class education with service projects and then having students reflect on the experience. Richard E. Grace, director of Purdue's Undergraduate Studies Program and coordinator of Purdue's role in Indiana Campus Compact, said: "Ideally, we'd like to have each student in the Purdue system participate in both an individual and a group service project while at Purdue. It's important for students to experience giving back to Purdue and the community." The Campus Compact program goes beyond having students do volunteer community work, Grace said. "The overriding theme is 'what can I learn from helping others?' It's crucial to make service-learning activities a normal part of the Purdue experience." Service-learning can take several forms, Grace said. For example, Professor Robert K. Chalmers of Purdue's pharmacy school has developed an elective course called Service Learning, offered for the first time this fall. First-year pharmacy students visit home-bound patients to develop supportive relationships with the patients. Upper-class students who take the course work directly with health care agencies and patients to help the patients use their medications most effectively. "The course helps all the students learn how to be sensitive in responding to people who are different because of cultural background, age, race or other reasons," Chalmers said. "It provides a caring experience that teaches the ethics of treating people as both humans and individuals." As another example of a Compact activity, Grace said, Purdue now has put information on community volunteer opportunities on computer terminals located across campus. The information comes from the Greater Lafayette Volunteer Bureau, a clearinghouse on volunteer work available with the Salvation Army, Food Finders, Mental Health Association, Area IV Agency on Aging and other agencies. Faculty members in all disciplines at each of Purdue's campuses are encouraged to apply for $1,500 curriculum development grants from Indiana Campus Compact, Grace said. The grants will help them develop and implement academic courses that make service-learning part of the curriculum. Proposals are due Oct. 27. A separate grants program for faculty in science, engineering, architecture, mathematics and computer science will award $2,000 grants. The proposal deadline also is Oct. 27. Purdue students and student organizations are eligible to apply for community service minigrants from Indiana Campus Compact. The maximum award to each Purdue campus is $1,000. The deadline for proposals is Oct. 12. Purdue's faculty contact for the Compact program is Denee J. Mattioli, director of the J.F. Ackerman Center in the School of Education. The Student Voluntary Service coordinator is John W. Doster, a senior student in management. Jane A. Hamblin, associate dean of students, is the contact for student organizations. Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu