Purdue News

March 19, 1999 Task force surveying community-service needs WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- In an effort to enhance community/campus collaborations, the Purdue University ad hoc Task Force on Citizenship Education is reaching into the Greater Lafayette community with an initiative called Spring Project '99. Task force graduate assistants Nancy Vanaman and Kara McKinniss are working with the Greater Lafayette Volunteer Bureau, Leadership Lafayette and the Tippecanoe County office of the Cooperative Extension Service. They have met with representatives of a dozen community agencies -- from Tippecanoe County Child Care and Legal Aid to the Imagination Station, the Museums at Prophetstown and the Chamber -- to pave the way for service-learning opportunities for students as well as to further share Purdue's resources with the community. "Our hope is to learn just what it will take to build a long-term relationship between the university and the community that could meet both academic and community needs," McKinniss said. She said service learning engages students in community service as part of a structured course for which they receive academic credit. Spring Project '99 will document existing Purdue/community connections and analyze strengths and weaknesses, identify new possibilities, and encourage ways to enhance a citizenship/partnership mindset in Greater Lafayette and on campus. "The local business community also is an important element in our efforts," McKinniss said. "We would like business people to think about how students might be of benefit to their particular business with the skills they have acquired through their education, while also giving them the hands-on experience that they cannot get from books alone." She said business people could mentor or facilitate the citizenship-enhancing activities of Purdue students, which, in turn, could lead to retention of students with a commitment to the community. The task force aims to transmit possible options for campus/community partnerships to deans, department heads and faculty members. The project reflects Purdue's memberships in both the National Campus Compact and the Indiana Campus Compact, which are committed to helping students develop the values and skills of citizenship through participation in public and community service, while promoting the vision of a college or university as an active and involved member of the community. CONTACT: McKinniss, (765) 742-9070; ewc@laf.cioe.com Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page