University of Vermont

Faculty, students and community partners were honored at the annual recognition reception of the UVM Office of Community-University Partnerships and Service-Learning on April 26 for their commitment to service-learning and the creation of community-based learning opportunities that enhance student learning and meet real community needs.

Since the inception of the ceremony in 2003, the number of service learning courses at UVM has more than tripled. In the 2009-2010 academic year, 65 courses included community-based learning elements often resulting in research conducted by faculty in collaboration with community partners.

In the Outstanding Service-Learning Student category, Dana Gulley was the undergraduate winner for her work in the Charlie Ross Environmental Public Service Practicum for which she eventually served as teaching assistant for two years. Gulley also serves as a Rubenstein School Steward and provides leadership and support to students within the school.

Teage O'Connor was the graduate student winner in the same category for his work in developing a community outreach program for the city of South Burlington in the course "Place Based Landscape Analysis" taught by Walter Poleman, senior lecturer in Natural Resources. O'Connor helped survey a 250-acre farm conserved by the Vermont Land Trust and investigated the human history on the land from the retreat of the glaciers to the present.

Nominees in the Outstanding Service-Learning Student category included Danielle Vogl and Devon Byrne for their improvement of the Burlington Legacy Project website with Anna Masozera, adjunct lecturer in CDAE; Celia Dalton-Meyer for her role as a teaching assistant for a community/public health nursing course in Bangladesh with Rycki Maltby, associate professor in nursing; Andi Elledge for her work as a TA in the "Independent Study in Student Leadership" course with Janet Bossange, senior lecturer in the College of Education; Eulaila Ishee for her work as a TA with Don Ross, associate research professor in plant and soil sciences, in his "Soil and Water Pollution and Bioremediation" course that worked on soil remediation projects with Lawrence Barnes School, Shelburne Farms, Burlington Community Gardens, and the Burlington Lead Project; and Sarah Woodward for her work as a TA in public communications where she contributed project management and community partner communications tools that help involve the community as a true partner in the experience.

The South Burlington Planning and Zoning Office (Paul Conner, Cathy Larose, and Tom Hubbard) won the Outstanding Service-Learning Community Partner category for their work with the "Environmental Problem Solving and Impact Analysis" course in the Rubenstein School of Environmental and Natural Resources. They were also recognized for their ongoing partnership with the PLACE Program and the "Place-based Landscape Analysis" course. The office, which has worked with at least five separate courses over the last two years, was praised for its willingness to work with students over the long term.

Nominees in the same category included State Senator Ginny Lyons for her work as a mentor with the Charlie Ross Environmental Public Service Practicum program; and Chris Boget of the Lake Champlain Land Trust for his work in partnership with the "Environmental Problem Solving and Impact Analysis" class in the Rubenstein School.

Mandar Dewoolkar, associate professor in the School of Engineering, won the Outstanding Service-Learning Faculty award for teaching outstanding service-learning courses and strategically integrating service learning throughout civil and environmental engineering curriculum. Dewoolkar has worked with more than 10 community partners in the past five years through two in-depth, service-learning courses. Dewoolkar also designed student and community partner surveys, collected assessment data and analyzed it, and was lead author on three peer-reviewed journal articles related to service learning.

Faculty nominees included Masozera for her work with multiple public communications courses -- strategic writing, strategic web development, and the senior capstone; Jess Hyman, also of public communications, for her work with a capstone course and making sure that community partners benefit from useful and meaningful projects; and Ross for his role in leading service-learning courses in plant and soil science and for bringing a strong connection between course content and service-learning projects.

In addition to the awards, the event also featured a service-learning photo contest and a showcase of community-based projects. For more information, visit the Office of Community-University Partnerships and Service-Learning.