Related Link: 
In my first year as community service associate, I've been impressed with the level of commitment so many staff, faculty and students bring to building strong community partnerships. On one campus, representatives of two agencies and the universities in town have been meeting monthly for three years to improve the lives of area youth. On another, a business course works each semester with a merchants association to improve the economic opportunities of a local neighborhood. And at a third, the chancellor has committed funds for a community service center that will coordinate faculty efforts in dozens of departments.
At IU, 141 service-learning courses are taught by 127 faculty, over 2,700 students are enrolled in a service-learning class, and more than 9,000 students volunteer in co-curricular activities. The recent U.S. Presidents' Summit on Service, Gov. Frank O'Bannon's commitment to perform community service one day a month throughout his term and the growing number of student volunteers indicate that community service learning is an essential ingredient in today's academy.
How can we all better use this historic moment to place local and regional issues at the top of research agendas, on reading lists and at the heart of student activities?
According to Mary Walshok of the University of California, San Diego, the knowledge needs of today's citizenry go beyond rewarding faculty for service and requiring service in the undergraduate experience. Speaking in Indiana at a Universities as Citizens colloquium, she outlined three new capabilities that universities need: to create infrastructure so the university is an active contributor to a public forum, to fill regional knowledge gaps and to contribute to the capacity of a region to adapt to change.
Specifically, Walshok told of the San Diego Dialogue, started in 1991, which gathers 100 leaders willing to think in broad terms about what's good for the community. Transportation was a problem, and investigations of the border between San Diego and Tiajuana led to a research project by UC San Diego students who interviewed people waiting to cross the border.
The survey revealed that more than 80 percent of the border crossings were legal and that over $2 billion was spent annually in San Diego by this population. The owner of the San Diego Padres found the research interesting and worked to open fast lanes at the border, so that buses of Mexican nationals could go to Padres games without being hassled. The lesson for Hoosiers is that regional issues are solved by involving many, many partners.
As the public seeks results from the resources our universities receive, we have an historic opportunity to initiate conversations about local concerns. If we can avoid the temptation to assume the familiar role of expert and lecture the community about its needs, we can have rich exchanges, for community members have knowledge the university needs. Our students have creative energy to help us move forward on joint goals. And Indiana Campus Compact, the organization that coordinates service throughout the state, is one of the strongest in the nation.
The time is ripe for IU to take the lead in convening dialogues that will address regional issues.
Let us think bigger than ever before about the real accomplishments possible when the campus and the community come together as equals.
Related Link:
Return to Table of Contents