Initiative connects campus to community

A new pilot program at Grand Valley State University is aiming to increase the supportive culture of community-based learning and scholarship in West Michigan.

The primary goal for involved departments during the 18-month period of the Engaged Department Initiative, which concludes in December 2016, is to strategically integrate challenging community-based experiences into their respective curriculums.

"Community-based learning increases student retention and persistence toward graduation, prepares them for leadership, enhances cultural understanding and motivates students toward community action," said Ruth Stegeman, College of Community and Public Service assistant dean and director for Community Engagement.

The Engaged Department Initiative came to fruition through a grant from the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, which is being shared by Grand Valley, Aquinas College and Grand Rapids Community College. Stegeman said Grand Valley initiated the project, coordinated the grant proposal and now acts as the fiduciary and project manager for the grant.

Heather Carpenter, assistant professor of public, nonprofit and health administration; Danielle Lake, assistant professor of liberal studies; and Paula Lancaster, professor and director of teacher education in the College of Education, currently serve on a research team, along with faculty from Aquinas and GRCC. The team determined the three departments at Grand Valley that received portions of the grant funding: Geography and Planning, Anthropology and Hospitality and Tourism Management.

Aside from creating new internship and research opportunities for students, the Geography and Planning Department has been working closely with the West Michigan Environmental Council (WMEAC) on several key environmental and social problems in the region, including water resourcing, air quality, climate change adaptations, poverty alleviation and environmental education in K-12 school systems.

To foster the latter, the department hosted 30 students from Shawmut Hills School for Geographic Information Systems Day in October. The students used the event to celebrate Geography Awareness Week by utilizing GPS to find various items around the Allendale Campus, and participating in a laboratory exercise facilitated by Grand Valley students during which they constructed a map of the world's largest cities.

The Anthropology Department has been collaborating with Bethany Christian Services and their Refugee and Immigration Services Program. The department currently has three students interning with the organization assisting with their Join Cultural Orientation Program, which assists Afghan, Syrian and Congolese refugee families with housing, social services and adjusting to Western culture.

Russell Rhoads, associate professor of anthropology, is currently planning a special topics course for the winter 2016 semester called "Community Engagement," which will involve an action research project collaborating with Bethany Christian Services on its orientation program.

"Knowledge isn't only about facts; it's generated through relationships and working through new ways of dealing with challenging problems in society," Rhoads said. "The interactions themselves, involving students, faculty, partner organizations and local social groups, are the best preparation for future leaders."

Through the initiative, faculty members in the Hospitality and Tourism Management Department have been assessing which courses should include community-based learning projects.

"A student wants to learn in meaningful ways, a partner wants to move their mission forward utilizing skills and abilities they cannot access alone, and faculty want rewarding and beneficial learning opportunities for students based on course objectives," said Patty Janes, associate professor of HTM. "Allowing us the opportunity to create these three types of environments in the GVSU and West Michigan communities would only have occurred with this grant initiative."