CSCC Named To President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

The Corporation for National and Community Service honored Cleveland State Community College as a leader among institutions of higher education for their support of volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement. Cleveland State was admitted to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for engaging its students, faculty and staff in meaningful service that achieves measurable results in the community.

This is the third time CSCC has been named to the Honor Roll; the first time was in 2010 and again in 2013. 

The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, launched in 2006, annually highlights the role colleges and universities play in solving community problems and placing more students on a lifelong path of civic engagement by recognizing institutions that achieve meaningful, measureable outcomes in the communities they serve. 

A total of 766 higher education institutions were named to this year’s Honor Roll, but only 33 community colleges were named to the list. The General Community Service category recognizes institutions that have made a commitment to improving the quality of life of off-campus community residents, particularly low-income individuals.  

“Cleveland State faculty have enthusiastically embraced the pedagogy of service-learning and are ‘driving home’ important academic concepts with these hands-on experiences,” stated Susan Webb-Curtis,” director of Service-Learning and Cooperative Education. “As a result of creative projects and strong community agency partnerships, CSCC students are out in the field making such positive contributions throughout our service area.”    

Ms. Webb-Curtis continued, “The reflection assignments of students at the end of these courses have confirmed that these service experiences can often be life-changing. It is our hope that we are developing civic-minded graduates that will continue to serve our communities long after their graduation.” 

Cleveland State’s service-learning program has experienced tremendous growth since its inception in 2008. While Ms. Webb-Curtis was asked to establish the early infrastructure for the program, she credits innovative faculty pioneers, great community partners, and the addition of Sherry Holloway to the CSCC Service-Learning program in 2010 as being vital to the continued growth and firm establishment of the program. 

Dr. Bill Seymour, CSCC president, stated, “Cleveland State takes great pride that we are the college that always puts community first. This recognition further signifies that the service-learning program at Cleveland State is among the best in the country. Very few community colleges are so successful at weaving this ethic into their curriculum and sense of community.” 

“We were pleased to learn that Cleveland State was named to the 2014 President’s Higher Education Honor Roll,” stated Sherry Holloway, Service-Learning coordinator. “We appreciate the organization’s recognition of our dedicated team of faculty, staff, students and community partners. It is my honor and privilege to serve this team and share their stories of community outreach.”

Mani Hull, executive director for the Tennessee Campus Compact, stated, “Congratulations to Cleveland State Community College for this highest federal recognition and to be a national model for campus-community engagement.”  

The Tennessee Campus Compact is a member of the Campus Compact, a national coalition of almost 1,200 college and university presidents—representing some 6 million students—who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education. As the only national higher education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement, Campus Compact promotes public and community service that develops students’ citizenship skills, helps campuses forge effective community partnerships, and provides resources and training for faculty seeking to integrate civic and community-based learning into the curriculum, said officials.

Ms. Holloway said, “The timeframe covered by the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Honor Roll was July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013.  During that time, Cleveland State’s faculty and students demonstrated their dedication to Service-Learning and Civic Engagement by completing a variety of incredible projects.” Ms. Holloway shared the following story highlights: 

Jana Pankey, associate professor, Human Services/Social Work Program led students of her Family and Children’s Services class to conduct a Free Store in an underserved area of the community. The students collected donations of gently used clothing, coats, furniture, household items, toys, and books for the store. Families and individuals were given an opportunity to shop “free of charge” for items they needed or wanted. The Free Store was planned during the holiday season so families could shop for gifts. The Free Store served over 50 deserving families. 

Nancy Thomas, associate professor, Nursing Evening Coordinator, and Maureen Baksh-Griffin, assistant professor of Nursing, developed a service-learning program that required students to complete a minimum of 30 service-learning hours (beyond required clinical hours).  Students applied classroom instruction to care for a diverse population at free clinics, nonprofit organizations, health fairs, K-12 schools, doctors’ offices, hospitals, emergency rooms, medical centers, hospice, senior homes, and home-healthcare facilities.  Students invested approximately 3,100 hours and served over 1,200 people. 

Bob Uhl, associate professor of Computer Information Technology, Megen Saez, assistant professor of Computer Information Systems, and Kara Headrick, assistant professor of Accounting sponsored a campus Computer Repair Shop to provide free services for CSCC’s five-county service area. IT students applied classroom instruction to provide customers free repair services and benefited from the hands-on experience of trouble-shooting and repairing computers. Accounting students used Quick Books to provide accounting services for the shop and benefited from experiencing a real business accounting system. Students invested 2,100 hours and provided free service for 338 computers.   

Suzanne Wood, associate professor and coordinator of Early Childhood Education, led students to plan and conduct the 10th annual Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss literacy event, designed to instill a love of reading in children and inspire parents/guardians to become better readers. The event aligned with National Read Across America Day. Students, faculty, community volunteers, The Cat In The Hat, Grinch, and Thing One & Thing Two led games and read with children. The Kiwanis Club donated and distributed 850 Dr. Seuss books to children in attendance. The event served over 1,000 children. 

Kelly Ormsby, associate professor, English/Learning Support led a team of CSCC and Taylor Elementary faculty, staff, and students plus community partners to develop a Service-Learning Literacy Garden at Taylor Elementary School.  The garden encourages exploration and learning, where books and writing are connected to nature. CSCC students volunteered to with read, write, and lead literacy games in the garden with Taylor students, resulting in improved skills for all students. 

Margaret Horten, instructor, Early Childhood Education collaborated with Suzanne Wood, associate professor/coordinator Early Childhood Education to identify a service-learning project for her Math and Science in Early Childhood Development classes. Students researched TN Common Core Standards and planned and created Math and Science Folder Games for use by K-3 teachers at Taylor Elementary School. The games are motivational teaching tools that provide hands-on, interactive learning opportunities for children with varied learning capabilities.

Dr. Denise King, vice president for Academic Affairs, said, “Service-learning has become an integral part of the Cleveland State experience. Susan Webb-Curtis and Sherry Holloway, along with a cadre of committed faculty, have led the campus in a continual process of growth and development in learning through service.  In fact, our professional development activities this month focus on celebrating successful service learning projects and challenging ourselves to take our efforts to an even higher level. It is this commitment to excellence that has propelled CSCC to the President's Honor Roll year after year as an exceptional community college.” 

More information on eligibility and the full list of Honor Roll awardees can be found at nationalservice.gov/HonorRoll.  

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the President's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.