Three faculty members from the LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business are among a group of 12 selected for the 2009 Service-Learning Faculty Scholars Program, which offers $2,000 stipends to encourage experiential education and hands-on learning that benefits the community.
Lettie Lowe-Ardoin of the Department of Accounting and LSU Stephenson Disaster Management Institute researchers Rachel A. Dowty and Melanie Gall were selected by the LSU Service-Learning Advisory Council to join other faculty representing a variety of disciplines to develop effective strategies for implementing service-learning in their curricula. The Center for Community Engagement, Learning, and Leadership initiated the innovative Faculty Scholars Program to promote the institutionalization of service-learning courses in every department, encourage interdisciplinary dialogue and to advance the objectives of the LSU Flagship Agenda.
“Some of the scholars had already begun to implement elements of service-learning into their courses, but they all recognized the value of a planning process whereby they can develop more effective strategies for reinforcing the academic and civic mission of a land grant research university,” said Jan Shoemaker, director of CCELL.
“I am starting to use service-learning as a component in the course Fundamentals of Emergency Management this spring semester, working with three local non-profit organizations to redesign their respective organizational disaster plans,” Dowty said.
“I am using service-learning techniques in spring semester for the course Environmental Hazards Analysis,” Gall said “The course teaches hazards identification, vulnerability determination and consequence assessment for the natural, built and human environment. In collaboration with the LSU Public Safety department, students are collecting data to support the development of a campus hazard mitigation plan.”
Each recipient will attend a weekly, 90-minute seminar where they will plan and discuss course design, social responsibilities of universities, liability, assessment and reflection as they relate to service-learning courses. At the completion of the seminar, scholars will develop a new course that includes service-learning or incorporate service-learning into a previously designed course and implement the course in a subsequent semester: summer 2009, fall 2009 or spring 2010. Scholars will submit a report or article for publication after teaching the course.
“I want to share and learn with my colleagues so I may enhance my student’s opportunities,” Lowe-Ardoin said. “I am such a strong believer in service-learning. We should strive to help the community while offering our students valuable lessons that cannot be taught in the classroom.”
For more information about the Faculty Scholars Program or service-learning at LSU, visit the Center for Community Engagement, Learning, and Leadership’s Web site at www.ccell.lsu.edu or contact CCELL Director Jan Shoemaker at 225-578-9264.
The Stephenson Disaster Management Institute, an integral part of LSU’s E. J. Ourso College of Business, was established to help save the lives of people and animals by continuously improving disaster response management through research and education. Vision and a generous donation by LSU alumni Emmet and Toni Stephenson were responsible for the creation of the institute in 2007. For more information, visit www.bus.lsu.edu/sdmi or call 225-578-0238.
The Department of Accounting at LSU’s E. J. Ourso College of Business strives for excellence in teaching, research and service to the accounting profession. With a mission of producing graduates at all levels who excel in their pursuits, the department offers undergraduate and graduate programs that prepare students for careers in various fields including industry, auditing, finance, government and academia. For more information, visit www.bus.lsu.edu/accounting/,call 225-578-6202, or e-mail accounting@lsu.edu.
