Community & University:A Duquesne University Honors Seminar
• Dr. Evan Stoddard– Community & University
• Benjamin Shopland– Getting to Know the Community
• Jamie White– Selecting & Planning the Project
• Juliane Murphy– Executing and Reporting
• Allison Pogue– Project Assessment
Community & University
Dr. Evan Stoddard
Community & University
• Honors Seminar– Substitutes for a core
writing course– Writing-intensive
Course Objectives
• Know and love the community• Research a community and its needs• Learn important skills
– Writing proposals– Project management and budgeting– Writing reviews
• Work productively in a diverse team• Contribute to the community• Contribute to the national dialogue on
service-learning
The Class
Professor: Resource and Coach
Course: Expression of Duquesne’s Mission
First Day: We get started!The semester is short to do all we want to do.
Getting to Know
Benjamin Shopland
the South Side
Southside is well-known to DU students
• Lots to do close to campus • 1,000 commuting students live on Southside
A Fresh Look at Southside
• What can we offer Southside?
Our First Three Assignments:
-Personal Observations-Research-Group Report
-using wiki technology with Blackboard-update old report-collage of our interests
Get Out There:
• Project must have value in Community• Community investment
– Sustainability– Community Partners
The Importance of Knowing the Community
Two Goals of Service Learning:
• Service: Benefit to Community• Learning: Benefit to Students
Selecting & Planning the Project
Jamie White
The Project: Revitalizing South Side Park
• Beautification
• Trail Mapping
Project Selection
• Storyboarding
Gantt Chart & Budget
Gantt Chart & Budget
Project Proposal
• Purpose and Result
Community Partners
• South Side Local Development Company• South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association• PA Cleanways • Pittsburgh Public Works• Pittsburgh Trail-building Advocacy Group
– Dr. Nancy Trun, DU Biology Dept– Peter Greninger, REI
• Esser’s Floral• DU Honors College• DU Volunteers• Aramark
Executing & Reporting
Juliane Murphy
Funding
• Seed fund – $100
• Fundraisers– Pizza sale– T-shirt sale
Organizing the Class
• Class groups – Fundraising– Volunteers– Community
Partners– Advertising
• Work Groups– Beautification– Trail-mapping
Project Results
• Removed– 300 trash
bags– 65 tires– 2 refrigerators– Several
mattresses– Car engine
Project Results
• Planted Flowers• Improved and mapped a major trail• Made community connections
Reporting: The Wiki
Reporting: Online Archive
1.Click here
2. Type keyword
3. Click here
4. View results
Project Assessment
Allison Pogue
Lessons Learned
• Sustainability
• Realistic Project Choice
• Time Management
• Fundraising
• Teamwork & Leadership
• Grading
Role of the Instructor
- Encouraged student responsibility
- Granted freedom- Valuable resource
Student Reactions
“I will take away a great experience from this course, and I am happy to have become
friends with the members of our small class. I think this project effectively personalized our class with the community of the South Side and made us more aware of the people that
live there and the concerns of their community.”
Student Reactions
“I’ve learned a lot about the South Side and Pittsburgh communities in the past few months. I feel more connected to
this area than ever before. It was tough to feel this way being from out of state
and unfamiliar with the area.”
Student Reactions
“As I look back on this class five years from now, I think I will remember what a great
impact we were able to have on the community around us. I never realized how willing people were to help others out. The community was very willing to donate their
time and money to our project.”
Thank you for attending our session!
Any Questions?
