by ·Comments Off on UM-Flint Lecturer Tony McGill Receives 2012 Community Leadership Award

Communication Department Chair Heather Seipke (right) stands with Professor Tony McGill as he accepts the award.

Congratulations to Professor Tony McGill, Lecturer IV in the Communication and Visual Arts Department, for being the recipient of the 2012 Community Leadership Award presented by Richfield Public School Academy (RPSA) & the City of Flint as a result of his service-learning classes!

For many years, Tony has challenged his senior-level communications students to apply what they have learned in their Professional Communication concentration to real-world service-learning projects with 3-4 community partners each semester. In each of the Fall 2011 and Winter 2012 semesters, a team of students in his capstone Senior Seminar in Professional Communications (COM 426) class mentored 7th and 8th graders in the RPSA Girls and Guys Leadership Club, building their skills and confidence.

Kathryn Hoover, the RPSA School Counselor, developed the nationally recognized mentoring program which involves peer mentoring, after-school youth clubs, and positive reward structures. In 2011, she asked University Outreach about the possibility of working with UM-Flint students in order to help her students see college as a possibility for their futures. Tony’s class was the perfect fit! Kathryn has been an energetic community partner and provided guidance to Tony’s students throughout the COM 426 service-learning project.

According to Kathryn, “Dr. McGill’s students represented the University of Michigan-Flint with the utmost of professionalism and integrity. They taught the material by also sharing personal experiences about themselves to help inspire our students. One of our students in the program has struggled greatly in the past and has even felt like life is not worth living. This student grew by leaps and bounds and said that their outlook on life completely changed and now looks forward to what the future holds. This is some powerful stuff! This program also enhanced the leadership ability of the college students.”

Upon receiving the 2012 Community Leadership Award, Tony shared this reflection: “It always surprises me when a student or alumnus tells me that the greatest learning experience they had in their undergraduate or graduate program was when I required them to do a service learning project. It does not surprise me that they found the experience so rewarding, what surprises me is the frequency with which I hear this. After well over 20 years of doing these projects I have come to believe that service learning projects are an integral part of higher education and an important responsibility of  each University of Michigan-Flint student, faculty, and staff employee.”

University Outreach thanks Kathryn Hoover and Mayor Dayne Walling for bestowing this award on Professor McGill, and appreciates the students who made such a difference at RPSA (Kevin Galloway, Ryan Garland, Dan Lynch, James Murphy, Randy Owens, and Julius Taylor).

by ·Comments Off on UM-Flint’s Alternative Spring Break Program Continues to Expand

The University of Michigan-Flint’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program enables students to learn about issues such as homelessness, poverty, hunger, violence, environmental issues, and complex social and cultural issues. Students listen to and understand community needs and continue a commitment to community service and social change. 2012 was the most successful year since the program began in terms of numbers of participants, sites, volunteer hours, etc. This year, instead of travelling to other areas to volunteer, the ASB board decided to stay back and serve with the Flint community. The focus areas included: education, homelessness and hunger, urban gardening, urban renewal, veterans, and underprivileged children.

At the sites this year, the participants impacted the community in various ways. Regardless if it was reading to elementary students in an inner city school, helping renovate a home for homeless veterans, or working in urban gardens, the participants made an enormous impact. Through the different sites, the participants were able to see different parts of the Flint community that needed help and many of them decided to continue their volunteer efforts after the week was over.

 

This year, our students donated their time at Alternative Veterans Solutions, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Flint, Carriage Town Ministries, Durant Tuuri Mott Elementary School, Flint River Farm, Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, Genesee County Habitat for Humanity, Salem Housing and Whaley Children’s Center. We had 69 individual students volunteer throughout the week of spring break, for a total of 211 service days. At 5 hours per day, the students donated approximately 1,055 hours throughout the week. According to the Independent Sector, these hours can be billed at $21.79 per hour for $22,988.45 worth of service. The University of Michigan-Flint students once again made colossal impact on the Flint community and beyond!

The one site that stuck out this year was the Alternative Veterans Solutions. The “Alternative Veterans Solutions was founded in 2010 on the belief that all veterans deserve to be honored and supported upon their return home from active duty. Our focus is to assist homeless veterans and those at-risk of becoming homeless by providing basic amenities and helping to connect those individuals with the training, education, counseling and rehabilitative services that they need. Alternative Veterans Solutions partners with federal, state and local agencies to offer a full range of services to area veterans. Together, we are working to break the cycle of homelessness while eliminating the barriers that veterans face in re-adjusting to civilian life.” For more information, please click on the following link: Alternative Veterans Solutions

Tredel Kennedy and Tina Harris are from the Flint area have devoted their lives to Alternative Veterans Solutions. They purchased a house on the Northwest side of Flint, and are currently re-modeling this house for homeless veterans. They have come to a standstill due to funding which is delaying the house from opening. The house is a 5 level house that can house up to 7 homeless veterans at a time. This project will help veterans get back on their feet, by offering them a stable place to live up to 18 months to get the ball rolling for them. Services will include building resumes, offering them school alternatives, finding jobs and offering them benefits that they might not concentrate on because of not having a home to live in.

We were able to work with Tredel and Tina to make their dream come true! Brandon Boone (ASB student and a student veteran here at the University of Michigan-Flint) made this project his personal mission to make this program work. Brandon and Bradley (Brandon’s brother) went to Michigan Works/Career Alliance work force development on day two of ASB and they spoke on a panel and stressed the issue of the transitional process for veterans coming home from active duty. This issue was seriously considered and they are working to acquiring 2,000 square feet of space from the Habitat of Humanity for a veterans center. They eventually hope to open a Veterans center open to the veterans and their families. The Student Veterans of America-Flint Chapter (SVA) is helping finish the project in hopes of meeting their deadline of opening in June. SVA will be conducting a house warming party, where community members can bring house items to the home from furniture, cloths and dishes. Also, they will be holding a spring clean-up, where Greek society members will be partnering with SVA in the landscaping of the house before the house opens to the 7 homeless veterans.

by ·Comments Off on Introducing the 2012 Boyer Faculty Scholars

Congratulations to Professors Janet Haley (Theatre), Yu “Sunny” Kang (Public Health & Health Sciences) and Quamrul Mazumder (Computer Science, Engineering & Physics) – the 2012 Boyer Faculty Scholars in this inaugural year of the Boyer Faculty Scholars Program! The goal of this program is to deepen UM-Flint’s campus-wide conversations, practice and recognition of the scholarship of engagement. Scholarship of engagement is academically recognized research and creative projects that meaningfully address issues in the community and add to the body of knowledge.

By joining the program, these three faculty members have committed to each develop and implement exemplary community-engaged course or research project based on best practices, and share their insights from what they have learned in the program with the campus and community during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Janet’s project, called NOURISH, is an original place-based theatre production about the Flint Farmers’ Market and its role in the community.

Sunny is reworking her Long-term Care Administration (AGE 378) course to include class visits to a local long-term adult care provider to gain further knowledge and appreciation of health administration for older populations and to act as a consultant for the long-term care provider.

Quamrul’s project involves raising awareness and developing initiatives for renewable energy in partnership with his Special Topics in Engineering: Renewable Energy course, assessing the impact of community engagement on student learning and academic performance, and developing a local chapter of Engineers Without Borders. Exciting projects!

In addition to the faculty projects, one component of the program is the Boyer Scholars Speaker Series. The final workshop in this series, on the topic “Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR): Rationale, Principles, and How to Use a CBPR Approach” will take place on Friday, June 15th. For more information on the speaker series, please visit University Outreach’s Boyer Events

For more information

Boyer Faculty Scholars Program

by ·Comments Off on Teachers to maximize student engagement with place-based education projects

Instead of competing for the attention of students staring out school windows, some local teachers are planning to take classrooms outdoors.

Curriculum to engage students by addressing local issues is known as place-based education (PBE). In Flint, the Discovering PLACE program at University Outreach supports teachers and partners using PBE pedagogy, which aims to develop stewardship among students.

Educators at Flint’s Southwestern Academy, for example, are planning to create a native habitat for ducks occupying one of the school’s courtyards, which are currently capturing student interest.

“The ducks chose us, we didn’t choose them,” said teacher Linda Heck during a recent Discovering PLACE project planning session.

Along with identifying projects that maximize students’ interests and abilities, teachers must develop place-based education projects around curriculum standards, since students work on PBE projects during the school day.

At Southwestern, this may mean math is taught through calculating the perimeter and area of the courtyard, graphing duck behavior, or figuring amounts for fowl feed and water. Earth science concepts such as sun and soil requirements may be learned through planting native grasses, and English language arts may be practiced through journaling about the experience.

Students can not only gain memorable academic lessons from the projects, but glean satisfaction from contributing to a healthy environment for the ducks, and from building a learning space to be used by later students. Youth also benefit from working side-by-side with community partners on their projects.

While place-based education also encompasses projects with a community theme – such as recording oral histories or working to help a local business – the majority of Discovering PLACE teachers are planning environmental-focused projects, which will be implemented starting this fall.

Along with the duck habitat, project planning ideas include school-community gardens, an outdoor classroom with a weather station, a berry garden and a school-community stage area, a solar greenhouse, cistern and rain barrel, a worm composting center, a bird habitat, and revamping a school entrance area to welcome families and discourage vandalism, as well as redesigning a muddy area to absorb water and prevent runoff.

Teachers and partners teamed up with environmental graduate students from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in one recent workshop. Working in design charrettes around schoolyard maps, participants sketched ideas that teachers are linking to curriculum standards. Teachers are also identifying community partners who can both contribute to, and benefit from projects being planned in the Flint, Westwood Heights and Beecher districts.

The Discovering PLACE program at University Outreach, which began in 2009, is one of eight hubs of the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative. To learn more about Discovering PLACE, go to blogs.umflint.edu/glsi.

 

by ·Comments Off on Innovation Across the UM-Flint Campus

A print version of this article will appear in an upcoming issue of Bridges – The School of Management’s Alumni Magazine

By Dale Tuttle, Manager of University Outreach’s Innovation Incubator and the Director of Michigan Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership

Over the past eight months the School of Management’s (SOM) Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (MCEL) has dedicated its staff and integrated its operations with University Outreach’s Innovation Incubator [IN]. MCEL’s mission is to enhance the experiential learning opportunities for students throughout campus while promoting the growth and success of businesses and not-for-profit organizations.

The opportunity to take the lead in program management of the [IN] was an excellent fit for my interests, for the mission of MCEL, and provides solid evidence of the SOM and University Outreach taking positive steps toward integrating entrepreneurial scholarship and practice across campus and into the community.

It’s important to acknowledge all the good being done by faculty, staff and students across the many colleges and departments of the university. Aside from the valuable contributions of SOM faculty, Assistant Professor of Marketing – Sy Banerjee; Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior & Human Resources – Brian Bloom; Assistant Professor of Management – Amy Gresock; and Professor of Accounting – Keith Moreland, the [IN] has had the good fortune of being the beneficiary of creative, high quality academic contributions from other faculty across campus including Rebecca Hayes – Assistant Professor of Communications and Visual Arts; and Traci Currie – Lecturer of Communication and Visual Arts. Our [IN] workshops, free and open to students and the community, have also featured staff, as well as current students and alumni. This year we were fortunate to have Danny Bledsoe, former Army Black Hawk Helicopter Pilot, owner of CenterMark Coaching and current Social Work student in the College of Arts and Sciences as well as Jeff Sabolish an SOM MBA alumnus and partner at Lewis & Knopf, present workshops on “Goal Setting and Follow Through” and “Small Business Accounting” respectively.

Our understanding is that innovation that leads to profit is not the exclusive domain of the SOM, just as creativity and innovative expressions of imagination are not the exclusive domains of the Arts and Sciences.

When we began working with the [IN] it had established a solid infrastructure and programmatic mission. In an early discussion with Jonathan Jarosz, Director of University Outreach, he explained how the [IN], funded through a grant awarded by C.S. Mott, supported a creative suite of student owned businesses as well as a technology suite. He went on to share his vision of creating a third suite which has become known as the Social Entrepreneurship Suite. At the time of that discussion the space envisioned to house the Social Entrepreneurship Suite was packed with stacked chairs and old desks. In just a few months the once cluttered space has become home to the School of Health Professions and Studies’ PT/Health Clinic’s administrative office, as well as to Wade Steelman, CIS student in the Computer Science Department of the College of Arts and Sciences, and owner of Businesses by Veterans.

The PT/Health Clinic, UM-Flint’s first “student sponsored” organization, is a wonderful innovation with a mission to provide physical therapy (PT) and health education services to Flint’s underserved populations. Its student leadership has established a field presence in Flint’s North-End Soup Kitchen with a “soft” opening this past January in which they have begun to offer health education services to the community and are planning to offer PT services as soon as adequate insurance coverage is obtained.

Businesses by Veterans is a web-based business focusing on enhancing the linkages and visibility of veteran owned businesses throughout Michigan and eventually the nation. Steelman’s efforts and the [IN]’s support of it are consistent with the notion that veterans are an important and deserving segment of our population that has earned our support in whatever ways we can manage it.

In the bigger picture, MCEL and [IN] represent student-centered shared activities across campus aligned with achieving UM-Flint’s strategic priorities associated with enhancing the quality and breadth of academic programs as well as expanding participation in civic engagement and experiential learning.

 

by ·Comments Off on Study [IN] Style on December 13!

While you’re studying for exams, you might as well have a good time doing it!

Come over to the Innovation Incubator [IN] at Northbank Center 207 from 9 am-5 pm on Study Day December 13. You can build a fort with our giant foam blocks or arrange the furniture any way you like to study alone or in groups.  Free pizza and beverages will be available.

In the Winter semester Study Day, about 20 students discovered the Innovation Incubator in our Study [IN] Style Open House. They said they liked the fun, colorful and creative atmosphere. Some took breaks from studying to check out the services available to students at the incubator.

They were surprised to learn that there were five student-run businesses that have free offices right on campus. That number is now up to seven, and there is room for a few more. UM-Flint students like you have started businesses in web hosting, business coaching, publishing, graphic design, software development, and a physical therapy free clinic. Dozens of other student businesses also use the services and space of the incubator to collaborate, plan their businesses and make social connections – and so can you.

We will have staff on hand all day to describe the benefits of using our free services during the Tuesday December 13 Study [IN] Style Day. Come to the Northbank Center, take the elevator to the second floor — and follow the vibe of creativity to the Innovation Incubator!

by ·Comments Off on December dinner event to celebrate Discovering PLACE accomplishments

Faculty members of UM-Flint involved in K-12 education are invited to a Discovering PLACE celebration dinner, to be held 5-7 p.m. Dec. 14, 2011 at the Harding Mott University Center. Registration starts at 5 p.m., and the event kicks off with a 5:30 p.m. hors d’oeuvre reception in the University Center lobby, followed by a 6 p.m. buffet dinner by Fandangles’ , served in the Happenings Room.

What are we celebrating? An outstanding group of Flint-area teachers and community partners who have been working with Discovering PLACE, a University Outreach program that launched in 2009.

This year, the group helped local students learn through several hands-on projects that involved growing their own food, creating an outdoor trail and removing an invasive species to preserve a pond. In the process, students developed a sense of stewardship.

Local schools face a host of demands, making it especially challenging to carry out projects that exceed everyday curriculum requirements. These tasks also require the backing of school administrators and organizations such as the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative and the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, which support the efforts of Discovering PLACE.

Dr. Don Hammond, a Beecher High School science teacher involved in the projects, was recently named one of 20 Chevrolet GREEN Educators in the nation. Nominated by representatives of Earth Force, Hammond drew media attention when GM staff awarded him the use of a Chevy Volt for his classroom to study.

The Dec. 14 event is also a rare opportunity to hear Matthew Washington, Executive Director at the Friends of the High School for Environmental Studies in New York. Along with addressing diversity in the environmental field, Washington will bring firsthand insights on the benefits of exposing students to a range of settings.

“People talk about diversity, and that’s typically associated with race or gender,” said Washington. “Certainly racial diversity is important, but diversity of the mind is also important, a diversity of experiences.”

Matthew Washington

While most of Washington’s childhood was set among the concrete structures of New York City, he grew comfortable outdoors during trips to the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Washington was one of the early graduates of the High School for Environmental Studies, one of the first schools of its kind in the country. Later, he served as a mentor for the school’s Friends program. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Alfred University in Comparative Cultures, with a concentration in Cultural Anthropology, Washington became heavily entrenched in the area by serving on community boards.

Before being named Executive Director of the Friends, Washington served as Deputy Director of the Friends of Hudson River Park, a group that transformed an old pier into a flourishing public park. Washington is also part of an effort to create an open-air market in Harlem.

Childhood exposure to diverse settings can be life changing. For Washington, it impacted his career choice. Washington sees a profound effect in others too, including the students of the High School for Environmental Studies who participate in the school’s extended outdoor trips. The students has been so affected by the experience that it became part of each student’s college admission essay.

Tickets for the celebration dinner are free but limited. If you have an interest in the Discovering PLACE program and would like to attend, please RSVP by Dec. 9 to Barb Urlaub at [email protected] or (810) 424-5486.

by ·Comments Off on Light Your Fuse and Spark Your Creativity

University Outreach staff are always looking for new, fun ways to approach life. Our Innovation Incubator is all about helping people change the world and make it better. A great place to start is right where you are, right now. An upcoming leadership development workshop will help you examine your circumstances and look at them from a slightly different perspective – the place where all change begins.

Wendy Shepherd wants to help you restore your energy and increase your productivity. In her workshop Light the Fuse and Spark Workplace Creativity, she presents studies that show Americans are suffering from a “creativity deficit” due in part to increased workload and pressure. Encouraging creativity is a way to diminish burnout, she says. When you can invigorate your own morale, you’ll help yourself and others work to their best potential. In this free workshop, you will learn to re-ignite your creative flame to restore your drive and increase your productivity!

Join us Friday Nov. 11, 2011: (12:30 – 4:30) for the second in the fall series of Professional Development workshops by University of Michigan’s Human Resource Development. It is another way the UM-Flint University Outreach Innovation Incubator [IN] fosters creativity and innovation on our campus and throughout our community.

by ·Comments Off on Students Explore Their Community at “My Flint” Events

My Flint is a series of orientation events that provides UM-Flint students with information about recreation, food, transportation, volunteer opportunities, and daily necessities needed for life in the City of Flint. These attractions are sure to add to their educational experience at UM-Flint! For those who are new to our campus and/or our community and for those who need or want to rediscover the city, we offer this series of events and resources to assist you in making Flint a great place to live, work, play, and go to school!

Taste of Downtown is one of our most popular My Flint events. On Wednesday, August 31 approximately 250 students had the opportunity to explore Flint’s amazing downtown eateries! Stops included Tina’s Sweet Delites, The Lunch Studio, Soyla’s Mexican Cuisine, Rolls-R-Ready Pastries and Things, Witherbee’s Market and Deli, Hoffman’s Deco Deli and Cafe, Jilly’s Pizza, Blendz, Subway, Oriental Express, Churchill’s, Wize Guys Pizza, 501 Bar and Grill and Blackstone’s Grill. This guided walking tour featured free food and free gifts! Students were able to discover their community; meet new students, faculty, staff and community members; make new friends; and have some fun! It was a great way to explore the city in a new way and learn fun facts about Flint. University Outreach staff also spoke with students regarding all the opportunities we provide for them to get involved with our community. Students were especially interested in Commitment to Service, Alternative Spring Break and Flint Corps.

Want more information? Visit the My Flint website!

by ·Comments Off on UM-Flint Celebrates Civic Engagement in New Video

The University of Michigan-Flint has created a promotional video highlighting the array of community partnerships our students, faculty and staff have cultivated over the past year. Much of Outreach’s work is featured in the video including the Cass River Greenway project.

Outreach staff and community partners Bill Zehnder and Bob Zeilinger, were interviewed on location along the Cass River at Beyer Road. Our community partners were asked to share their story on what it means to be a partner with the University, and the importance of partnering to achieve a common goal.

[youtube width=”850″ height=”550″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfyK2-TdyLQ[/youtube]