This morning, I attended a breakfast at my institution to celebrate the many accomplishments of the Office of Service-Learning (including their AmeriCORPS VISTA volunteers) and faculty and staff at Wright State that are involved in supporting the academy's mission to "transform the lives of our students and the communities we serve." The mission also states that "We are committed to engaging in significant community service." Wright State was the only public institution in Ohio last year named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. We joined the ranks again this year, although at least one other Ohio public higher education institution joined us in this honor. According to Cory Macpherson, "A total of 8,655 Wright State students were involved in academic service-learning during the 2009-10 school year, resulting in 932,638 service hours that touched the lives of 59,696 community members." More information is available here: http://webapp2.wright.edu/web1/newsroom/2011/05/19/wright-state-recogniz... It was a wonderful way to start the week on a Monday morning, motivated by so many people on this campus who serve others in our community. One of the best stories that I heard today was about an English composition instructor (who I have had the pleasure to work with) - who changed her syllabus mid-quarter, with the help of her students, to incorporate service-learning. She visited one of our partner-schools in the community, and was heartbroken by the number of students there who did not pass the state competency exams. She told her students this, and they helped her renegotiate the syllabus. I can imagine that service experience was pretty meaningful to all involved, because it came, in part, from the students' desire to help.
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