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Volume 1, Issue 2

Spring 2011

Welcome to the OEECE

We Serve

Welcome to the Engaging Leadership News-letter!

The start of our new year has brought us back to a post-fall semester topic. On October 10, 2010, The Core Implementation Task Force presented the Faculty Senate with an opportu-nity to vote on the Experiential Learning Re-quirement (ELR). The ELR would require all Kent State students to have engagement in at least one course-based or non-course-based experiential learning activity. After falling short by 2 votes, the ELR proposal was revis-ited, modified, and submitted to the Faculty Senate again on February 14, 2011 and ap-proved by a vote of 18 to 15. I extend my grati-tude to the Faculty Senate for recognizing the potential of the ELR to enhance the Kent State student learning experience.

With the concept of experiential learning being relatively new to Kent State, you may ask: What is experiential learning? In simple terms, experiential learning is a process of developing knowledge and skills through engaged experi-ences. By virtue of experiential education, fac-ulty use the community to expand course-based teaching and learning, which allows students to develop and apply their knowledge and skills in diverse environments that promote public good.

A core value of The Office of Experiential Education and Civic Engagement (OEECE) is

to promote the “scholarship of service and civic engage-ment that makes what is discovered useful beyond the academic community.” Although the traditional classroom environment can provide meaningful experi-ences, experiential learning helps to:

Develop disciplinary skills and competencies to make graduates professionally competitive

Promote psychosocial development through civic engagement and reflection

Enhance academic relevance to the real-world Encourage civic responsibility and leadership

and

Showcase students‟ skills and talents to the public and potential employers

One of OEECE‟s objectives is to validate linkages among academics, leadership, and civic responsibil-ity by developing student engagement opportunities that enhance the student learning experience. A second objective is to provide support services and resources to facilitate and encourage the creation of these opportunities.

For information to obtain support for experiential learning, visit www.kent.edu/experiential, email experiential@kent.edu, or call our office at 330-672-7876.

Coordinator’s Comments

Moulton Hall 203

Kent, Ohio 44242

(330) 672-7876

experiential@kent.edu

www.kent.edu/experiential

Contact Us The Office of Experiential Education

and Civic Engagement

Coordinator Dr. Tina L. Kandakai

Community Students

Inside this issue:

Coordinator’s Comments 1

Community Partner Spotlight 2

The FACES of Change at KSU 2

Learning By Doing: Highlighting KSU’s English Department 3

Showcasing Faculty Excellence in Action 4

Paying it Forward: Grant Recipients at KSU 5

Stark County Hunger Task Force: Philanthropy Recipient 5

Faculty Associates 6

2011 OEECE Showcase 2010 Alternative Spring Break Oxfam Hunger Banquet 2010

Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary Inc. is a non-profit (501c3) organization that rescues, rehabilitates, and

provides an adoption program for abused, abandoned, and neglected farm animals such as horses, ponies, pot

belly pigs, farm pigs, chickens, ducks, turkeys, sheep, goats, and cattle. Happy Trails serves the entire state of

Ohio and works in cooperation with county humane societies, animal protective leagues, and local and state

law enforcement officers.

Happy Trails provides the rescued farm animals with medical care, proper nutrition, clean and safe housing,

and as much TLC as possible. The organization works in cooperation with a variety of other local and out-of-state rescue groups to network

and help find homes for the rescued farm animals. This adoption program allows for the rescued animals to be adopted as family pets only.

Once farm animals are accepted by Happy Trails, they are no longer allowed to be placed back into food production nor are they allowed to

be bred or used for exploitation in any way.

This community organization was chosen for a project by a group of students in Professor David Smeltzer‟s Corporate Video class. This

course regularly works with a variety of non-profit organizations to produce promotional video pieces. The students interviewed the staff,

conducted a needs-assessment, and created a video piece to promote and educate the public about the mission and efforts of Happy Trails.

The results of this project were positive for Happy Trails and the students who created the video. Happy Trails pres-

ently uses this video to demonstrate to the public and potential funders the merit of the organization‟s work. Profes-

sor Smeltzer‟s students were able to apply their video production skills to raise the level of appreciation for the ser-

vice this worthy organization provides to the rescued farm animals.

Happy Trails was emphatic in its praise of Kent State students Katie Dillon, Kayla Landolph,

and Marcus Garrett: “Thank-you -- not only to the Kent State students who worked so dili-

gently to convey the message that each organization had to share, but also to the creative and innovative university

staff and faculty for designing such an incredible program. I think everyone, including the non-profit representa-

tives, learned from this experience. The videos the students produced will impact countless other lives.” To view the

video, follow this link: http://happytrailsfarm.org/video_listing.php.

Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary, Inc., 5623 New Milford Rd., Ravenna, Ohio 44266. Phone: (330) 296-5914

Page 2

Community Partner Spotlight: Happy Trails

EN GA GIN G L EA D E RS HIP www.kent.edu/experiential

The Office of Experiential Education and Civic Engagement (OEECE) was selected to host a

Midwest Campus Compact Citizen Scholar Fellows (M3C) Program called Future Advocates of

Civic Engagement (FACE) Fellowship Program. At the end of Fall 2010 semester, OEECE re-

cruited and interviewed excellent candidates who applied to serve KSU as 2011 FACE Fellows.

The strong applicants and limited openings made the FACE Fellowship Program a competitive

program.

The OEECE is proud to announce seven Kent State students have been selected to serve our cam-

pus and community. The 2011 Kent State University FACE Fellows are Sarah Keister, Allison

Lotter, Bree‟Ana Melick, Nick Novisky, Jamie Rom, Nichele Scott, and Erin Sherrets. Two of

our FACE Fellows, Nichele Scott and Erin Sherrets are serving as FACE peer mentors. Both

Nichele and Erin will provide leadership to further develop the FACE Fellowship program while

supporting their team of FACE Fellows.

The FACE program creates a close-knit cohort of peer students whose participation in engaged

service and learning activities positively impacts local communities and subsequently demon-

strates the importance of experiential education and civic engagement to KSU students. FACE

Fellows have decided to address community needs through course-based civic engagement as

more than half of the FACE Fellows have connected their service with a course they are taking

this spring through the Plus-1 Experiential Learning Credit option. Sarah Keister, a FACE Fel-

low who applied her service through the Plus-1 Credit hour, says, “experiential learning is when

students take an aspect of a class that interests them and make it come to life by volunteering

their time in the community or doing their own research.” The FACE Fellowship Program directly impacts the relationship between Kent

State University and the community by creating an innovative and sustainable approach to serve the community while educating other KSU

faculty and students about the significance of the learning experience. “It is important for KSU students because it really helps develop us

by becoming more professional, but also gives more of a purpose to what we are learning in the classroom” says Keister.

KSU FACE Fellows will serve as AmeriCorps members and will be required to complete their term of service (300 hours) within one calen-

dar year. Upon the completion and certification of 300 hours of community service, each FACE Fellow will receive a $1,000 education

award from the Corporation of National and Community Service Trust Fund.

Pictured above (L-R): Nichele Scott and Erin Sherrets

(Picture Above L-R): Jamie Rom, Erin Sherrets,

Bree‟Ana Melick, Nichelle Shuck (Ohio Campus

Compact VISTA), Sarah Keister, Nick Novisky, and

Allison Lotter. Not Pictured: Nichele Scott

The FACES of Change at Kent State University

Learning By Doing: Highlighting KSU’s English Department

Page 3 203 Moulton Hall 330.672.7876

The Office of Experiential Education and

Civic Engagement (OEECE) would like

to recognize three individuals on the Kent

campus who are applying experiential

education in their English Department

classes.

Jeanne Smith is an

English professor at

Kent State University

and a strong advocate

of service-learning.

She recognizes that

faculty members want

their students to not

only be in the classroom but interested and

attracted to the material being taught.

“Students need something relative to their

lives, something useful,” Smith said, “and

something that goes beyond textbooks.

They want and need something more.” For

Smith, service-learning fills that need.

After receiving grants for course redesigns,

Smith created two courses to involve stu-

dents in tutoring, reading, and helping other

students through the use of feedback. The

first course is a one-credit hour entry level

course that is focused entirely on feedback

while the other is a three-credit hour senior

level course that is more in-depth. After

these two courses, the students become lead

tutors and go to outreach workshops with

the possibility of publication at the end of

the course. So far, her students have worked

outside the classroom by helping with GED

programs, organizations such as Upward

Bound and Project Learn, and working at

the International Institute of Akron helping

refugees who don‟t know English. “These

service-learning projects are good for the

university and the community,” Smith said.

“It‟s a win-win situation.” Literacy learning

is Smith‟s expertise, and she has always

wanted to manage a program like this. She

is passionate about training students when it

comes to writing, and her plan is to eventu-

ally offer the three-credit hour course every

Spring.

The three-credit hour course is also being

used to create tutoring centers for local high

schools. Smith and one of her students

worked with a substitute teacher who gradu-

ated from Kent State to establish the Writ-

ing Center at Roosevelt High School. “The

principal of Roosevelt was excited and fully

supportive.” Smith was challenged by this

service-learning project and worked hard to

raise awareness of and build upon the origi-

nal writing center project. “Not only do we

have the Writing Center at Roosevelt, but

we‟ve created a class for ninth through

twelfth grade students where we will have

writing workshops, and over twenty stu-

dents are currently enrolled.” Smith men-

tioned that the establishment of the Writing

Center at Roosevelt has piqued the interest

of other schools. “Streetsboro High School

called me and expressed interest in starting

a Writing Center there too. That was very

exciting.”

Smith feels that service-learning is very

important for students who want to gain real

world experience. She feels, “A professor

can provide information and shuffle content,

but what‟s important is what students do

with that information - how they personally

apply it to the real world. That‟s what learn-

ing should be.”

Nikki Caswell is a doctoral candidate who

teaches for the Writing Program at Kent

State University. She is the Assistant Writ-

ing Program Coordinator and teaches Col-

lege Writing I and II. She is new to the

world of experiential education and is work-

ing with the Ohio Benefit Bank as her com-

munity partner. Her students are exploring

how to establish an OBB site on the Kent

campus. The bank will be open to students

and faculty as well as to citizens not affili-

ated with the university.

This semester her students are focusing on

the research while her students in the Fall

will hopefully be setting up an OBB site.

The Ohio Benefit Bank is an Internet-based

organization that assists low and moderate-

income families with tax credits and work

supports. Caswell is excited to have her

students research a possible launch of the

site on campus. “Research shows that there

was $1.6 million available to Ohioans that

is not being claimed; the fact that this

much money is not used when there is so

much need in the state set the foundation

for how I would use service-learning in my

class,” she said. “This will definitely be a

great learning experience for students be-

cause they will get real world knowledge

and see a purpose for their research. Also,

it will be an important experience when it

comes to who will benefit from their work.

They‟re not writing for just a teacher. Peo-

ple outside the classroom setting will read

and benefit from their work.” Her hope is

that if more people use OBB‟s services,

this money will be distributed to those who

qualify for it.

Caswell admitted that her first day as a

service-learning teacher was overwhelm-

ing. “It‟s difficult trying to „sell‟ something

like this to the students because it‟s so

different from what they‟re used to in col-

lege. But I definitely think it will be a suc-

cess.”

Will McSuley tutored in Jeanne Smith‟s

three-credit hour course at the new Roose-

velt High School Writing Center. He is a

junior integrated language arts major.

McSuley was surprised by the experience

of helping others with their writing. “It was

a huge eye-opener because I want to be an

English teacher, and I learned that you

can‟t help everyone with everything. There

are some students you won‟t be able to

help, and that‟s hard, but you need to move

on and keep helping those you can.”

He noted that he made a connection with

one student in particular. “That made eve-

rything worth it,” he said, “just to help one

student with his writing.” This demon-

strates how learning outside the classroom

can bring results that lecturing and text-

books can‟t provide.

McSuley had a very positive result from

his service-learning experience. “You defi-

nitely need people skills and communica-

tion skills for a successful experience,” he

said. “It‟s a lot of work, and it‟s challeng-

ing. It takes commitment and confidence.

Don‟t expect a class where you just show

up and get an A without putting everything

you have into it. If you can do that, the

V O LU M E 1 IS S U E 2

Kent State Writing Commons, 4th floor library

SMITH

Page 4 EN GA GIN G L EA D E RS HIP www.kent.edu/experiential

OEECE SERVICES

ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK 2011

March 20-25 Trips to:

Buffalo, New York Columbiana County, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Washington, D.C. Chicago, Illinois

To learn more, visit

http://explore.kent.edu/ksunited/index.html

or direct questions to Tina L. Kandakai or Ann

Gosky at tkandaka@kent.edu or agosky@kent.edu.

OEECE Announcements

CHECK OUT

OEECE!

Get more information and sign up for

these and other events on our website.

www.kent.edu/experiential

Plus-1 Credit applications now available

for Summer and Fall 2011

riential learning courses and programs that

promote global learning, campus-

community collaboration, high impact aca-

demic initiatives, and faculty research and

scholarship. Faculty, students, staff, and

guests visited the Moulton Hall atrium to

engage in casual conversations and share

insights on experiential learning strategies,

courses, and programs utilized by Kent

State faculty and staff. Showcasing Excel-

lence in Action preceded the Decoding the

Disciplines presentation that provided in-

sights on the identification and use of

threshold concepts to shift student under-

standing of course content to deeper levels.

The two events were timely and comple-

mentary given the recent approval of the

experiential education requirement, which

would allow for similar teaching and learn-

ing strategies that may increase the effec-

tiveness of the threshold approach.

If you would like to read more about the

presenters and other exemplary course-

based experiential learning efforts, access

the OEECE Showcasing Excellence in Ac-

tion booklet on our website at

www.kent.edu/experiential.

For assistance in exploring personal inter-

ests, click on the faculty or student tabs to

complete and submit an online interest

form. A staff member from the OEECE

will contact you.

Five members of the Kent State faculty

displayed core elements of their experien-

tial learning courses during the OEECE

Showcase of Excellence in Action that took

place February 17, 2011. Mary Ferranto,

College of Nursing-Salem Campus; David

Smeltzer, Communication and Marketing;

Beverly Neiderman and Jeanne Smith,

both from the Department of English; and

Janice Kroeger, College of Education,

Health & Human Services presented expe-

Showcasing Faculty Excellence in Action

Pictured left to right: Batchelor, Mengell, Smeltzer, Kroeger, Smith,

Neiderman, Harrison, Kandakai

Photos from OEECE

Showcase of Excel-

lence in Action,

February 17, 2011

For Faculty

Training, workshops, and presenta-

tions

One-on-one consultations and referrals

Grant opportunities

Collaboration for research and course

development

For Students

Future Advocates of Civic Engagement

(FACE)

Plus-1 Credit Option

Connection with community agencies

For Community Partners

Collaborations with faculty, staff, and

students

Support to further the agency’s

mission and goals

Grant opportunities

for the class.” His students liked the idea of

not only being able to serve the partner but

also being able to award them with much-

needed resources to complete their tasks.

Thacker also used experiential education in

another class, Advertising and Promotion,

where his students and he developed rela-

tionships with outside community partners.

He believes a lot of organizations have

marketing needs, and experiential learning

can help them. “What we provide our stu-

dents is not only real world education that

they can engage in, but they can see what

things work and what things don‟t work as

well as provide that community partner

insight that they never would have had

before. Students operate a very honest,

introspective view of what‟s going on in

those businesses and non-profits.”

Thacker feels that experiential learning

works best when professors prepare well

for the process. This challenges the in-

structors to create projects where the stu-

dents learn something that is applied in the

classroom whether they‟re bringing it into

the classroom and taking it outside or learn-

The Pay-It-Forward Grant addresses criti-

cal economic needs in local communities

through student-led grant making and civic

engagement. The purpose of this initiative

is to develop a new generation of philan-

thropists through a course-based service-

learning environment that engages college

students in hands-on philanthropy and

service while providing community non-

profits with much needed assistance in the

current deflated economic environment.

The Office of Experiential Education and

Civic Engagement (OEECE) would like to

recognize Don Thacker, a faculty member

who has been awarded the Pay-It-Forward

Grant.

Don Thacker is a

Spring 2010 recipient of

the Pay-It-Forward

Grant and has utilized it

for students in his Prin-

ciples of Marketing

class. “The scope of the

Pay-It-Forward Grant

was to take federal aid grant funds and find

a community partner who was in particular

need,” Thacker said, “and I customized it

ing something

outside and

bringing it back

into the class-

room. He con-

tinues,

“Experiential

learning is an

added dimension

to the college experience. It is one thing to

become knowledgeable about a subject,

but a different aspect of learning is

achieved when students understand how to

apply that information to a real world or-

ganization. The key is to develop future

decision-makers based on the ability to

analyze and gather information about the

situation. It is through experience that a

student learns completely.”

To find out more about the Pay-It-Forward

Initiative, please visit the Ohio Campus

Compact at:

www.ohiocampuscompact.org, contact the

Office of Experiential Education and Civic

Engagement at experiential@kent.edu, or

by phone at 330-672-7876.

Paying It Forward: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

V O LU M E 1, IS S UE 2 Page 5 203 Moulton Hall 330.672.7876

Eric Smer is the

Program Director of

Stark County Hun-

ger Taskforce, Inc.

and was a commu-

nity partner with

Don Thacker‟s stu-

dents for the Princi-

ples of Marketing

class. “This class was, by far, the greatest

individual service-learning project we

have ever had the opportunity to work

with,” Smer said. “The students sought

out to find our organization‟s real chal-

lenges and needs. They presented not only

a strategy but also the means to a solution.

Their efforts will not be soon forgotten as

we begin to implement many of the items

they suggested and/or provided funding

for. As a two-person organization, which

has always operated on a shoe-string

budget, we are simply amazed by how

engaged and involved the students became

in our mission and in our fight against

hunger.”

Smer expressed that the students made the

project personal to them and that many of

them to this day keep in contact with the

office to assist with fundraising and vol-

unteerism efforts. “They made a change in

Stark County and in themselves,” he said.

“We thank Kent State University Stark

Campus, Kent State University, the Office

of Experiential Education and Civic En-

gagement, and Ohio Campus Compact for

this opportunity .

Stark County Hunger Task Force: Philanthropy Recipient

In particular, I‟d like to thank Don

Thacker, the lecturer of this course, for

being a continual advocate for our organi-

zation and mission. Without his dedicated

efforts, our organization would not have

been able to serve so many in Stark

County.”

The Stark County Hunger Task Force

is located at 408 9th Street SW, Canton,

Ohio. They can be contacted by calling

(330) 455-6667.

“This class was, by far, the greatest

individual service-learning

project we have ever had the

opportunity to work with.”

-Eric Smer

Food pantry - Stark County Hunger Task Force

Canton, OH

THACKER

SMER

Page 6 EN GA GIN G L EA D E RS HIP www.kent.edu/experiential

Faculty Associates in the OEECE are uni-

versity faculty who have an expressed in-

terest in advancing and institutionalizing

experiential education and civic engage-

ment through deliberate strategic leader-

ship in teaching, learning, assessment, and

scholarship activities sponsored through

the OEECE. Faculty Associates advise the

OEECE staff on relevant activities and

interests in their respective departments,

programs, the university as a whole, and

assist in developing strategies for facilitat-

ing these interests. Faculty Associates have

become an integral part of advancing the

KSU students‟ academic curriculum. Bev

Neiderman and Dr. Willie Oglesby are

Faculty Associates in the OEECE who

have shared their roles and views on expe-

riential learning.

Bev Neiderman - Faculty

Associate in Teaching

and Engaged Leadership

NTT Instructor in

Department of English

Becoming a Faculty Associate has been an

opportunity to learn more about experien-

tial education and its place in the college

curriculum, especially since it‟s such an

important tool for engaging students in

their learning. My work in the office has

given me new insight to share with faculty

interested in infusing experiential educa-

tion into their coursework and allowed me

to promote it through presentations, con-

sultations, grant-writing, office documents,

etc.

My background with experiential educa-

tion in the classroom is with service-

learning in two writing courses. Success-

ful service-learning projects in Writing in

the Public Sphere partnered students with

community organizations such as King

Kennedy Center, Kent Parks and Rec Edu-

cation Program, and Access, Inc. Emer-

gency Shelter for homeless women and

children. As one of the first Service-

Scholar recipients, I then included service-

learning in College Writing II, partnering

with King Kennedy, Retired Senior Volun-

teer Program, Native American Indian

Veterans Center, and the Ohio Benefit

Bank. The variety of community partners I

have worked with shows the depth of ex-

periences my students have been exposed

to as well as the cultural diversity in these

projects. Students have been receptive to

these course experiences, and their reflec-

tions note the new insight they have gained

from collaborating in their community.

Because service-learning incorporates

course goals/objectives into the service

project, it fits nicely into text and visual

compositions assigned and offers unique

writing assignments based on the commu-

nity partner‟s needs. Currently, I am in-

cluding service-learning in totally online

writing courses.

Experiential education is important be-

cause it engages the student. Too often

students are passive learners in the class-

room and their education. With experien-

tial learning, they are given the opportunity

to move outside the classroom and become

active participants in their learning. Ser-

vice-learning projects allow students to use

their skills outside the class and provide

opportunities to help others with their

work. These writing projects may not

change the world, but they do help the

community organizations continue to help

others.

My advice to faculty would be to keep

teaching strategies new and fresh by en-

gaging students in connection with a com-

munity partner so they can be engaged

themselves. Provide opportunities for stu-

dents to participate in their learning

through the assignments you create.

By creating research and writing projects

that can be used by the community partner,

students feel a personal connection to their

research and writing and the results they

have on others. These projects allow stu-

dents to help others as well as find mean-

ing in their course projects as they serve

their community.

Faculty Associates of the OEECE

“With experiential learning,

they are given the opportunity

to move outside the classroom

and become active participants

in their learning.”

Bev Neiderman

Dr. Willie H. Oglesby -

Faculty Associate for

Community-Engaged

Scholarship

Assistant Professor of Health

Policy & Management in the

College of Public Health

I wanted to work with the OEECE to help

strengthen the community engagement

capacity at KSU and to develop a more

standardized mechanism for recognizing

such scholarship in tenure and promotion,

university advancement initiatives, com-

munity relations, effective teaching and

research, and others. My primary responsi-

bilities are to work with administration

and academic colleges on how to incorpo-

rate meaningful community engagement

into the university's teaching, research, and

service activities. One of the outcomes of

this work will be the pursuit of an institu-

tional designation in community engage-

ment from the Carnegie Foundation for the

Advancement of Teaching. I led this uni-

versity-wide effort at the University of

South Carolina where we successfully

received the Foundation's highest designa-

tion in community engagement. Given the

tremendous assets I have already seen here

at Kent State, I anticipate that we will also

receive the Foundation's highest designa-

tion in community engagement.

At Kent State University

Experiential Education

is an umbrella term

describing teaching methods

which utilize deliberate

and purposeful engagement

to influence student

knowledge, skills, values,

and promote

the public good.

NEIDERMAN

OGLESBY