Butler University was named to the 2010 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the almost 66,000 hours of community service provided by its students, faculty and staff in the 2009-2010 academic year.
Butler was one of 17 Indiana campuses and 641 nationwide recognized by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The honor is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement that achieves measurable results in the community.
Butler President Bobby Fong expressed gratitude to those whose “good work” earned the University a place on the honor roll. “It is a distinction so integral to what we aspire in educating Butler students to be servant-leaders, whose lives are intertwined with the welfare of others,” he said.
Donald Braid, director of the Center for Citizenship and Community, nominated Butler. His University office is devoted to connecting service with academic-learning.
Between July 2009 and June 2010, a total 3,805 Butler students engaged in 65,879 hours of community service, according to Braid. Some 1,073 students provided at least 20 hours of service per semester. More than 20 percent of the students undertook service-learning activities tied to academics.
From among the University’s myriad curricular and co-curricular engagements, Braid noted these exemplary projects in the application:
“Block B” Service Learning in Elementary Education: “Block B” courses focus on methods for teaching reading, math, social studies and science. Classes are taught at a local public elementary school, allowing future teachers to work with children in grades 3-5 in individualized tutoring, after-school enrichment programs and fieldtrips to area museums. Some 47 Butler students and 3 faculty/staff members participated in “Block B” in the reporting period, providing a total 5,808 service hours.
College Mentors for Kids (CMFK): Through CMFK, 100 Butler students and 50 faculty and staff members mentored 100 Indianapolis Public Schools students in grades 1-4 during the reporting period. These “Little Buddies” came to the Butler campus weekly for hand-on, reflective activities exploring higher education, careers, cultural diversity and community service. CMFK participation contributed 1,900 service hours.
Communication Sciences & Disorders (CSD) Program, College of Communication: Working under faculty supervision, CSD majors in the Community Screening Practicum course administer screening tests for speech, language and hearing to students at area schools. In the Communication Science Practicum, students provide speech and language diagnostic and treatment services through a Butler-based community clinic. CSD majors in upper-level American Sign Language courses may elect to participate in a service-learning option, in which they tutor and assist students at the Indiana School for the Deaf or work with other deaf community members. Some 50 students and 3 faculty members provided 1,715 service hours through the CSD curriculum, assisting some 1,068 individuals.
Across the country in 2009, 3.2 million college students dedicated more than 307 million hours of service to communities across the country, valued at more than $6.4 billion.
Media contact: Mary Ellen Stephenson(317) 940-6944mestephe@butler.edu
