February 9, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service to America's communities. The Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a college or university can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement.
The recognition was announced by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a program sponsored by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, the USA Freedom Corps and the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development.
Honorees for the award were selected based on a series of factors, including scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses. UAB is one of five Alabama colleges and universities to be recognized.
"This recognition is a wonderful affirmation of the passion, hard work and dedication that our faculty and students have for community service and educational outreach efforts," said UAB President Carol Z. Garrison.
Recent studies have underlined the importance of service-learning and volunteering to college students. In 2006, 2.8 million college students gave more than 297 million hours of volunteer service, according to the corporation's Volunteering in America 2007 study. In 2005, the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) reported that two-thirds of entering college students believed it was very important to help others, which is the highest percentage in the last 25 years.
"The number of our students who take advantage of these unique service-learning opportunities is evidence of their dedication and character," Garrison said. "They receive first-hand experience under the guidance of dedicated mentors, and they do work that is truly necessary and adds to the quality of life of our community, at home and around the world."
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. The Corporation administers Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America, a program that supports service-learning in schools, institutions of higher education and community-based organizations.
UAB also was recognized with the 2008 Community Engagement Classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The designation recognizes UAB's community engagement across its curricula and its outreach and partnerships with the community. UAB is one of only a select few universities nationally that appears in both the Community Engagement Classification and the Carnegie Research Extensive classification, which recognizes a "very high" level of research activity.
PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT
OF UAB'S SERVICE-LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT
COMMUNITY SERVICE
General Community Service
Participating students - 2,210 Service hours - 25,613
Participating faculty - 4 Service hours - 84
UAB students participate in community-building efforts locally and regionally through the Leadership & Service Council (LSC). During the past academic year, students volunteered at seven community clean-up events across 25 sites around Birmingham, traveled to New Orleans to clean parks with Park Services and helped build four Habitat for Humanity houses in Greensboro, North Carolina and Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Health Disparities
Participating students - 156 Service hours - 27,786
Participating faculty - 21 Service hours - 9,780
UAB students and faculty from the schools of education, optometry and public health offer eye care and dental care services to indigent areas across the state. These include working with the Al Deafblind Project. Since beginning, it has gained $925,000 in grant funding and uses data to highlight areas most in need of services. Eye care services were provided to at-risk citizens this past year through the Black Belt Eye Care Consortium. Since beginning, 4,000 community members received affordable preventive care and treatment for ophthalmologic needs. This past year, pediatric dental residents and dental students provided free oral care services for at-risk communities through six non-profit community-based clinics; the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind; United Cerebral Palsy; the United Way; and the Cheaha Regional Head Start Program.
International Health Disparities
Participating students - 111 Service hours - 16,528
Participating faculty - 11 Service hours - 238
UAB students and faculty provide community service to promote global health. These efforts included a UAB Engineers Without Borders team from the schools of public health, engineering and natural sciences and mathematics that traveled to South America to build sanitary drinking-water wells, and a School of Nursing team that provided infant HIV diagnosis through the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ). CIDRZ is working to improve lives and communities through research, disease prevention and treatment, and HIV/AIDS care. Partners include the Zambian Ministry of Health, the University of Zambia, the University Teaching Hospital, other U.S. institutions, and the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Since 2000, the CIDRZ Laboratory has provided services for four of Zambia's nine provinces, more than 125,000 patients each year, and supports a large network of rural clinic labs. Twenty-five ongoing studies are being conducted.
Outreach for Disadvantaged Groups
Participating students - 117 Service hours - 1,690
Participating faculty - 12 Service hours - 140
UAB students and faculty engage in a number of activities providing outreach to disadvantaged groups, and to children and teens with disabilities. Students and faculty assessed participants with special needs at Camp Terrific New Technology (Camp TNT) June 9-26, 2008, at the United Cerebral Palsy center. The students determined which technologies would improve and enhance the campers' communication skills and academic interactions both at home and school. Technologies introduced included talking books, communication boards and voice output systems, MP3 players, touch screens, talking pedometers, virtual reality technology and other devices. Since 1977, a University Honors Program team has visited the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility to give presentations and facilitate discussions. The inmates particularly report enjoying the presentations and talks with the students. Many feel they can impart life lessons to the UHP students who are close to ages they were when first incarcerated.
Positive Economic Impact on the Community
Participating students - 472 Service hours - 9,440
Participating faculty - 17 Service hours - 170
UAB has an economic impact on the community of more than $3 billion dollars annually. Students in School of Business programs (Masters of Business, Information Systems, and Marketing) help area businesses through courses incorporating community outreach. Students partner with local businesses and governments to evaluate, assess, analyze and make recommendations to solve real business problems and improve business practices.
EDUCATION OUTREACH
Math Education
Participating students - 14 Service hours - 5,880
Participating faculty - 18 Service hours - 3,600
UAB's Greater Birmingham Mathematics Partnership (GBMP) is dedicated to improving mathematics education in the greater Birmingham area and to contributing to better mathematics teaching and learning strategies. Partners include Birmingham Southern College, eight greater Birmingham school districts, the Mathematics Education Collaborative of the State of Washington, the UAB schools of education, engineering, the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Math and Science Partnership and the Mathematics Education Collaborative. Participating GBMP faculty provide training in the use of inquiry-based mathematics instruction. They have created new courses, amended existing courses both at the graduate and undergraduate level, developed "real-life" examples of math skills in engineering and adopted more effective teaching practices for professional practices. The GBMP K-12 projects in nine districts comprise a group of 21,840 students and 274 teachers. GBMP also offers local public school (in-service) teachers five unique two-week-long professional development courses during the summer and several days of professional development follow-up during the school year.
Science Education
Participating students - 225 Service hours - 16,701
Participating faculty - 114 Service hours - 2,850
UAB's Center for Community Outreach Development (CORD promotes programs to address critical areas of need in the community, partners with Birmingham schools to develop early academic interventions, and encourages the UAB family to develop effective community outreach programs. CORD's LabWorks! is a program for middle schools offering 90-minute hands-on laboratory experiences in earth and space science, life science, and physical science. The Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI-UAB) uses research-based teaching methods and incorporates best practices into math and science teaching. Ten elementary schools in four area school systems participate in professional development, obtain hands-on teaching materials, and enjoy on-site support. This NSF funded project has benefited an average of 42,000 pre-K-12 students in Alabama. The Alabama Hands-On Activity Science Program (ALAHASP) provides consultation, instruction, and professional development opportunities across 48 Alabama systems. Funded by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, ALAHASP offers more than 200 events a year.
Education Outreach for Urban Middle Schools
Participating students - 112 Service hours - 3,920
Participating faculty - 4 Service hours - 140
UAB's University Honors Program (UHP) delivers a comprehensive honors curriculum incorporating community outreach. An ongoing initiative of UHP is the Arrington Middle School project. UHP projects benefit and enhance the 7th grade curriculum and enhance UHP students' understanding of the topic of the interdisciplinary course. During the fall and spring semesters of the past academic year, faculty and UHP students partnered with 7th grade Arrington students on an archaeological project designed to develop AMS students' analytic thinking skills. AMS students learned methodologies of excavation; uncovering artifacts and hypothesizing about the objects' nature, origin and function; mapping sites; recovering and recording artifacts and site reconstruction.,
Health Education
Participating students - 70 Service hours - 5,050
Participating faculty - 22 Service hours - 300
UAB delivers community outreach activities designed to combat childhood obesity and promote health and fitness for area urban schools. GENEius is a biomedical science education program created through CORD. Activities include conducting summer science camps, designing and delivering classroom experiences and teaching area students in Birmingham's McWane Science Center laboratories. GENEius lessons entail high school students teaching their parents and siblings the lessons and testing their skills acquisition through pre- and post-testing exercises. In this model, students and their parents and families gain greater insight into biomedical issues. GENEius is funded by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE). The Dance Exercise Program for Girls is offered in three Birmingham City middle schools. To combat diseases related to obesity, certified Jazzercise instructors integrate dance with aerobics. Participants are weighed and measured at the beginning and end of the program to determine how many girls are either overweight or at risk and evaluate reductions in Body Mass Index, or BMI.
Action Research for Improving Urban Education
Participating students - 3 Service hours - 189
Participating faculty - 7 Service hours - 441
UAB's Center for Urban Education (CUE) supports the Collaborative Action Research Program (CARP), which funds field-based investigations of innovative strategies to enhance the academic achievement of urban students and the well-being of older adults through intergenerational activities. Projects in urban area schools include:
- Elderly and Children Helping Each Other (ECHEO), an intergenerational program designed to enhance the academics and attendance of students and the mental and physical well-being of older adults. Older adult volunteers tutor elementary students in academic subjects and extra-curricular activities.
- The Midfield Elementary Mentoring Project builds collaborative relationships between at-risk third- and fourth-grade boys and girls and older adults through participation in monthly field activities. Activities are primarily held on the school site, although the project also collaborates with local churches and cultural resources. Students use weekly reflective journaling and develop portfolios of writing, photography, and drawings reflecting the mentoring process.
- Awakening the Classroom is a collaborative project embracing non-traditional teaching. The medium of theater arts and performance is used to examine and master English and social studies learner outcomes of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam and addresses adolescent learners' social needs. Performance and the creation of performance texts serve as a motivator to engage students in learning.