PNC Faculty Member, Dr. Mary Jane Eisenhauer, Named Campus Compact Fellow

PNC-Mary-Jane-EisenhauerPurdue University North Central faculty member Dr. Mary Jane Eisenhauer, associate professor of Early Childhood Education, has been selected by Indiana Campus Compact as a Senior Faculty Fellow for its 2014-2015 Faculty Fellows. In this position, she will lead the 19th class of Faculty Fellows for the state of Indiana, who are proving that service-learning and community engagement can effectively integrate faculty teaching, research, and professional service.

Eisenhauer has previously been recognized as a Campus Compact Faculty Fellow and has earned a number of distinctions from Campus Compact for her service learning initiatives.

“I am honored to serve as Senior Fellow and look forward to working with this class of faculty fellows from around the state to advance service engagement,” said Eisenhauer. “It is especially rewarding since service is part of the Purdue University mission.”

As Senior Fellow, Eisenhauer will not only lead a group of faculty fellows in their service engagement initiatives, but at the same time she will continue working with the PNC Early Childhood students on their service-learning projects, such as those included in her Child, Family, School & Community course and the Library Sprouts program that her students developed. She will also develop a sustainable strategic plan for the PNC Center for Early Learning to strengthen it as a resource for community engagement, specifically as it relates to early education.

The goals of the Faculty Fellows program include supporting faculty in the scholarship of engagement; providing faculty with opportunities to collaborate with a community organization in a way that advances teaching and scholarship while addressing a significant social, economic, or environmental issue; and building a strong and productive social and intellectual community of scholars.

In turn, the Faculty Fellows will each teach a service learning course; provide direct service to a nonprofit organization to address a particular community issue and develop a research or creative project to enhance and advance the field of service engagement.

Indiana Campus Compact is an association of 45 campuses located throughout the state and is part of the national Campus Compact organization. Campus Compact is the only national higher education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement. Campus Compact promotes public and community service that develops student citizenship skills, helps campuses forge effective community partnerships and provides resources and training for faculty members who want to integrate civic and community-based learning into the classroom.