PNC Faculty Earn Indiana Campus Compact Grants

Purdue University North Central faculty members have been distinguished by Indiana Campus Compact (ICC) to receive grants that will help to advance student service learning and civic engagement.

Dr. Nancy Marthakis, assistant professor of Microbiology, was selected as the Indiana Campus Compact Senior Fellow for the 2010-2011 Faculty Fellows Class. Marthakis took part in the 2009 - 2010 fellows program. As the senior faculty fellow her primary responsibilities will oversee and provide mentorship to the upcoming fellows class, composed of faculty members from universities located throughout the state. As a group they will select a service learning project to pursue. The group will have its first faculty fellow retreat in June.

Additionally, she will offer a study abroad opportunity as she will teach her medical ethics service learning in Athens, Greece for 2011 summer term. Marthakis plans to include both PNC and Greek students in the course, to be taught at the University of Indianapolis international campus in Athens campus.

Dr. Mary Jane Eisenhauer, assistant professor of Elementary Education, has been selected as a member of the Indiana Campus Compact 2010-2011 Faculty Fellows Class. She intends to apply her grant to elaborate on the Scholarship of Engagement Grant she received for 2009 - 2010 for her Pebbles in the Pond: Service Learning in Early Childhood Education.

She will provide ongoing support in strengthening community partnerships and incorporating service learning into the PNC Early Childhood Education teacher preparation program. With the United Way's regional early childhood initiative as her primary focus, Eisenhauer will reinforce the natural link between early childhood education and academically-based community service. Among other initiatives, she will seek to establish a more formal partnership with the United Way; continue the Early Childhood Service Learning Mentor program to provide leadership opportunities for early childhood students and pursue opportunities to participating in workshops, conferences, online discussions and disseminating this information.

Angela Schooley, assistant professor of Nursing, has been awarded a Scholarship of Engagement Grant for her project, "Bringing Prenatal Education to Hispanic Communities." This project will promote service learning for the PNC nursing students in the Women and Newborn Health Nursing class as they provide childbirth education for expectant Spanish-speaking clients in the LaPorte community. This course will be offered for the first time in fall of 2010.

Students will work in conjunction with interpreters certified in medical terminology interpretation from El Puente Community Center in Michigan City to provide information promoting healthy pregnancy, delivery practices and postpartum care. Due to a lack of resources, many Hispanic women suffer increased risks from gestational diabetes and gestational induced hypertension.

The Scholarship of Engagement Faculty Grant is intended to help fund the development and implementation of academic courses, research projects, or professional service activities that engage faculty and students in the community. They are intended to support partnerships between institutions of higher education and the community, strengthen student learning, increase the institutionalization of service-based engaged learning, and enhance the professional development of faculty.

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.