SLCE Newsletter Archive

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Issue Highlights:

• From Students to Changemakers: The Legacy of LEAPS – Learn how students Glenn Gutterman and Dan Kessler partnered with Betsy Alden to launch LEAPS, laying the foundation for service-learning at Duke.
• Postpartum Partners: Community-Centered Care – Duke medical student Nicola Young and Dr. Anne Berry are reshaping postpartum care through a pilot initiative that partners with MAAME, Inc. and Breastfeed Durham.
• Kathy Sikes Earns Community Engagement Certification – Congratulations to Kathy Sikes, Associate Director of Duke Service-Learning, for earning Campus Compact’s credential as a highly qualified community engagement practitioner.
• Advanced Spanish Students Foster Bilingual Pride – Duke students collaborate with Club Boulevard Elementary to support kindergarteners’ reading and math skills in Spanish.
• Pursuit of Common Good: A New Semester Begins – This year’s theme focuses on equity, shared ownership, and amplifying community voices. Stay tuned for upcoming event programming!

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Issue Highlights:

• Cultivating Sustainability at Duke Campus Farm – Dr. Saskia Cornes led students from CHN451 on a hands-on tour exploring climate change mitigation and sustainable agriculture.
• Duke Launches Center for Community Engagement – This new interdisciplinary hub connects Duke with community partners to address pressing societal challenges.
• Congratulations to Professors Stephanie Li, Adam Rosenblatt, and Caroline Stinson – Recognized for their leadership and commitment to community engagement, they have been promoted to full professor.
• Duke Service-Learning Added to University Timeline – Explore how service-learning became a cornerstone of Duke’s commitment to community engagement in 1995.
• DukeGEM Empowers Young Girls in STEM – This program tackles gender disparities by encouraging middle school girls to reimagine their potential in math and science.
• Bridging Communities Through the Arts – The Duke Arts Fellows Program connects students and educators to design arts-based curricula that foster creativity and community.
• Discover the Shared History of Duke and Durham – A new Duke Library exhibit explores how Duke and Durham reshaped their cultural and physical landscapes in the 1920s-30s.

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Issue Highlights:

• Fall 2025 SLCE Courses Open March 24 – Connect real-world community work with your academic path through Duke’s Service-Learning courses. Stay tuned for full listings and registration details.
• Nominate for the Betsy Alden Award by March 25 – Recognize students, faculty, or partners making a difference in service-learning. Winners receive $500 for leadership and community-building efforts.
• Beyond Diversity 101: A Collaborative Module Launch – Duke and NCCU undergrads co-developed new modules on identity, community, and presence in Durham. Learn more during the March 27 virtual session.
• Global Service-Learning as a High-Impact Practice – On April 4, Dr. Andrew Furco discusses how service-learning boosts student development in higher ed institutions worldwide.
• Free NYT Access for Duke Community – All Duke students, faculty, and staff now have full access to The New York Times online through Duke Libraries.
• Community Engagement in Women’s Health – The March 19 Donald T. Moore, MD, Lecture at the Nasher Museum explores how engagement shapes women’s health outcomes.
• Author Talk with Brian Goldstone – On April 9, Duke alum Brian Goldstone discusses his book on America’s working homeless and the lives behind the crisis.
• Driving Innovation: The Climate Bus Project – Students developed a mobile weatherization education hub that brings sustainability to communities while highlighting Duke’s new Climate & Sustainability Engineering program.
• Latiné History at Duke on Exhibit – Students partnered with the Museum of Durham History to tell the story of Latiné activism and resilience at Duke.
• Academic Freedom in Focus – A new national study from AAC&U explores faculty concerns around academic freedom, institutional support, and civil discourse in today’s political climate.

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Issue Highlights:

• Honoring the 2025 Betsy Alden Award Recipients – Meet this year’s student, faculty, and community partner awardees who exemplify reflective, justice-driven service-learning at Duke.
• Q&A with Dr. David Malone – Celebrating 40 years of teaching and community impact with one of Duke’s foundational service-learning leaders.
• Adam Rosenblatt Appointed Director of Duke Human Rights Center – Longtime service-learning faculty member takes the helm at FHI, expanding human rights education and engagement.
• Genna Miller Awarded UPEF Grant – Funding supports her innovative community-based economics course integrating experiential learning with real-world impact.
• Food as Medicine: CTSI Collaboration – Duke partners with NCCU, Root Causes, and El Centro Hispano to explore food insecurity and health equity.
• A Decade of Language and Connection – Yan Liu and Bonnie Wang's 10-year partnership empowers students through cross-cultural learning and mentorship.
• Storytelling for Climate Resilience – At the Duke Marine Lab, students bring science to life through puppet shows and nature stories in coastal communities.
• The Global Rise of Service-Learning – Dr. Andy Furco makes the case for service-learning as a transformative, high-impact practice for students and institutions.
• Honoring Dr. Dennis Clements – After decades of global community engagement, Dr. Clements retires, leaving a legacy of compassion and connection at Duke.
• Civic Engagement Opportunities This Summer and Fall – From Elon’s Citizen Redefined Camp to the NC Collegiate Hunger Challenge, explore student and campus-wide programs focused on social impact.

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Issue Highlights:

• Esse Quam Videri: A New Theme for 2025–26 – This year’s motto, Being Rather Than Seeming, guides our focus on authentic engagement, trust, and care in service-learning.
• Community Action Day: Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC – Join us Friday, Oct. 3, 9 am–12 pm, to pack and sort food alongside Durham community volunteers. [Register here]
• Opportunities & Deadlines – From the NC College Voter Summit (Sept. 12) to the Volunteer Fair (Oct. 8), explore upcoming events and ways to engage.
• Duets Season Two – New conversations highlight how faculty, students, and community partners collaborate on research with real-world impact.
• Honoring Mayme Webb-Bledsoe – Celebrating her 25 years of bridge-building between Duke and Durham, shaping community engagement for generations.
• Arts+ Puppetry & Resilience – Marine Lab students use puppetry and storytelling to spark connection and resilience in a six-week summer project.
• Annual Highlights 2024–25 – From inclusive STEM to climate action, a look back at how students, faculty, and partners pursued the common good.

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Issue Highlights:

• Esse Quam Videri: Rooted in Connection – This year’s theme, Being Rather Than Seeming, invites us to practice authentic engagement through small, steady moments with our community.
• Community Action Day: Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC – Join us Friday, Oct. 3, 9 am–12 pm, to pack and sort food alongside Durham community volunteers. [Register here]
• Teaching Asset Mapping with Prof. Andrew Nurkin – Thursday, Oct. 30, explore how strengths-based mapping supports service-learning and community partnerships. [Register here]
• Opportunities & Deadlines – From the Oct. 8 Volunteer Fair to the Oct. 24 Engaged Scholar Writing Retreat and Nov. 3 Bass Connections proposals, find ways to connect and contribute.
• Words That Ground Us – Trinity ’27 Linda Garziera reflects on growth that comes not from “completed projects” but from shared meals, stories, and community.
• Duets Season Two – New episode highlights Durham’s indie comics scene with Prof. Adam Rosenblatt and student Shreya Joshi.
• Faculty Spotlight: Germain Choffart – Featured for his new DukeEngage program in Saint-Avold, France, where students partner with local organizations on meaningful projects.

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Issue Highlights:

• Duke Arts Fellows Build Creative Community – Five undergraduates partner with Durham Public Schools to bring arts-based learning into classrooms, creating capstone projects that celebrate creativity and connection.
• Finding Durham’s “Living Room” – Student Jenna Arafeh reflects on how the American Tobacco concert series creates communal space that bridges the “Duke Bubble” and honors Durham’s musical heritage.
• Supporting Caregivers of Veterans – Professor Nathan Boucher receives a four-year VA grant to strengthen support for caregivers of seriously ill veterans in rural NC and VA through the PATH Resources project.
• New Public Art Along Ellerbe Creek Trail – Three new murals commissioned by the City of Durham celebrate water, resilience, and community.
• Words That Ground Us – Elaijah Lapay ’24 reminds us that transformation comes not from going far, but from going deeper into our communities.
• Economics With a Human Focus – Genna Miller’s Spring 2026 service-learning course, Economics with Community-Based Clients (ECON 390S), engages students with Durham organizations to explore economics as a tool for equity.
• Spotlight: Voyager Scholar Sally Maroa – Sally Maroa ’27 brings a global lens to public service and community engagement, connecting academic study with reproductive justice and youth organizing.
• Hip Hop Pedagogy in Practice – Professor Kisha Daniels and student Selena Collins share how hip hop and relationship-centered teaching can inspire transformative classroom experiences in the newest Duets podcast episode.

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Issue Highlights:

• Turning Toward Stillness – As the semester closes, we reflect on rest, relationship, and moving into spring with an intention toward being rather than seeming engaged.
• Launching Our Community Partner Newsletter – Debuting in February, this once-per-semester story will center Durham partners’ insights, leadership, and lived expertise.
• Support Students Facing Food Insecurity – Donate unused Food Points through the Feed Every Devil program to help peers experiencing food insecurity.
• Dec. 10: ABC11 + Food Bank Volunteer Opportunity – Join regional food-drive efforts with onsite and phone-bank roles available in Durham and Raleigh.
• NC Campus Engagement Awards Nominations Open – Recognize faculty, partners, or civic engagement professionals making an impact. Deadline: December 10.
• January Civic Leadership Training (Jan 12–14) – A free three-day Power + Character Curriculum hosted by NC Campus Engagement and Citizen University; ideal for those strengthening civic and youth leadership initiatives.
• Discover Durham’s Creative Landscape – A new public art map highlights murals, sculptures, markers, and landmarks across the city.
• Why “Useless” Language Classes Matter – Duke Chronicle writer Neel Dutta Gupta reflects on how speaking another language builds trust, honors culture, and deepens community connection.
• Words That Ground Us – Pope Leo XIV names service-learning as one of education’s “stars that shine brightly,” calling us toward responsibility, community, and care; CLAYSS–Uniservitate advances this vision on the global stage.
• Mapping What Endures After Hurricane Helene – PUBPOL 213 students map creative and cultural assets in 12 western NC counties, showing how resilience emerges from relationships, not deficits.
• Voyager Scholar Sally Maroa – Sally Maroa ’27 brings a global lens to service-learning, connecting her values with public service and community partnership.
• Coding for Community – Professor Shaundra Daily and alumna Reagan Razon explore how CS Sidekicks and the L.I.F.T. Lab expand access, mentorship, and equity in computer science education.

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Issue Highlights:

• Spring 2024 Courses: Explore new courses and key dates, including the Drop/Add deadline on January 24, 2024.
• Meet Our Team: Updated profiles of core faculty, staff, and affiliated faculty in service-learning.
• Service-Learning Assistants (SLAs): Learn how SLAs support community-engaged courses.
• Community Partners Map: Preview our upcoming map of community partners and sites.
• Duke Centennial Gift: Discover how a $100 million gift is expanding experiential learning.
• Feature on Annika Aristimuno: A story on service-learning and community engagement from Humans of Duke Sanford.
• Spring Breakthrough: Apply by January 24 for this free, non-credit Spring Break experience.
• Hart Fellowship Program: Applications open for this fully-funded post-graduate fellowship. Deadline: January 17, 2024.

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Issue Highlights:

Spring Action Project: Join us at Book Harvest to prepare donated books for community distribution. Part of the Context & Connections Series. RSVP required.

Faculty Reading Group: Explore Inclusive Teaching Practices in Spring 2024 events.

·  Service-Learning in Action:

• MUSIC 398S students collaborate with KidzNotes, supporting music education in Durham Public Schools.
• CHINESE 333 students engage with bilingual learners at Glenwood Elementary.
• DOCST 209FS students create the Lakewood in Focus documentary project.

Community Impact: Duke Service-Learning courses address issues like education, healthcare, food scarcity, and more with the support of local partners. 

Community Partners Breakfast: Annual celebration of the essential role of community partners.

Betsy Alden Awards: Call for nominations for outstanding contributions to service-learning. Categories include graduating seniors, faculty, and community partners. Deadline: February 26, 2024.

Early Voting at Duke: Karsh Alumni and Visitor’s Center serves as an early voting location from February 15 to March 2. Remember to bring valid photo ID.

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Issue Highlights:

• Upcoming Events:
  • Faculty Reading Group: Discuss Preparing Students to Engage in Equitable Community Partnerships. 
  • Inclusive Teaching Workshop: Professors Kelly Hogan and Viji Sathy lead a session on structured active learning to create equitable classrooms. 
• In the Community:
  • Community Partners Breakfast: Duke Service-Learning faculty and community partners gathered at the Durham Exchange to celebrate partnerships. 
  • Community Action Project: Volunteers supported Book Harvest by labeling and packaging books for children and teens, part of the Context & Connections series.
• In Case You Missed It:
  • Sophia Enriquez Feature: Learn how Professor Enriquez integrates community engagement into courses like Introduction to Latino/a Studies in the Global South and Voices in Music: Spanish. 
  • New Center for Engineering in the Global Community: Faculty members David Schaad and Ann Saterbak spearhead this Pratt School of Engineering initiative. 
• Election Reminder: March 5 is Election Day!

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Issue Highlights:

The 2024 Alden Awards:

• Recognizing excellence in service-learning, this year's recipients include:
  • Graduating Senior: Elaijah Lapay, majoring in Migrant Health and Healthcare through Program II and a five-semester service-learning assistant. 
  • Faculty Member: Bethzaida Fernandez, Senior Lecturer in Romance Studies and instructor for SPANISH 313 and the Duke in Costa Rica program. 
  • Community Partners: Margaret & Miguel Rubiera, leaders at Iglesia Emanuel, directing food pantry and tutoring programs. 
• Awardees were celebrated at the In the Spotlight Awards Ceremony.

  In Case You Missed It:

• Hip Hop in the Classroom: Spotlight on EDUC 285S, exploring social issues through hip hop. Students collaborated with Brazilian rapper Dudu de Morro Agudo and Neal Middle School 6th graders to write original lyrics. 

  Opportunities to Volunteer:

• Iglesia Emanuel Food Pantry: Help organize and pack groceries for local families. A low-commitment, high-impact way to connect with the Durham community. 
• Duke Campus Farm Workdays: Join a Friday workday (1:00–4:00 pm) to connect with nature and your community. No experience required. 

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Issue Highlights:

Annual Theme: Pursuit of Common Good: Explore how service-learning and community engagement foster equity and social change in 2024-2025.

Featured Events:

• Creating Our Shared Future Through Deliberation: October 12, 12 PM (Zoom). Learn tools for effective deliberation in democracy with Leslie Garvin.

Upcoming Events & Deadlines:

• Spring 2025 Shopping Carts Open: October 21. Plan your service-learning courses in Duke Hub.
• Majors Fair: October 22, 1–4 PM (Penn Pavilion). Discover service-learning opportunities.
• Samuel DuBois Cook Society Award Nominations: Deadline October 25. 

Spotlights:

• Prof. Caroline Stinson: Awarded the 2024 Robert B. Cox Award for MUSIC 398S, connecting students with Durham through performances. 
• 2024-25 Student Dialogue Ambassadors: Duke's Alexis Mosu and Katelyn Cai join peers to bring dialogue facilitation skills to campus. 
• IARSLCE 2024: Intersections: Duke Service-Learning led roundtables on civic identity, mindfulness, and decolonized SLCE at the University of San Diego.

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Issue Highlights:

STEM Faculty Reshaping Education Through Community:

• Engineering Equity (EGR190, EDUC290S): Professors Whitney McCoy and Shaundra Daily foster inclusive "counterspaces" in STEM. Drop/Add opens on 11/12/24—add this course to your shopping cart! 
  • Engineering Design and Communication (EGR 101L): Students design solutions for real-world community challenges. 

Community Action Project:

• Fighting Food Insecurity: Join us 4:30–6:30 PM to bag rice and beans for the Iglesia Presbiteriana Emanuel Food Pantry. 

Upcoming Deadlines:

• November 15: Submit a proposal for the North Carolina Campus Engagement’s PACE Conference. 
• December 1: Nominate a student for the NC Civic Impact Fellow program. 
• December 11: Nominate outstanding civic engagement contributors for the PACE Engagement Awards. 

Featured Stories:

• A Haunting Bus Ride in Durham's History
• Linguistic Rights through Animation: Gabriela Badillo 
• Activist Art: Ellen O'Grady, a Durham-based comic book artist, blends storytelling and activism. 

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Issue Highlights:

Community Action Recap:

• On November 14, volunteers bagged 2,000 pounds of rice and beans for local families at the Emanuel Food Pantry, supporting health and dignity in our community. Sign up to volunteer HERE.

Semester Wrap-Up:

• Wishing you a restful winter break. Thank you for your dedication this semester—see you in the new year!

SLA Spotlight:

• Dhruv Rungta: Discover how Dhruv uses documentary photography and service-learning to build community and mentor students in storytelling. 
•   Events, Opportunities, and Deadlines:
• Pratt's Design Expo: December 9. 
• PACE Conference Nominations: Celebrate civic engagement 
• Reuben-Cooke Fellowships: Duke faculty can apply for up to $10,000 to design or enhance courses addressing social justice, environmental justice, and more.   Duke News:
• Mina Silberberg, Ph.D. appointed as the first faculty director of the Duke Center for Community Engagement. 

Featured Stories:

• ENVIRON 545 Students: Collaborating with community leaders to tackle climate challenges during #DukeEnergyWeek. 
• Jessica On: Durham native and Duke alumna bridges policy and practice for equitable education through the Hart Leadership Program. 
• PBS Documentary – "American Coup: Wilmington 1898”