The Online Reflector

The University of Indianapolis’ Community Programs Center has recently received honors from the Carnegie Foundation for being exceptional and distinguishable.

One such honor was being selected as one of 1,150 institutions for the “Carnegie 2010 Elective Community Engagement Classification,” which honors UIndy’s excellence in leadership, service and community engagement.

According to Marianna Foulkrod, director of the Community Programs Center, the center is a resource center for UIndy community interested in being engaged in the community.

Foulkrod noted that the center has also been nominated for the INSPIRE award for its program College Mentors for Kids, and they have applied for the President’s Honor Roll. The INSPIRE program celebrates those engaged in community learning for young children.

Mary Moore, vice-president for research, planning and international partnerships, also is involved with the Community Programs Center, as it reports directly to her. She said she helps foster service learning courses and supports service learning on campus.

“The difference between service learning and volunteerism is that there is a reflection piece to [service learning],” Foulkrod said.

“It’s related to what you’re reading in your textbook. It’s academic and has been applied through this hands-on experience.”

The Community Programs Center supports many initiatives. The center serves any registered student organizations, faculty or community partners who want to complete a project with UIndy. They also have many accounting students assist them to earn credit for accounting courses.

Foulkrod described the Community Programs Center as the liaison between the community and the university and said that UIndy’s community engagement staff sets the center apart from other universities.

“We’re in a community where students are very willing to give back by giving their time, energy and ideas,” Foulkrod said.
“And we actually are surprised every day by the number of students involved. We provide so many opportunities for our students to get out into the community, but staying in the classroom is what makes us unique.”

The Community Programs Center has several current programs that are 10-15 years old. Some of the programs the center is affiliated with include College Mentors for Kids and the Laurelwood YMCA partnership. One hundred volunteers from UIndy serve 100 families from three schools as part of College Mentors for Kids, and 25 UIndy volunteers serve 50 children as part of the Laurelwood YMCA partnership.

“We don’t just talk about our motto,” Foulkrod said. “We practice it and have ways to show it.”

Moore considers the Carnegie classification to be a recognition of UIndy’s commitment to its motto. According to Moore, 313 schools across the country were admitted into the network.

“Our motto is ‘education for service.’ While we can say that about ourselves, it’s really nice to have that recognition, to have some external body that has standards and benchmarks saying that they also recognize us as an excellent university for commitment to that service,” said Moore.

The Carnegie 2010 Community Engagement Classification is not awarded yearly. Schools will not be eligible to apply again until 2015.