Service Learning
Dominican University of California’s vision of education encompasses a mission to promote the common good and the values of study, reflection, community, service, ethical responsibility, and respect for multiple cultural traditions. These ideals provide a strong foundation for service learning as a pedagogy that creates intentional links between academic education and community experience, where each strengthens the other. Service learning engages students, faculty, and community partners in collaborative and responsive action, dialogue, and reflection to address community and university-identified needs, expand our perspectives, and broaden education. In this way, service learning creates reciprocal benefits for all involved including:
- The University is able to live out its mission and enhance its role as a vital and active partner in the community;
- Faculty and staff are supported in connecting innovative teaching, research/scholarship, and community action;
- The Marin County community benefits from University resources while contributing to the education of students; and
- Students gain self-awareness, practical skills, career-related experience, insight into the relevance of academic knowledge, a deeper understanding of their own personal impact, and an enriched capacity to become effective community builders.
Criteria for Service Learning Courses Across the Disciplines
- Academic Connection: Service is related to curriculum and fully integrated into course goals and student learning outcomes. Participation is required.
- Meets Community-Identified Needs: The service project/placement engages needs that are determined through dialogue between the community partner and faculty/students and reflected in the course objectives.
- Reciprocity/Collaboration: Represents an understanding of education in which every individual, organization, and entity involved in the service learning functions as both teacher and learner.
- Reflection: A mechanism that encourages students to link their service experience to course content and to process their personal experience/perceptions.
- Assessment: A method/tool embedded in the course for understanding effectiveness of service learning for all participants: faculty, students, and community partners.
Goals of Service Learning
- To manifest the Dominican ideals of study, reflection, service, and community;
- To foster students’ understanding of the dynamic relationship between theory and practice by providing the opportunity to apply what they learn;
- To meet community needs through service that is meaningful and necessary;
- To create the opportunity for students to explore/build their own core values;
- To help students consider the ethical implications of the application of knowledge in professional and civic life;
- To increase the civic and citizenship skills of students, faculty and staff;
- To expose students to societal inadequacies and injustices and empower students to work for remedies;
- To increase multicultural literacy for students, faculty and staff via the opportunity to learn from members of diverse communities;
- To better prepare students for their careers and continuing education;
- To foster a re-affirmation of students’ career choices;
- To increase leadership opportunities and development;
- To keep students motivated and excited;
- To give students greater responsibility for their learning;
- To impact and raise awareness regarding local and global issues and needs; and
- To develop an environment of collegial participation among students, faculty, staff, and the community and a culture of engaged scholarship on our campus.
Service-Learning Advisory Council
Suresh Appavoo, Director of Campus Diversity Initiatives; Assistant Professor, Education
David Behrs, Associate Provost for University Initiatives/Vice President for Student Life and Enrollment Management
Jenny Bray, student, Politics major
Thomas Burke, Director of Assessment; Assistant Professor, Social and Cultural Studies
Vania Coelho, Assistant Professor, Biology
Christian Dean, Department Chair and Associate Professor, Politics
John Duvall, Assistant Professor, Communications
Susan Fyles, Director of Career and Internship Services
Jayati Ghosh, Co-Director of Honors Program; Professor, Business
Father C. Robert Haberman, Co-Director of Campus Ministry; Assistant Professor, Religion
Sister Carla Kovack, Co-Director of Campus Ministry
Molly Kron, Ambassadors of Hope and Opportunity/Philanthropic Services, Marin Community Foundation
Nancy Legge, Executive Director of Research and Sponsored Programs
Denise Lucy, Director of Institute for Leadership Studies; Professor, Business
Gail Matthews, Professor, Psychology
Martha Nelson, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences; Professor, Nursing
Mary Omara, Director of MarinLink
Roger Ono, Vice President of Finance
Kenneth Porada, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Ruth Ramsey, Department Chair and Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy
Rafael Rivero, Volunteer Services Manager for the Center for Volunteer and Non-Profit Leadership
Ingrid Sheets, Assistant Professor, Nursing
Amy Stasch, student, Humanities major
Harlan Stelmach, Department Chair and Professor, Humanities
Julia van der Ryn, Service Learning Coordinator; Instructor, Humanities
