Marianna Foulkrod gives presentations at two conferences

Marianna Foulkrod, director of the Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement at the University of Indianapolis, and Mya Miller ’21 (Sociology)  recently presented two presentations with community partners from ProAct Indy. The first presentation was at the Indiana Campus Compact Summit: Coming Together for the Common Good in February 2021, where they presented “Enhancing our Communities for the Common Good Through Community-engaged Learning.” Next, at the IMPACT 2021 national conference they presented “Building ProActive Communities for the Common Good Through Higher Education.”

The Center for Service-Learning & Community Engagement at UIndy has been working closely over the past few months with agencies in Indianapolis to develop innovative, meaningful, and reciprocal online collaborations to accommodate current critical service-learning curricular needs at our institution as well as address some of the most current social issues in our city.

During these sessions, Foulkrod and Miller discussed approaches to innovative collaborations that look beyond the traditional experiences and encourage participants to re-define and rethink about the positive outcomes of transitioning service-learning into virtual or hybrid opportunities for all involved, as well as showcasex some of the deliverables from critical service-learning projects in collaborations with ProAct Indy this past year, a nonprofit that connects schools, corporations, and nonprofits to empower youth to better serve our community. Participants will have an opportunity to hear from a community partner that worked with UIndy to build Proactive Communities while engaging with our students and faculty in significant ways and learn about project management, customizing experiences, and leading innovation during these times of uncertainty.

The audience had the opportunity to participate in interactive activities that will highlight outward thinking and introduce them to the concept Stand in the Gap. The activities will give participants the opportunity to foster new relationships that can potentially grow into reciprocal and innovative collaborations, as well as provide them with supportive materials and tools.