CACC Publications » IDEAS Report — page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

How Higher Education is Integrating
Diversity and Service Learning:
Findings from Four Case Studies

Lori J. Vogelgesang, Ph.D
with research support from Marcy Drummond and Shannon K. Gilmartin
Funded by The James Irvine Foundation

Table of Contents

• ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
• PREFACE
• BACKGROUND
  • Defining Service Learning and Diversity for This Study
  • History of Service Learning and Multicultural Education Movements
  • Theoretical Framework
  • Methodology
• FINDINGS
  • Institutional Mission
  • Leadership
  • Academic Culture: Curriculum Integration and Faculty Rewards
  • University Structures
  • Framing Diversity and Service Learning Around Forming Community Partnerships
  • External Funding
  • Assessment of Diversity and Service Work
  • Promising Practices
• CONCLUSION
• REFERENCE

Acknowledgement

California Campus Compact would like to acknowledge and thank the many individuals who contributed to various phases of this project.

We are most grateful to Dr. Lori J. Vogelgesang who, with assistance from researchers Marcy Drummond and Shannon K. Gilmartin, conducted the research study and wrote the research report. We would also like to thank the faculty members, academic administrators, students and staff who not only assisted us in coordinating the campus visits and interviews, but also participated in the interviews.

Special thanks to the following service-learning administrators who provided valuable feedback on the needs of independent colleges during the planning phases: Richard Cone (retired from the University of Southern California), Brad Dudley (Pepperdine University), Tom Manley (formerly with Pitzer College), Jack McLean (University of San Francisco), Mark McMurchie (Azusa Pacific University), Judy Rauner (retired from the University of San Diego), and Leslie Townsend (Mills College). Jeannie Kim-Han provided valuable contributions as a special consultant to California Campus Compact at the early stages of the development of this project. We are grateful to David Nakashima for providing advice and facilitation services to us throughout the project. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge and thank our representatives from the six campuses that participated in the year-long IDEAS project (Bertram Chatham, Elaine Elliott, Judy Hutchinson, Raymond Jones, Silva Karayan, Jonathan Lew, Ajuan Mance, Heather Mayne, L. Reuben Mitchell, Chris Nayve, Juanita Pryor, Judy Rauner, Emily Samose).

Finally, we would like to thank The James Irvine Foundation whose financial assistance made this project possible. We are especially thankful to Robert Shireman, Hilda Hernandez-Gravelle, and Rosa Armendáriz of The James Irvine Foundation for their support.

Preface

As California struggles to address the complex issues of diversity in this state - race, economics, gender, religion, and sexual orientation, to name a few - it is critical that the education system in the state prepare students to be conscientious, aware, and engaged citizens. In recent years, both service-learning and multicultural education have been seen as effective ways to achieve this goal. While many have noted the strong link between the two fields, rarely have academicians and practitioners in either field focused on establishing strong collaborative partnerships between the two.

It is important to note that in implementing service learning, diversity exists "within and between higher education cultures and grassroots community cultures" (Langseth, 2000 p. 252). Service-learning programs operate within complex, diverse environments. This is the underlying assumption in the importance of addressing the connections between service learning and diversity. Students matriculate to colleges from all over the state and nation, increasing the likelihood that the student body population may be quite different from the communities these institutions work with. This makes exploring the issue of diversity between campus and community even more relevant and important (Cone, 2001).

With funding from The James Irvine Foundation, California Campus Compact (CACC) designed the Community/University Initiative on Diversity, Equity, and Service (IDEAS) program, focusing on the integration of diversity and service learning in higher education. The goal of this program was to encourage collaborative efforts between and across institutions around diversity and service learning. Through this goal we hoped to: 1) build the capacity of the independent sector of California higher education to increase focus on and integration of diversity and service-learning education, and 2) prepare all students for participation and leadership in a diverse society.

One major component of this project was a research study designed to examine issues of collaboration and how service learning and diversity work might be more closely connected from an institutional perspective. Although this research project concentrated on four independent colleges and universities in California, we believe that the information gleaned from this study will be informative for a variety of institutions.

We hope you enjoy reading this study and that you find the information helpful for your institution.

Elaine K Ikeda, PH. D Executive Director California Campus Compact

Joy Bianchi, M. Ed. Associate Director California Campus Compact

 

 

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