CCBP Awards Ceremony 2011 in Pictures

• May 10th, 2011
• in Events, News, Wrap-up

Faculty and staff, students and community partners convened for the fifth Center for Community-Based Partnerships Awards Ceremony in Tuscaloosa on April 22.

Representatives of the Community Affairs Division of The University of Alabama presented awards for outstanding engagement activities initiated by students, faculty, and partners. David Wilson, the keynote speaker and president of Morgan State University, accepted an award for leadership in engaged scholarship.

More information to follow in subsequent posts.

Call for Applications to the 2011-12 Imagining America PAGE Summit and Working Group

• May 9th, 2011
• in Call for Proposals (RFP), News

Sustained Graduate Engagement
The Call for PAGE 2011-2012 Fellows

Submission Deadline:  June 1st
Click here to apply

PDF version

PAGE (Publicly Active Graduate Education) is Imagining America's network for publicly engaged graduate students in humanities, arts, and design. PAGE enhances the theoretical and practical tools for public engagement; fosters a national, interdisciplinary community of peers and veteran scholars; and creates opportunities for collaborative knowledge production.
 
IA invites graduate students with a demonstrated interest in public scholarship and/ or artistic practice to apply for a 2011-2012 PAGE Fellowship.  Awardees receive $600 to attend a half-day Fellows Summit on September 21st and the 2011 Imagining America national conference, September 22-24, both in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The PAGE director will partner Fellows with senior scholar mentors as well as help promote opportunities for peer mentorship and support from IA's network.   Upon acceptance of a Fellowship, participants also commit to participating in a yearlong working group to promote collaborative art-making, teaching, writing, and research projects. In doing so, PAGE is looking to foster a cohort of Fellows interested in pursuing collective and innovative scholarly practices.   Fellows are asked to present such publicly-engaged scholarship/ art before the close of the academic year at either an IA regional meeting, a campus workshop of their own design, or another appropriate professional convening.
 
Within the frame of our 2011 national conference, themed around "What Sustains Us?" the PAGE Summit will take up questions similar to the gathering as a whole (see below), but through the lens of graduate education.  This is an urgent moment in higher education, not the least in graduate programs, requiring us to think through sustaining public engagement through the intersections of mentorship, diversity, real-world interaction, student success, and scholarship.  Fellows will be asked throughout the year to reflect upon their own public practice in the cultural disciplines, its place in making higher education a more democratic space, and the ramifications of the changing economic climate.
 
Graduate students at all stages of their MA/MFA/PhD programs, including previous fellows, may apply to be PAGE Fellows. Applicants must be graduate students during the 2011-2012 academic year, but do not have to be planning a career within higher education.  Note: Only students who are affiliated with Imagining America member institutions are eligible for this award. For a list of member institutions, and more information about Imagining America, visit www.imaginingamerica.org.
 
Applicants must submit a CV and a short reflective essay (up to 500 words) on past, current, or future work in the context of one of the following issues, posed in the IA National Conference CFP:
 
How can the increasing efforts to realize the democratic, public, and civic purposes of American higher education be sustained and forwarded? What sustains our engaged practices within a context of diminished resources and rapidly shifting cultures within higher education?
 
How can engagement efforts contribute to sustained economic and cultural viability in urban and rural communities?
 
What sustains stakeholders confronting challenges around power, race, class, and privilege?

Questions?  Please contact National Director of PAGE, Adam Bush at asbush@gmail.com



Tornado Disaster Relief

• May 6th, 2011
• in News

To our Council for Community-Based Partnerships family:

We hope that this email finds you and your families safe and well.

As we seek to address the many needs that our community has in the aftermath of the 4/27 tornadoes, and as we look toward the future, we would like to ask for your assistance with a specific project that requires our immediate attention.

Within the next few days, the tornado relief center that has been located at Holt High School will be relocating to Holt Baptist Church, and the relief center at Leland Lanes will be redirecting volunteers and resources to Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church. We are asking for your assistance in:

1) Directing volunteers (faculty, staff and students) to these churches;

1) Coordination of volunteers and/or coordination of UA summer courses that could use service learning to assist those who have been affected by the tornado; and

2) Offering of service learning opportunities through existing courses that you  or others may be teaching in the 2011 Interim, Summer I and summer II semesters.

Initially, a primary focus for our support of communities in the Holt and Alberta City area will be in serving as a point of contact for individuals who may be seeking a variety of services. Additionally, we are hoping to address issues related to limited transportation for those who have been affected by the tornadoes.

If you are interested in assisting us with this work, or have further questions, please contact us at:
(205) 348-7392, or at the following email addresses:
Chris Spencer: christopher.spencer@ua.edu
Heather Pleasants: hmpleasants@ua.edu

Additionally, please see the list below of websites and facebook pages for additional ways to be of assistance. This list is not comprehensive"”we encourage you to visit these web spaces in order to gain more information on ways to help those in need.

Facebook pages:

Recover Tuscaloosa
Give Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa City Schools
Kelly Horwitz
Help Tuscaloosa
Rebuild Tuscaloosa
Toomer's for Tuscaloosa
T-Town, Never Down "“ Tuscaloosa Tornado Disaster Relief
Animals lost and found from the tornadoes in Alabama on 4/27/11

Websites/Blogs:

Recovertuscaloosa.com
Helptuscaloosaschools.com
www.givetuscaloosa.com
University of Alabama College of Education Relief Efforts: http://education.ua.edu/about/news/tornado-relief/
University of Alabama Acts of Kindness Fund: https://www.ua.edu/advancement/giving/donate/?division=2&account=349
Alabamapossible.org/blog
http://ttowntornadorelief2011.com/

Homegrown Farmers Market WILL GO ON this Thursday, May 5

• May 4th, 2011
• in Events

Hello ladies and gents,

I hope that this email finds you and your loved ones safe and sound after that terrible storm. Canterbury Episcopal thankfully was not damaged and has been functioning overtime as a collection center for donations. I hate that our fourth year will begin in these circumstances, but Homegrown will be sure to contribute to the relief effort however we can. Despite the turmoil around us (and today’s gloomy weather), everyone needs good fuel, a little pep in their step, and a hearty laugh every once in a while. So come out to the market and enjoy yourselves.

The market this week will function both as its normal fun-loving self and as a drop-off point for donations for the ongoing disaster relief. Customers are encouraged to donate produce and other goods purchased at the market in addition to bringing outside donations. Cash donations will be accepted in order to provide food assistance for those affected by the storms. Other items that can’t be purchased at the market but are still needed include: canned/boxed food, can openers, tarps for covering roofs, medical supplies, batteries, flashlights, hygiene products, ponchos, underwear and socks; baby items including diapers, diaper cream, wipes and formula; pet supplies including newspapers, dog/cat food, carrying crates and litter; new and gently used children's toys.

Limited parking for market customers will be available on Canterbury’s lawn this year.

In addition to the extensive variety of produce that’s normally available, this year the market will feature locally grown, all natural grass feed beef and goat cheese.

Another exciting addition: Homegrown now accepts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly known as Food Stamps. An Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) machine will be at the market to transfer SNAP funds into $1 and $3 tokens with the Homegrown Alabama label. As part of an incentive program, Homegrown will match every $10 spent using SNAP with an additional $5 in tokens (while funds last).

Musicians Ham Bagby and Friends will perform at the opening market. We’ll also have children’s activities, including face painting and coloring booklets.

I hope to see you there!

Andrea

—
Homegrown Alabama

(205) 210-9621

www.homegrownalabama.org