Center for Public Service

Traditionally, universities' main mission is focused upon teaching and scholarship. Historically, service to the university and perhaps to the community has been a secondary goal or mission of faculty members and their departments and schools.

Breaking academic tradition, the Center for Public Service primarily focuses upon community service or community building. Our banner is "sustainable communities." One belief is that better scholarship, research and teaching often occur when a significant number of faculty and staff members are involved in their local community or region. Across the United States and Mexico, various colleges and universities are joining the move toward serious local community engagement. Why? For some academics and citizens, the poor health of our planet and its 6 billion citizens requires that the academy adjust its mission.

How does the center assist UNT in developing a full-blown "outreach university" ? Partnerships with others are an important implementation strategy. As we work to make Denton a more sustainable city, it is imperative to make the UNT campus a "green campus" that serves as a model for building a sustainable Denton. This involves both fuel efficiency and cleaner cars in the campus vehicle pool, an energy-efficient new building program and an effective recycling program. A just personnel policy at the university is also one component of a more sustainable campus community.

Often we collaborate with our colleagues in the Institute of Applied Sciences and the Elm Fork Education Center as they lead the way toward a more sustainable campus community. We have joined the Office of Student Development to create the UNT Volunteer Center to assist students, faculty, staff, retirees and alumni in becoming engaged in building better communities throughout the Metroplex. The Volunteer Center assisted Denton with "Make a Difference Day" on Oct. 28. CPS has established the Denton County Alzheimer's Support and Education Program to assist local families coping with caregiving. CPS has assisted the College of Music as it has taken the lead in creating "Start-up the Band" in the nearby Owsley addition to provide music education to low income youth and thus help them stay in school. The new Sewing Center at the Phoenix Apartments in southeast Denton has been a useful partnership between the School of Visual Arts and the center.

In addition to our local partnerships, we cooperate with volunteer and government agencies and private groups to improve childhood immunization rates in Texas and in other states, to create healthier neighborhoods in Weatherford, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie and Houston, and to mentor at-risk middle school students in Dallas and Denton.

The center is also involved in translating community service projects into formal course work. Certificates in leadership development and in volunteer and community resources management (offered via the Internet), along with internships in youth and community service agencies in the Metroplex, allow students to secure postgraduate employment and professionals to improve their skills on the job.

The Sustainable Communities Review published at the center brings together scholars and activists who work at creating and evaluating community life in terms of how ecological resources, as well as socio-economic well-being, are preserved or enhanced. Our field school sites in Mexico have led to the creation of a Mexico-USA partnership program. Faculty and students from the Yucatan, Monterrey, Guadalajara and Texas are collaborating to create sustainable communities in Mexico and Texas. Students from Mexico are currently in Denton assisting us with local community building. At the same time, colleagues in the small town of Mazamitla, in the state of Jalisco, are providing housing for American students and faculty to help them build a more sustainable town in the mountains south of Guadalajara.

Call the center at 565-4863 if you would like to participate in "community building" in Denton, Texas or Mexico. Look at our web site or the UNT Volunteer Center web site, www.unt.edu/volunteer, to learn about volunteer opportunities in the Metroplex. For information about online course work, call 565-4417 or go to www.unt.edu/untvols.

BY STAN INGMAN, DIRECTOR ingman@scs.cmm.unt.edu

Other web resources:

• University of North Texas Center for Public Service
• University of North Texas Volunteer Center
• University of North Texas Educational Consortium for Volunteerism

Other featured articles in this issue:

• Fire damages Speech/Drama Building
• Athletic director resigns
• Students approve referendum to build new recreation center
• Weather closing information
• Presentation gives insights into NSF
• Web site created for parents
• Awards presented at sack lunch
• Fast food is becoming the family cook despite shortcomings
• TAMS students advance in science competition
• Answerline

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