Community Engagement News

Refugees Come to Campus for ‘Welcome Day’ Activities with Students, Faculty, and Staff

Some of the new Miami area residents gather at the Peace Pole near the Cor Jesu Chapel on Barry’s main campus.

More than 40 refugees from four countries came to campus earlier this month for “Welcome Day” activities with students, faculty, and staff.

Hailing from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Venezuela, and Colombia, the refugees were resettled recently in the Miami area.

The new residents introduced themselves partly though dance, and they shared refreshments while engaging in conversations with their hosts. They also played musical chairs and board games.

Many of the children took part in art and craft activities—drawing, coloring, and painting; making bracelets and necklaces. Some played pickup soccer, supervised by Jason Albury, a sophomore in the School of Education, Leadership, and Human Development.

The visitors enjoyed a campus tour and left “filled with kindness and love in the warm embrace of old friends and new acquaintances,” as a refugee from war-torn Ukraine said in a thank-you message.

Engaging in art and craft activities as part of the event organized by the CCSI in partnership with Church World Service Miami.

The new residents, joined by Barry students, play musical chairs. Hailing from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Venezuela, and Colombia, the refugees were resettled recently in the Miami area.

“For those who are away from home, not only legal and material support is important, but also simple communication,” the refugee wrote. “Today we were at a wonderful, inspiring meeting that spreads its wings for us and gives us faith in the future. Wonderful people, excellent organization, interesting program, funny dances, an exciting tour of the University, delicious treats.”

The message continued: “All those present had the feeling that they had visited relatives and friends, although they met many for the first time. It was very emotional, fun, inspiring! We parted with a happy smile on our face, glowing eyes, filled with kindness and love in the warm embrace of old friends and new acquaintances. Thank you to EVERYONE who helped organize and give us today’s meeting! You are so great!”

Refugees from four countries with a few Barry students and staff on the Campus Mall. “Welcome Day” is one of Barry’s community engagement events to celebrate diversity and foster an inclusive community.

“Welcome Day” for recently resettled refugees—the first Saturday of February this year—is one of Barry University’s community engagement events aimed at celebrating diversity and fostering an inclusive community. The Center for Community Service Initiatives organized the day’s activities in partnership with the Miami Office of Church World Service (CWS), a refugee resettlement agency.

CWS Miami’s senior outreach specialist, Reuben E. Rojas, thanked the university for hosting the event. In an email, he wrote: “I wanted to an extend a very warm thank you to everyone at Barry University that participated on Saturday with the Welcome Day for refugees. … Everyone made the families feel comfortable and they had a lot of fun. Saturday was a great example of important service that was beneficial to everyone.”

Books, Journal Articles, and Fact Sheets Available to Support Community Engagement

Community engagement books available in the CCSI include a set on service-learning. The service-learning books cover programs, courses, partnerships, and research. 

The Center for Community Service Initiatives (CCSI) has a collection of books, journal articles, and fact sheets to support the work of community-engaged faculty, staff, and students.

In the collection are books on service-learning, which cover programs, courses, partnerships, and research. Authors of the available books include Robert G. Bringle; Susan Cipolle; Janet Eyler and Dwight E. Giles, Jr.; Barbara Jacoby; and Edward Zlotkowski.

In addition, a series of 15 monographs on service-learning in the disciplines is available in the CCSI. Each monograph is focused on why and how service-learning can be implemented within a particular discipline.

The fact sheets—a dozen or so—cover various community engagement topics. The topics include community-based research, community-engaged scholarship, experiential learning, and service-learning internship.

All community engagement (including service-learning) books may be checked out for brief periods; journal articles and fact sheets are distributed via email upon request. Contact the CCSI in Thompson 211 or via email at service@barry.edu.

Faculty and Staff Invited to Join Engagement-Focused Communities of Practice

Campus Compact’s Communities of Practice, which focus on specific areas of community engagement in higher education, are open to Barry faculty and staff.

“Through discussions, joint activities, resource sharing, and relationship building, participants develop a repertoire of resources, skills, and knowledge to use in their practice,” Campus Compact explains in a statement. “Above all, the CoPs provide a great space to communicate and share strategies with like-minded individuals from all across the country.”

Barry University is a member of Campus Compact, a national coalition of colleges and universities committed to advancing the public purposes of higher education.

Campus Compact lists 10 available Communities of Practice. They include the following eight: (1) Designing with Intention: Critical, Inclusive and Participatory Approaches to Scaffolding Your CEL Course; (2) Program Administration; (3) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Integration; (4) Equitable Community Engagement; (5) Combatting White Pedagogy; (6) Embedding Care for the Whole Student in Community and Civic Engagement; (7) Cogenerational / Intergenerational Engagement; and (8) Health Equity.

All Communities of Practice sessions are scheduled for February 15–April 30 and typically consist of six 60- to 90-minute virtual (Zoom) sessions. Faculty and staff members interested in participating are asked to register by Monday, February 13. There is no registration or participation fee.

National Organization Calls for Engaged Scholarship Conference Session Proposals

The Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC) has issued a call for proposals for presentations at its annual conference on October 4–5 in East Lansing, Michigan.

The conference theme will be “Mobilizing Change through Engaged Scholarship,” and proposals should be submitted by March 31.

“The 2023 ESC Conference will provide a platform for intentional conversations about how engaged scholarship can lead to significant, positive impacts in the community and the academy,” the organizers say. “Proposals will be considered on any topic clearly connected to the advancement of engaged scholarship.”

Some of the focus areas of presentations at the conference are evaluation and assessment for engagement, approaches to building sustainable partnerships, community-engaged teaching and learning, and community-engaged research. Among others are innovation and new technologies for engagement, leadership and engagement, and civic and democratic engagement as well as engagement for diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.

Conference session formats include symposium, interactive workshop, roundtable, panel, and poster.

The ESC is a nonprofit educational organization composed of higher education institutions, a mix of state/public and private institutions. The consortium’s main goal is “to work collaboratively to build strong university–community partnerships anchored in the rigor of scholarship and designed to help build community capacity.”

For information on Federal Work-Study Community Service,
contact the program facilitator via email at bsc@barry.edu.

DELIBERATIVE DIALOGUE: A recent forum in the Deliberative Dialogue Series drew attention to race relations in a diverse community experiencing significant political divide.  

VOTER FRIENDLY CAMPUS: Barry University is seeking the “Voter Friendly Campus” designation for the second time. 

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: The CCSI is again assisting the City of Hollywood African American Advisory Council with its Black History Month celebration.