- Hunger in Schools/Place at the Table service-learning project
- Online modules for Latino service-learning released at April 23 SLIG meeting
- Corey Johnson and Kathy Thompson selected for 2013 SL Teaching Excellence Awards
- Get good feedback about your service-learning courses—Sign up for end-of-course survey now!
- Service-Learning in the News
Faculty Spotlight
In this section, faculty members making outstanding contributions to service-learning at the University of Georgia are highlighted. If you have suggestions for profiling a faculty member, please let us know!
Several past Service-Learning Fellows have been profiled by UGA's "Focus on Faculty":
- Donna Leigh Bliss, 2006 inaugural Service-Learning Fellow
- Sungkyung Lee, 2010-11 Service-Learning Fellow
Dr. Stacey Kolomer, Social Work
Dr. Stacey Kolomer is an associate professor at the University of Georgia School of Social Work and 2012 recipient of the Service-Learning Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Kolomer's research interests include grandparent caregiving families, medication management in older caregivers, and interdisciplinary geriatric education. In 2008-2009, Dr. Kolomer began implementing service-learning components in her classes, some of the first few projects being interdisciplinary health fairs: two in Athens, one in Oconee County, and one in Barrow County. The health fairs were run by students in the fields of social work and nursing who addressed health education for older adults.
She reports that the service-learning component in her classes utilizes the students’ skills to a degree that couldn’t be achieved by simple classroom instruction; the service-learning element makes the difference.
Dr. Kolomer lays out these course-related goals for her students each semester:
Learn how to relate to older adults
Learn the diversity of older adults
Learn how to work with people from other disciplines
Learn how to be flexible and open
Dr. Kolomer has worked in Athens-Clarke County, Barrow, and Oconee, and recently she expanded her project area to include Hart County. “This,” Dr. Kolomer says, “is because the Athens area already benefits from numerous programs and projects facilitated by UGA. Outside of this region, areas still need love and care. I think that by expanding my work radius, I am making a difference to the larger community.”
Recent projects include:
Social Work with Older Adults: Hart County Dam Project- Includes making a walking-tour for Hart County, highlighting the many monuments located in Hart County, and celebrating the 50th year anniversary of dam.
Health Fairs- pharmacy, nursing, other disciplines
Burn Camp- students work at the camp with children who are severely burned. EMT, nurses, firefighters (The Burn Camp service-learning project was highlighted in a recent YouTube video)
“I think it is really important for students to learn two things in the community in terms of social work: learn how to engage with the community and learn the practical application of their skills outside of the classroom,” says Dr. Kolomer.
Dr. Kolomer was a Service-Learning Fellow in 2008-2009; she reports a number of benefits from that program, including opportunities to:
work with other faculty across the campus who were learning about service-learning
generate ideas about projects
receive helpful input and feedback
learn how to assess the students’ engagement with the community
(Profiled by Ansley Deese, 2010)
Service-Learning Fellows
