Saginaw Valley State University
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Community Service-Cardinals in Action
Presidential Statement on Civic Engagement - Eric Gilbertson, President of Saginaw Valley State University
The ideals of an institution of higher learning, such as Saginaw Valley State University, are to prepare today's youth for a world they never made, but should strive to make better. To that end, SVSU offers its students a wide range of curricular and extracurricular activities from which to choose, designed to help them as individuals, as aspirants to a profession, and as citizens of that larger world. Civic engagement is an integral part of many on-campus and off-campus opportunities for volunteerism, and we encourage our students to take full advantage of those opportunities.
Over time, service learning has become a popular teaching tool at SVSU, with four out of five colleges having integrated service learning programs with their regular curriculum. A variety of courses in education, communication, English, social work, occupational therapy and business effectively combine community service and classroom study. Students gain greatly from the service component, which brings them into direct contact with issues and ideas important for the future, and which hopefully will give them the practical experience to one day address those issues.
As part of the University's outreach programs, the Cardinals in Action Office serves as a resource and referral office for students wishing to become involved in their communities. Not only does the office work directly with volunteer agencies and other civic organizations, it also sponsors extensive group volunteer projects on the National Day of Volunteering and at other times throughout the year, thus encouraging SVSU students to give of themselves and find meaning in-so-doing.
An especially well-supported volunteering event, now a tradition at Saginaw Valley State University, is the Leadership Blitz. Organized by the Cardinals in Action Office and offered twice-yearly, the blitz engages as many as 200 students in four-hour service projects. Past projects have included a clean-up day at the Saginaw Children's Zoo, maintenance of Little League fields in Bay City, painting and clerical work at a local community center, and the most popular option - the Habitat for Humanity Site Clean-Up Day. Last year's Habitat for Humanity project inspired more than 150 SVSU students to clear eight different sites for new Habitat homes in the Saginaw Area.
But a lot remains to be done. This year, we look to a new full-time staff member to help implement programs, to develop new grant proposals, and to assist faculty who would like to incorporate service learning into their classes. And as we look to the future, we hope to add projects that will encourage our students to do good work and to learn by that work about themselves and their community.