Professors and staff members of the University of Portland took the "urban plunge" when they visited the state's Adult and Family Services offices, shelters for the homeless and for battered women, an alcohol- and drug-rehabilitation center, and served lunch at two soup kitchens. A project at Notre Dame is also described. (MLW)

The Community Service Scholars Program at Trinity College (Vermont) was established in fall 1989 to give single parents on welfare an opportunity to earn a four-year degree while volunteering at least 6 hours per week in community service projects. The participants receive financial support to cover most educational expenses. In the first year, 12…

This report examines the first round of programs funded under the National and Community Service Act of 1990. It is based on aggregate data provided by commission grantees and their subgrantees at the end of the first year of operation and covers commission-funded programs operating between July 1, 1992 and June 30, 1993. Data were available for…

This study demonstrates that the Public Service Employment (PSE) program had a significant net job-creation impact in 1978 and 1979. The difference in the estimates for these two years and fiscal 1977 indicate a substantial effect from the changes in the program's design, including tighter eligibility criteria and requirement of a project approach…

Examines gender-related nature of academic work, based on an international survey of college and university faculty. Describes commonalities for areas of discrimination among men and women faculty in Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States. Focuses on working conditions, professional activities…

Describes development of the first community service-learning program for democratic education in South Africa, based on the Swarthmore College (Pennsylvania) Democracy Education Project at a black high school near Capetown (South Africa). Notes that successful transposition of the model requires recognition of complex historical and cultural…

Discusses some of the cultural and logistical challenges faced by service learning projects. Theses challenges include a predisposition toward individualism over collective action, lack of time and emphasis on traditional learning. Provides strategies and approaches for overcoming these challenges. Includes a sample questionnaire for parents and…

Discussion of the changing role of land grant universities looks at their origins and evolution and their public service activities not central to teaching and research missions. It stresses that the challenge is now to commit and use their extensive resources, including technology, more creatively in serving public interests through lifelong…

A survey of about 20,000 college and university faculty and institutions in countries around the world investigated mobility patterns, preferences for research and/or teaching, international scholarly activities, attitudes about teaching, activities related to their roles as teachers, and expectations of students. Attitudes of United States…

Presents six service learning lesson plans from the Constitutional Rights Foundation. Each lesson plan represents a step in a larger service project. The plans include "Defining and Assessing Your Community"; "Choosing and Researching a Problem"; "Examining Policy"; "Exploring Options"; and "Taking…

Examines factors contributing to youth violence and suggests ways that service learning can mitigate their influence. Community-based programs can fill the void of unstructured, unsupervised time tempting many youth. Peer education and cross-age teaching can help create positive attitudes towards cooperation and responsible behavior. (MJP)

Briefly describes resources that educators and students can use to design service learning projects. These resources include free materials, books, web sites, information on grants, videos, journals, and organizations. The resources cover a broad range of approaches, projects, and methods. (MJP)

Decline in interest and employment in public-interest law may be due to cuts in legal services funding, heightened recruiting by private firms, mounting law student debt burdens, growing salary disparities in public-interest and corporate law, inadequate curricular attention to public-interest issues, and private law firm prestige. (MSE)

Highlights Auburn University's (Alabama) human-resource and economic-development programs in other countries, including an exchange of agricultural leaders with Germany and Hungary, a faculty exchange program with Haiti, student and faculty agricultural and aquacultural exchanges with China, and a number of programs in other countries. (MSE)

The cases of two research universities, Michigan State University and the State University of New York at Buffalo, that are seeking to combine strong research mission with initiatives to convey the practical implications with local clients, are discussed. In the process, both face the challenge of sustaining the commitment of leaders, altering…