Growing Service-Learning Initiative Hires Full-Time Staff Member

The Service Learning Initiative, which began on campus in 2014, supports faculty, students and community partners engaged in experiential learning opportunities that meet the criteria for designation. Service learning courses are regularly offered in all six colleges, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design and the School of Law. This year, 224 SL-designated courses were offered and 2,981 students were enrolled in a SL-designated course!   

Due to faculty and student interest in experiential learning opportunities, the Service Learning Initiative made strides to meet this need by creating its first full-time staff position. Noelle Kingsbauer accepted the role of service learning coordinator for the SLI in July 2024 after initially beginning to work for the initiative part time in August 2023. With an increasing number of courses receiving Service Learning designation, the office's duties have expanded to allow a full-time staff position. Joining Kingsbauer in the Service Learning Initiative this summer is a new social media intern, Diego Rivera Ponce. 

"After moving from Pennsylvania to Arkansas, I was anxious to begin working somewhere that utilized my passions and experience," says Kingsbauer. "The Service Learning Initiative allows me to be creative in writing articles, managing the website and planning events, while it also lets me use the clerical skills I have in data entry, organization and working with different people from various groups. I'm so happy to be here!" Kingsbauer also recently joined 2020-2021 Outstanding Contributions to Service Learning Teaching Award recipient, professor Laura Gray, in representing the U of A at the Gulf South Summit in April 2024.  

The job of the service learning coordinator works closely with the service learning director to ensure the initiative runs smoothly for all faculty, students and community partners who are involved with its experiential learning programs. Lisa Bowers, associate professor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program, was appointed as service learning director in July 2023. "I couldn't be more excited to have Noelle as a full-time member of our Service Learning team," Bowers says. "Noelle supports our students, faculty and community partners in many ways, and I'm looking forward to continuing to growing the number of students and faculty engaged in service learning." 

One of the many responsibilities of the service learning coordinator is to facilitate background checks and drug screenings for students enrolled in courses working with vulnerable populations. The success of this duty has led to a new pilot program where the service learning coordinator will also assist select faculty with scheduling students for shifts at their community partner locations. Bowers says, "By having the service learning coordinator position facilitate communication and scheduling between students and their community partners, we hope to reduce the extra emails and coordination that faculty sometimes experience." She adds, "Noelle is well-suited to provide these additional supports to students and faculty." 

This fall, the Service Learning Initiative has expanded to include two new funding opportunities for all faculty, whether they have been teaching SL courses for years or are new to the SL community. With the goal of increasing newly designated SL courses, the Faculty Course Design Grant is open for applications with a deadline of Oct. 1, 2024.

To provide faculty with the materials they need for their SL courses, requests for funding for supplies or equipment under $500 can be completed at any time with a streamlined approval process. Traditional SL grants for travel, publication costs and materials and equipment over $500 are still available, with set submission deadlines for committee approval. The service learning coordinator works with these new financial functions by gathering the applications and supporting documents for presentation to the service learning director and, where applicable, the service learning committee. More information on these enhanced funding opportunities is available on the Service Learning Initiative website.