Why Our Program?

Alan Bloomgarden, Director of Faculty Grants and Government/Community Relations, Smith College -- "Colleges and their communities interact in increasingly diverse and complex ways. Meaningful and sustainable partnerships are necessary, if students are to become citizens, research is to redress societal challenges, and towns and cities are to benefit from and contribute to academic work. Fulfilling this promise needs people and organizations equipped to make whole partnerships greater than sums of disparate parts. Students in the Service-Learning and Community Engagement Track will gain sophisticated understandings of academic institutions, educational practices, and community partnerships. They will acquire vital tools to assist organizations and people to collaborate to enhance educational practice while addressing community needs."

Cathy Burack, Senior Research Associate, Higher Education, Center for Youth and Communities, Brandeis University -- "To be totally honest, I am very excited about this program because it is going to create a pool of talent from which I can hire people with skills I need. This program will produce people who can navigate the organizational complexity of colleges and universities. They will understand how to (and necessity of) align a program with an institution's mission. They will know how to collaborate with faculty, senior administrators, students, student affairs professionals and community representatives. They can articulate learning outcomes and are concerned with identifying best practices. And they will have the capacity not only to be experts in service-learning, but will know how to apply their knowledge to other forms of experiential learning on a campus, including internships and practica. The students graduating from this program will be able to compete in a market that is very competitive."

Barbara Canyes, Executive Director, Massachusetts Campus Compact -- "Recent Campus Compact statistics show that 1.9 million faculty and over 6 million college students are now spending a portion of their time involved in service-learning. Through UMass Amherst Master Track in Service-Learning and Community Engagement program, graduate students will gain a portfolio of specific knowledge and skills that college presidents are looking for in future leadership teams."

Dwight E. Giles Jr., Professor of Higher Education Administration; Senior Associate, New England Resource Center for Higher Education, UMass Boston -- "Finally, there is a graduate program track in service-learning where I can refer undergraduates and recent graduates when I get the frequently-asked question, "Is there somewhere I can do graduate study in service-learning?" This program carefully combines theory, practical experience and research to cultivate a deep understanding of service-learning in the context of higher education as well as the skills to develop and implement service-learning programs and courses. Graduates of this Masters Track have the promise to develop the scholarship and the pedagogy of service-learning as well as its practice."

Karen M. Lee, Assistant Director of Community Outreach, Amherst College -- "As service learning and engagement programs continue to grow and expand at higher education institutions across the country and throughout the world, practitioners face increasingly complex challenges. This program provides a solid foundation in service learning theory and research which gives practitioners the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful."

Emily Nemeth, UMass Student Representative -- "The service learning track is an important step towards reinvigorating the public purpose of higher education institutions. By tying learning to service, this curriculum fosters a sense of reciprocity and civic engagement between students and their communities. Service learning also equips students with a commitment to, and vision of social justice as they enter careers in the field of higher education and student affairs."

David Schimmel, Co-Founder, Citizen Scholars Program -- "This pioneering program can be a national model for preparing higher education professionals to bridge 3 worlds -- the worlds of faculty, students and community organizations. Graduates can help faculty and students make community service relevant to their courses, make their courses relevant to their service in the community, and help community organizations better serve people in need."