Compliance Status

Louisiana State University and A&M College is in compliance with this principle.

Narrative

Pertinent to its mission, Louisiana State University and A&M College (LSU) assesses the extent to which outcomes related to community/public service are attained, and uses the evidence to improve the programs. Designated as a land-, sea-, and space-grant institution, the mission of LSU is the generation, preservation, dissemination, and application of knowledge and cultivation of the arts [1].  LSU has a long history of continuing education, outreach, and service programs, and these are clearly linked with its mission statement and consistent with the history and philosophy of land-grant universities.

Two of the overarching goals of Flagship 2020 [2], the institutional strategic plan, are directly related to this compliance principle:  

Learning: Enhance a faculty-led and student-centered learning environment that develops engaged citizens and enlightened leaders.

• Increase the number of students with strong skills in critical thinking, creative problem solving, and effective communication.
• Produce greater numbers of students who become intellectual and civic leaders.
• Broaden faculty, staff, and student engagement in a rich intellectual and creative campus culture.

Engagement: Promote engagement of faculty, staff, and students in the transformation of communities.

• Increase collaboration with state and local leaders.
• Enhance our commitment to involvement in economic, social, and cultural activities.
• Extend the influence of scholarly expertise to benefit our state, region, and the globe.

Engagement with the community can provide innovative learning experiences that complement and enhance academic programs, including international, multicultural, and interdisciplinary programs; and heighten the quality of the working, learning, and living environment.   Engagement also enhances students’ critical technical and non-technical skill sets.

At most land-grant universities, the activities of the Cooperative Extension Service would be included as part of this principle.  However, unique among the land-grant institutions, the LSU Agricultural (LSU Ag) Center [3], which includes the 64-parish Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service (LCES) offices [4] and the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station (LAES) [5], is a separate entity from LSU.  The LSU AgCenter is a non-degree granting institution, with its main offices located on land that is contiguous, or at times integrated, with that of the LSU campus.  Both the LCES and the LAES have offices or research facilities throughout the state.  Undergraduate students, especially those enrolled in the LSU College of Agriculture (COA), have opportunities to participate in LCES service and outreach programs (described below).  Graduate students have opportunities to work on research projects with faculty members who have joint appointments with the COA and with both the LCES and the LAES.

Policy Statement 09 (PS-09), Continuing Education, Outreach, and Service Programs [6], provides the basis for the outreach and service components on campus.  No other policy statements exist that are concerned with outreach or service programs nor are any of the set of Permanent Memoranda concerned with outreach or service programs.  The By-laws and Regulations of the LSU Board of Supervisors address outreach only in terms of the AgCenter.

LSU has a rich history of outreach and public service. The university was admitted to the 2010 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for “engaging its students, faculty, and staff in meaningful service that achieves measurable results in the community (see below).”  LSU was specifically recognized for its civic engagement initiatives, including service-learning (S-L) classes, extracurricular activities, and student-led volunteer initiatives. 

Collectively, the outreach and service programs serve the LSU community, Baton Rouge, the state of Louisiana, and beyond.  The programs support the mission of LSU because they help undergraduate and graduate students, with the support of the faculty, to generate knowledge and develop new skills to share with the greater community; to preserve knowledge of historic communities, local culture—including language, food, and clothing—and the environment; to disseminate information and practical help to the community; and to cultivate, and help others cultivate, music, dance, and theater, thus enriching all parties.  Students are able to apply what they have learned in and out of classes and reach out to the larger community to present others with new ideas, to teach new skills, or to rebuild after disaster. 

At this time, LSU has a decentralized organization of service and outreach programs. 

The Center for Community Engagement, Learning, and Leadership (CCELL)   

CCELL reports directly to the Office of Academic Affairs Vice Provost for Academic Programs, Planning & Review.  Since 2008, LSU has had the distinction of the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement [7, 8] in the categories of Curricular Engagement and Outreach and Partnerships [9] through the efforts of CCELL.  CCELL [10] strives to develop and promote mutually beneficial campus community partnerships built on integrity, respect, and equity. 

Specifically, CCELL’s goals [11] are to

• Promote the integration of teaching, research, and service to enhance learning and encourage civic responsibility and social accountability;
• Recruit, support, and provide resources for faculty and students committed to the values of civic engagement;
• Identify and publicize exemplary models of service-learning occurring within the LSU community;
• Seek additional levels of financial support to enhance benchmark programs in service learning; and
• Draft policy and program recommendations for the university that support service-learning/civic engagement to further LSU Flagship Agenda goals.

Goal #1:  Promote the integration of teaching, research, and service to enhance learning and encourage civic responsibility and social accountability. 

The impact of CCELL continues to grow as it works alongside students, faculty, and community partners as they connect classroom learning to community needs.  Last year, approximately 3,808 students participated in 159 S-L classes housed in 32 departments and involving 86 faculty members. Through CCELL, S-L classes partnered with 106 not-for-profit agencies [12].  Further, over the past five years, CCELL has helped with seven international S-L courses in Africa and South America [13].  Through S-L, students gain a deeper understanding of course content and civic responsibility while community non-profits receive free, specialized services.  Service-learning students collaborated with community partners to address systemic problems in our community and abroad and gained an appreciation for partnerships that promote the common good [10].  These numbers increased from the previous year [14].

Table 1 shows the increase in S-L courses and other types of community service from 2009 to 2012.

Goal #2:  Recruit, support, and provide resources for faculty and students committed to the values of civic engagement.

The LSU Community Engagement Advisory Council [15], comprised of faculty, administrators, and community partners, and CCELL implemented a new faculty-driven process for designating S-L classes in fall 2012 [16].  CCELL also offers the Faculty Scholars Program [17] to encourage the development of S-L curricula that will have a lasting impact on instruction, promote the institutionalization of service-learning courses in every department, and advance the educational and engagement objectives of the LSU Flagship Agenda. The results of a recent survey of faculty within this program have provided impetus for changes in the program curriculum. For example, one suggestion (based on comments of scholars via survey, and suggested by more than one scholar) included “less background reading,” which prompted a consideration of the total amount of outside work requested for the program seminar. CCELL decided to balance the scholars’ request for less reading with the importance of each reading assignment and, as a result, removed several reading assignments from the curriculum. Scholars also suggested that they would like more interaction with community partners and faculty who had on-going service-learning partnerships; thus, faculty and community partner discussion panels were added to the seminar series.

The CCELL Website provides a full array of resources, including frequently asked questions (FAQ) [19]; CCELL policies [20]; course design and tools [21]—including a faculty handbook [22], sample syllabi [23], and best practices [24]; funding opportunities [25]; scholarship, including venues for publication and presentation [26]; and insight into overcoming faculty concerns for promotion and tenure [27].  The CCELL director is available for individual consultation for the latter.  Faculty are also supported with awards [28], including recognition through the Faculty Scholars Program and monetary awards. 

Student resources include FAQ [29], information on the S-L student organization [30], and other service-learning (and service) opportunities for students on campus [31].  During the past three years, CCELL has led a two-part workshop series for engaged students who plan to apply for the NSF Graduate Fellowship. CCELL is leading this effort because successful applications hinge on the candidates being reflective, Renaissance scholars.  Twelve students who completed the workshop series have received the NSF Graduate Fellowship (4 in 2010-2011, 5 in 2011-2012, and 3 in 2012-2013). 

CCELL supports not only faculty and students, but also their community partners.  Community resources include FAQ [32] and the Community Partner Handbook [33] contained on the Website, access to workshops, and networking opportunities.  Additionally, CCELL co-administers two grant programs with University Presbyterian Church as follows: (1) service grants of up to $1000 are given to community-university partnerships for deliverables that will serve the community—for example, purchasing library books for summer reading participants and computer software and equipment for local non-profits, and (2) mini-grants (up to $100) for service-learning celebration events.

Goal #3:  Identify and publicize exemplary models of service-learning occurring within the LSU community.

CCELL publicizes exemplary S-L projects on its Website [34] and through press releases to the area media.  For example, several exemplary projects have recently received media exposure [35, 36].

Goal #4:  Seek additional levels of financial support to enhance benchmark programs in service learning.

As stated previously, CCELL provides funding sources for faculty and publicizes funding sources available to S-L practitioners [37].  CCELL receives funding from private donors as well; the Service-Learning Support Fund accepts donations dedicated to facilitating service-learning by supplementing the budget of the Center for Community Engagement, Learning, and Leadership.

Goal #5:  Draft policy and program recommendations for the University that support service-learning/civic engagement to further LSU Flagship Agenda goals.

The director of CCELL is a member of the Consortium on Civic Engagement, helping to draft policy related to service and outreach at LSU.

CCELL uses a student assessment of S-L courses; an assessment of the faculty scholars program (in which CCELL teaches faculty how to integrate S-L into their courses); an S-L designation process, which requires assessment of the course by a committee of faculty and community partner experts (once every 5 years); and a community partner survey (done every 1-2 years).  CCELL assesses the impact of S-L designated courses on students, through a survey [38] given in each S-L class, and on the community partners through another survey [39].  The data are reviewed every semester.  Results are returned to the faculty members to allow them to reflect on the assessment and make appropriate changes as needed.  For the three highest evaluations at the university, a congratulatory letter is sent to the faculty member and his or her dean; for any S-L course that does not score well on the survey, an individual direct follow-up with the faculty,  which includes a problem-solving session, occurs to help the faculty member improve the experience for the students or for the community partner.  LSU students report that service-learning enhanced understanding of course content (75%), improved leadership skills (80%), and increased the likelihood of future community involvement (77%).  Surveys also assess how well CCELL supports faculty and community partners; results inform the center’s programming and services.  

Residential Life

The mission of the Residential Life [40][41] program is to “provide learning communities by developing programs that promote academic success and personal development and provide attractive, clean, comfortable, and safe facilities that meet the needs of the campus community.”  Among the values of Residential Life are community development  (“Diversity in all its forms is central to a healthy and dynamic community. We commit to working from multiple perspectives while advocating for the interests of all individuals and the community. We strive to provide all people equal access to resources, services, and programs.”) and teamwork (“Use a cooperative effort by the members of our community to achieve common goals. Exercise a unity of effort to consistently achieve community goals utilizing all available resources. Create common understanding and commitment when problem solving. Display genuine and total confidence in the integrity, ability, and good character of other team members.”)  These values are linked directly with the Flagship 2020 goals outlined above [2].

Assessment and subsequent planning and, potentially, change is achieved in Residential Life through a number of mechanisms [42].  One of the performance indicators for the learning goal is the component of the program stated as “expand the living-learning program, which includes the Residential College S-L course report and the Agriculture Residential College (ARC) survey on co-curricular program satisfaction.”  Also relevant to Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.5 is improvement, which is stated as “use assessment, evaluation, and implementation for continuous improvement of our people, programs, facilities, and services.”  Performance indicators for improvement include, but are not limited to, focus groups with residents and professional staff, verbal student feedback, and staff and community assessments. One example of the use of such feedback to improve students’ experience in ARC is the implementation of “speed advising,” hosted by the ARC faculty track coordinators (FTCs) for all ARC residents last year. The “speed advising” program has resulted in students seeking out the FTCs and feeling less reticent to discuss their academic challenges, suggesting the introduction of an effective intervention earlier in the semester, before mid-terms, that improves students’ likelihood for a successful first semester at LSU. Students are more likely to talk to their other instructors as they overcome the initial reluctance to seek out faculty during their office hours.

This experience in ARC was one of the factors that have informed three new or expanded endeavors across the Residential Colleges Program (RCP) regarding faculty and staff interaction with students. First, beginning in 2013-2014, the two new faculty-in-residence (one on the east side of campus and the other on the west side) will be attending co-curricular programs across the range of on-campus living communities. They will be available to seek students out at functions, to let them see further that the faculty at LSU care about their academic and personal development.  Second, beginning in the 2013-2014 academic year, a stronger effort is being made to expand supplemental instruction and tutoring across the RCP, led by faculty tutors. Improved efforts to publicize tutoring hours, track student use of the tutoring, and assess the academic impact of the tutoring among students who are using the services have begun, in coordination with the Center for Academic Success.  The faculty tutor in ARC, Mike McKenna, was beginning to see increased demand from ARC students by the end of spring semester 2013, and surges in student use of the service are expected in 2013-2014. A third effort to increase interaction has involved an increased presence of LSU Police in and around the residence halls to interact with students during times of non-emergencies. The goal of this program is not only to protect students and prevent them from making poor decisions, but also to provide positive role models in an informal and fun atmosphere.  Improved communication between the faculty-in-residence, tutors, police officers, and the RCP faculty will ensure improved understanding of students’ needs.

An example of service and outreach ongoing in the Residential Colleges is occurring in the College of Agriculture’s Agriculture Residential College (ARC).  Their signature program,  Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT), which trains students to work with animals owned by others,  is certified through LSU’s Tiger HATS (Human Animal Therapy Service) program to administer AAT in nursing homes and assisted living centers in the Greater Baton Rouge area.  In 2012-2013, 20 students participated in the AAT [43]; as can be seen in the attached file, the vests for the animals were created by LSU students from recycled LSU tote-bags according to a pattern designed by an LSU faculty member.

Through the Big Buddy Enrichment Program at Dufroc Elementary School, LSU students from the ARC Food, Fitness, and Fashion track recently taught children about dining etiquette and helped them cook healthy food in the foods lab in the School of Human Ecology building on the LSU campus.  Each of the elementary-school students was given a custom-made cloth napkin with encouraging messages such as “Try it, you might like it” and “Remember the square meal” to reinforce manners and healthy eating.  An ARC alumna and Nutritional Sciences junior taught both groups of students to cook several Mediterranean dishes. The students in the Big Buddy program are not just taught how to cook; they also eat what they prepare at a family-style meal.

AgMagic [44] is a large outreach event of the LSU Agricultural Center which enables children and adults to take a journey to explore Louisiana agriculture and beneficial commodities they use every day.  The Body Walk [45], which is an interactive exhibit of the human body through which children explore the human body to learn how different foods and health behaviors affect the organs of their body, is featured as an exhibit within AgMagic. Each year, approximately 13,000 children and their families attend AgMagic. The success of the Body Walk at AgMagic depends largely on student volunteers who lead the participants through interactive activities related to organ systems of the body. This year, 75 LSU students, primarily from the COA, volunteered to assist with the Body Walk at AgMagic.

Beginning in the 2013-2014 academic year, the Department of Residential Life has implemented a new framework for scheduling and delivering co-curricular programs, such as the ones described above, to ensure that all learning objectives are met. Specifically, the “Tiger Trax” program ensures that co-curricular programs support the following themes: Transition (August 10 - September 13), Involvement (September 13 - October 4), Goal-setting (October 5 - November 1), Exploration (November 1 - November 22), Reflection (November 22 - December 14), Take Charge (January 13 - February 7), Retention (February 7 - March 7), Achievements (March 7 - April 18), and "eXit" (April 18 - May 9).  These themes were developed by researching trends that students experience throughout the academic year.  Moreover, the “PAWS” (Personal, Academic, World, and Social) responsibilities must all be represented among these themes. While this programming model does not represent a change in learning objectives, it does help resident assistants, residential life coordinators, and faculty to remember to address all of them in the optimal order to enhance student development.

Evaluation has shown the strong impact overall (not limited to service and outreach programs) of ARC on students’ lives from both a personal and a professional standpoint [46]. Seventy-five percent of students agreed or strongly agreed that ARC increased their interactions with faculty, and 82% agreed or strongly agreed that ARC increased their interactions with peers. Student evaluation of ARC programming was overwhelmingly positive, with a range of 85-100% of students saying that they would participate again in a program if given the opportunity. 

National Survey of Student Engagement

LSU participates in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) [48] [49].  Of particular import is the LSU University Competency which projects the faculty’s intent that LSU graduates “will have the knowledge, skills, and disposition that attest to a commitment and ability to recognize and to participate in processes that improve the civic life of communities.”  The three NSSE items that are germane assessment tools for this competency are 1k, 7b, and 11o. 1k asked the students if they had participated in community-based projects such as service learning. In 2007 only 16% of LSU seniors responded “often” or “very often”. By 2011 however, 24% of LSU seniors responded in this way. This dramatic increase is likely the result of the aggressive push by LSU to incorporate S-L classes into the curriculum during that time span. That 24% outshines the 15% of seniors at our Carnegie peer institutions that answered this item in the same way. This appears to be a true strength of the LSU general education program.  This claim is further supported by item 7b which asks students if they plan to do or have done volunteer work in their community. In 2011, 69% of LSU seniors responded that they had done so, and another 10% said they still planned to do so. This is almost identical to the level of response by seniors attending Carnegie peer institutions. On item 11o LSU seniors also matched their Carnegie peers in answering that they had (during their college career) contributed to the welfare of their community quite a bit” or “very much” (LSU 46% CP 47%). One other item that reflects the impact of Civic Engagement was question 11i “How often do you vote in local, state, or national elections?” The results are shown in Table 2.              

The Office of Equity, Diversity, and Community Outreach

The Office of Equity, Diversity & Community Outreach (EDCO) [50] represents two out of the four pillars (Discovery, Diversity, Engagement, and Learning) of the LSU Flagship Agenda.  These are critical to the intellectual and personal development of all LSU students, staff, and faculty.  One of the central offices of EDCO is the Community University Partnership (CUP) [51].  

The mission of the LSU CUP is to maintain community relevancy through outreach. Staff build relationships between campus and community groups, activists, schools, and interfaith networks. CUP strives to promote civic engagement, increase cultural competency, challenge historic sentiment, and develop new strategies to accommodate the changing demographics of the Baton Rouge community.  The success of this mission is assessed by the numbers and quality of the relationships that LSU CUP has built with the community. Since 2001, LSU has formally committed itself to building community partnerships in the historic, Old South Baton Rouge community, the metropolitan area, and beyond. Volunteers have painted over 20 homes, student teachers have impacted the lives of thousands of children, and architecture students have developed commercial façades and plans for small businesses and communities across the state, just to name a few contributions. Specifically, LSU CUP implements community programs and initiatives that empower Old South Baton Rouge residents to join the revitalization movement.

CUP’s programs and initiatives include 

• At Home in Old South Baton Rouge: This is a home owners’ guide that was produced by LSU School of Architecture students and that offers suggestions for enhancing existing home stock and energy conservation.
• City Year® Partnership: With CUP’s leadership, LSU is the first public college or university in the country to become a ‘give a year’ partner with the international service organization.  LSU provides application fee awards to City Year corps members, alumni, and staff; and provides one graduate-level scholarship.
• Saturday In-Service: Volunteer opportunity events provide opportunities for LSU students to paint homes, provide minor home repairs, and facilitate clean-ups [52].

In addition, the EDCO organizes a day of service as part of the LSU Martin Luther King Day events.  Participation and specific service components are seen in the attached file [53].

The strategic plan of CUP [54], as well as the executive summary of the last self-study, [55] are attached.

Office of the Dean of Students

The Office of the Dean of Students promulgates Commitment to Community [56], which includes the following tenets that are directly linked with community service and outreach: (1) “respect the dignity of all persons and accept individual differences; (2) respect the environment and the rights and property of others and the university; (3) contribute positively to the life of the campus and surrounding community; (4) and use my LSU experience to be an active citizen in an international and interdependent world.”  The attainment of these tenets is revealed by the development of relevant programs that demonstrate commitment to community. The Office of the Dean of Students oversees a number of service and outreach programs through its Student Life and Enrollment area.

Volunteer LSU [57] is “the university’s center for community service and involvement.  The center’s mission is to promote and coordinate volunteer opportunities, promote partnerships, within the community, and instill a lifelong commitment to service.”  Volunteer LSU is part of Student Life & Enrollment’s Campus Life unit [58]. To help introduce LSU students to service opportunities, one program, Community Bound [59], takes place annually the Saturday before fall classes start.  This is a morning of service with fellow incoming students in primary and secondary schools throughout East Baton Rouge Parish.  Community Bound has multiple sponsors including Volunteer LSU, LSU Honors College, LSU Office of the Chancellor, LSU First Year Experience, LSU Greek Life, LSU Career Services, Aramark, Volunteers in Public Schools, and City Year Baton Rouge.

Other Volunteer LSU programs are

• Kitchens on the Geaux, which uses service as a tool to increase awareness of food insecurity in the Baton Rouge area, recycle food from the community, serve nourishing meals to in-need populations, build community partnerships, and provide educational opportunities to LSU students. The organization works to meet the hunger and nutritional needs in Baton Rouge.
• Spring Greening Day, an annual one day service project to beautify the LSU campus. The event is coordinated in partnership with Landscape Services in support of the Green Tiger Project. Volunteers plant flowers, lay sod, spread mulch, and do other landscaping tasks across campus. Students work alongside faculty and staff, providing for valuable interactions outside of the classroom.  An assessment report for Spring Greening Day is attached [60].  In it, students reported achievement in two of the three learning outcomes, linking it directly to Flagship 2020.
• CHANGE Break (Summer 2013), which was an international service trip. Ten students were selected to travel to Cai Cay, Peru, to work with a local village on community development projects and educational lessons with children.

Volunteer LSU has provided assessment reports for Community Bound 2010 [61] and 2011 final reports [62] and for Geaux Big Baton Rouge [63].  Also provided is a summary PowerPoint presentation:  NASPA Assessment and Knowledge Consortium [64].

Student Organizations

Student organizations, including sororities and fraternities, also report to Campus Life in the Office of the Dean of Students [65].  These organizations have a wide variety of charters; although many perform some service or outreach, some are actually labeled as service organizations. For example, Alpha Phi Omega is identified as service, as are the LSU Ambassadors. But, as stated, many organizations include service as part of their regular activities., For example, the LSU Dairy Science Club, sponsored by the College of Agriculture, is listed as an academic/professional group, but it also provides outreach and service, as when it annually hosts Farm Day to allow children in the Baton Rouge area to visit, interact, and learn about where farm animals live, what they eat, and how to properly maintain farm animal health. The Dairy Science Club invites children from pre-kindergarten and elementary schools in the Baton Rouge area to participate in Farm Day. On average, over 1,000 students ranging from pre-K to grade 5 experience Farm Day over its three-day course.  Dairy Science Club members, as well as volunteers from Block and Bridle Club, Pre-Vet Club, Sigma Alpha, and the ARC, provide information about the animals and other topics of interest related to food production.  The children are excited to see and learn about goats, pigs, laying hens, milking cows, and horses—among other animals. The animals displayed at Farm Day are provided by volunteers, the LSU Livestock Farms at Central Stations, and the LSU Dairy Farm.  Educational materials, such as coloring books and pencils, are provided by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture.

LSU’s Continuing Education Division

In addition to the previously described efforts, LSU’s Continuing Education Division is involved in service and outreach programs.  The mission of LSU’s Continuing Education Division is “to identify, create, and support lifelong learning opportunities through quality programs that are timely, capitalize on university expertise, and address educational needs with both credit and noncredit programs [66].”

Continuing Education assesses course and program effectiveness at several levels. Assessment is conducted for each course and instructor using course evaluations completed by course participants. The results are tabulated and reviewed by program staff and shared with instructors.  Focus groups composed of past participants or company representatives are conducted for new programs and periodically for ongoing programs to ensure that programs align with industry needs. Several programs use advisory groups that contribute to program development. Continuing education offers several courses that prepare participants to take certification exams, and the effectiveness of the program is reflected in the success of the participants. Additionally, program coordinators periodically sit in on courses, especially for new courses or instructors, to directly monitor instruction and informally to assess participant satisfaction. Members of the Continuing Education staff are in frequent contact with representatives of companies and state agencies, ensuring that the quality of the programs offered meets the requirements of the participants and employers. For those programs that generate revenue, an important measure of program effectiveness is continued success working with employers over time.

At the most basic level, results of the course assessments are used to correct issues in particular courses or with particular instructors. If problems with course content or with instruction are identified, direct action is taken prior to the next offering of the course. Program areas are reviewed based on a number of factors, including course evaluations, focus groups, enrollments, and market analysis. Programs may be modified or discontinued based on program success, considering assessment, enrollments, and revenue.

Based on participant feedback, certain course topics in several information technology courses were identified as being of limited value to participants and their employers.  Working with the instructors, the courses were reconfigured from five days to three days in length and the course material adjusted to better reflect the actual skills needed in the workplace.  Feedback from course participants confirmed that the revised courses better matched the skills needed by employers.

Courses in the Human Resource Management certificate program were recently modified to add new topics—for example, healthcare changes—that had been identified by participants as important components for successful job performance.  Finally, based on input from the advisory committee and course participants, the Paralegal Studies certificate program added more technology components to the required courses to better match the student’s course work with current job requirements.

Other Units

The Shaquille O’Neal Life Skills Program emphasizes the importance of giving back and of citizenship by engaging in the university and surrounding community. The opportunity to delve into volunteerism activities not only strengthens altruistic qualities but also encompasses the values of unity, teamwork, community, and social responsibility. 

The Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athlete’s motto is “Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve.”  The number of hours of community service work that the student athletes complete is tracked annually and is increasing.  In the 2010-2011 school year, student athletes completed 3,135 hours of community service; for the 2011-2012 school year the number was 3,706 hours, and for the 2012-2013 school year the overall number was 4,476.

Civic Engagement Task Force

The efficacy of the decentralized approach of LSU’s outreach and service efforts is likely not optimal.  To attain a more effective and sustained effort, the Civic Engagement Task Force was formed, and recommendations for further progress of the outreach and service programs have been made.

During development of the 2020 Strategic Plan for LSU, then-Chancellor Martin and then-Provost Merget reinforced a sentiment emerging from faculty discussions on the importance of community engagement and outreach as an essential aspect of the university.  Thus, a Civic Engagement Task Force was formed, with Merget challenging the task force with this statement: “although civic engagement permeates LSU, there is no clear or consistent value placed on civic engagement as an academic asset.” 

By May 2010, a white paper had been developed that underscored LSU’s commitment to community engagement and outreach [67].  Further, civic engagement is a useful tool for reciprocally sharing knowledge with the general public, is an effective vehicle for student learning, can demonstrate the institution’s value to the public, is another arena for productive faculty scholarship, and brings together the assets of the university and community to tackle critical societal issues.  Civic engagement defined in such a broad way is an important way for LSU to fulfill its mission. 

LSU students, faculty, and organizations practice numerous types and levels of civic engagement, ranging from one-day community service projects to S-L.  Although the campus initiatives have had considerable success, especially the nationally recognized CCELL program, they should not solely define civic engagement at LSU. 

The white paper concluded that “after much conversation and considerable debate the committee has arrived at a vision for civic engagement at LSU.  It is that a university-wide commitment to civic engagement will significantly contribute to meeting the Flagship 2020 goals:

• LSU will encourage transformative research and discovery that address contemporary problems and change the way we live in the world.
• LSU will utilize a faculty-led and student-centered learning environment to develop engaged citizens and enlightened leaders.
• LSU will strengthen the intellectual environment by broadening the cultural diversity of the LSU community.
• LSU will be an active partner in civic engagement—transforming the Baton Rouge community, enhancing Louisiana's economic, social, and cultural well-being, and providing a global perspective that expands intellectual boundaries.”

As a result of the white paper, then-Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost John Maxwell charged a Consortium on Civic Engagement to serve as a coordinating council and assist LSU in becoming a “civic-minded research university,” deploying its resources to impact communities across our state, throughout the nation, and around the world through our fundamental role, scope, and mission.  Operations of the consortium are administered and managed through the Office of Academic Affairs—Equity, Diversity & Community Outreach so that a coordinated and strategic effort can be achieved. 

Specifically, the consortium was charged to

• Facilitate opportunities to share work, experiences, successes, and challenges, as well as resources;
• Assist in aligning engagement activities with overall program goals;
• Assist in identifying off-campus umbrella organizations and community members to serve on decision making boards and review committees pertaining to engagement policies and programs;
• Coordinate the development of a yearly status report of the wide range of engagement scholarship and activities across the university; and
• Assist the university community in identifying and being actively involved in local, regional, national, and international opportunities focusing on civic engagement.

NOTE: The narrative continues in "3.3.1.5 (Continued)."