Spring 2008 Pilot Projects

Laying the Groundwork for a Partnership:

Community Support Services at Grimsley High School

Nancy Yoder, Visiting Associate Professor of Educational Studies.  Also, Cheryl Strickler and Elyse Topkins, English Teachers, Grimsley High School; Tara Mooring, Guilford College Education student and dentist; Jessica Black and Shawn Burns, Guilford College Education students and student teachers at Grimsley High School.

Building on an existing partnership between Grimsley high school and Guilford’s Educational Studies Department, the goal is to facilitate broad-based community support whereby tutoring and mentoring will enable students to be placed in regular, rather than remedial, high school classes, and also score well on state-mandated examinations.  Tutoring will be done in the schools, focusing first on developing English skills for immigrant students.  This will be followed by writing with 9th and 10th graders.  It is anticipated that Guilford faculty and students will join in teaching and mentoring these students.  Family and community members will be assisted and encouraged in involving themselves in student’ academic lives, creating a network of interdisciplinary and inter-organizational collaboration to provide “wrap-around services” which will allow students to focus on learning.

 

Developing an Ethical Purchasing and Procurement Policy at Guilford

Max Carter, Director of the Friends Center/Campus Ministry Coordinator and Chair of the Ethical Purchasing and Procurement Action Group.  Also, James Bartow, Guilford College student; Jerry Boothby, VP for Finance and Administration; Vernie Davis, Professor and Director of Peace and Conflict Studies, Director Conflict Resolution resource Center; Tracy Hall, Director of Purchasing; Jamie LaFollette, Head Cross Country Coach; Jennifer St. Mary, Guilford College student; Jimmy Wilson, Controller.

 

The goal of this project is to create an ethical purchasing and procurement policy for Guilford College that is consistent with Quaker values for social justice and environmental sustainability and that is consistent with good stewardship of college resources.  Project participants will research ethical purchasing policies at other colleges and universities, particularly Quaker institutions, in hopes of finding points to incorporate in a draft policy for this college.  This will be followed by a pilot process and criteria for ethical purchasing, in order to better use Guilford’s economic and natural resources while preserving the college’s ability to survive as an institution.  The next step will be to continue to address additional areas, all the while maintaining a transparent process of development of the policy through such means as public forums, presentations and other forms of communication.

 

Get the Noise Out

Jada Drew, Americorps/Vista representative. Also, Karen Hayes, Professor of Psychology; Sekinah Hamlin, Director of Multi-Cultural Education; James Shields, Director of Career and Community Learning; Thomas Coaxum, Director of Institutional Research & Assessment; Holly Wilson, Africana Community Coordinator; Elizabeth Schrauder, Instructional Technologist, APPLES Suitcase Coordinator; Terril Boykin, Guilford College CCE student; JaNell Henry, Guilford College traditional student; Monica Walker, Amos Quick, III. 

This project will address and seek to eliminate the negative ramifications which result from the widespread misperception of black men.  The social dynamics of history, class and race will be examined and clarified, in order to bring about an accurate perception of black men by society in general, and by black children, in particular.  It is anticipated that, by being made aware of the broad array of contributions to America made by black males, black children will embrace a broader, more inclusive view of their own potential.  A film depicting achievements of black males in a wide variety of fields will be produced and made available to area students via a Web site on the Internet.  Local public schools, organizations and Guilford College are anticipated participants.

 

 

Building Bridges: Coach-for-a-Day and Faculty Mentors for Athletic Teams at Guilford

Eric Mortensen, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies. Also, Eric Lewis, Guilford Women’s soccer coach, Stephanie Flamini, Guilford women’s basketball coach; Bryan Brendley Assistant Professor of Biology and NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative; Zachary Bobak, Guilford student and football team member; Amanda Sperr, Guilford Student and soccer team member; Brittany Bumgarner, Guilford student and basketball team member.

The intent of the project is to build community by bridging the divide between athletes and non-athletes at Guilford.  This will be accomplished by recognizing, affirming, learning about and celebrating differences between the two groups.  These include the following:  1) non-athletes will learn about the culture of athletics on campus, including the complications and demands placed on students struggling to balance athletics and academics, and 2) athletes will learn of Guilford’s wide-ranging academic opportunities and internal cultures.

The project will consist of faculty, staff and students.  Faculty will accompany a team to an away game, traveling with them and learning about the culture and the individual athletes involved, first-hand.  This will provide the athletes a chance to connect with a faculty mentor outside their normal sphere of experience.  Ideally, a second phase of the program will evolve, in which the athletes will have access to a faculty member who can introduce them to events in a non-athletic atmosphere, such as the Yachting Club’s board and video gaming activities.  Such an experience would bring together groups holding widely divergent perspectives for a positive and edifying joint encounter.

 

 

Reclaiming Democracy:  Dialogue, Decision-making, and Community Action

 Hollyce (Sherry) Giles, Associate Professor of Justice and Policy Studies.  Also, Ed Whitfield, Executive Director, Fund for Democratic Communities; Larry Morse, Associate Professor in Economics, NC A&T University; Dan Malotky, Associate Professor in Religion & Philosophy, Greensboro College; Spoma Jovanovic, Associate Professor in Communication Studies, UNCG; Stephen Schulman, Assistant Professor in Philosophy, Elon University; Gwendolyn Bookman, Associate Provost, Education Programs, Political Science, Bennett College.

This course brings together faculty and students fromsix local colleges and universitiesand the larger Greensboro community to examine, as well as attempt to model, democracy. Professors of communication, economics, philosophy, political science, psychology and religious studies, as well as a community activist, are the core faculty for the course, which aims to answer the following questions:  How do we reclaim our democracy as a humane, inclusive process that is responsible to all members of our community?  What does this require of us? Along with exploring democracy in a theoretical way, participants are learning in-depth about specific issues in Greensboro inthree broad categories: education, human rights, and economics.  The course will culminate in a public forum, Reclaiming Democracy: A Conference as Conversation, on April 26th, during which students will make presentations and facilitate discussions on the issues examined during the semester.  The public will be invited to attend.