2007-2008 Annual Report of Service - Shippensburg University

Institute for Public Service 5
1987 communication/journalism graduate
and currently the Corporate Communications
Manager for Globo TV in Brazil (the fourth
largest TV network in the world), for a daylong
community presentation on Sports and
Social Transformation. The event was based
around Globo TV’s media and social awareness
campaigns before, during, and after the
2007 Pan American Games.
In addition to these events, Dr. Carlin
led student workshops at the following
area media organizations: ABC27 News &
Sports, Harrisburg; Public Opinion newspaper,
Chambersburg; Antietam Cable,
Hagerstown, Maryland; NBC25 News &
Sports, Hagerstown, Maryland; and ESPN
Radio, Bristol, Connecticut.
Dr. Michael Drager from the department
hosted numerous guest speakers for
his students over the past year, including
Franklin County Court Judge Carol Van
Horn, Franklin County Commissioner David
Keller, Shippensburg Borough Police Chief
Fred Scott, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper
Karl Schmidhamer, Shippensburg University
alumnus Ryan Marshall; April Trotter, lifestyles/entertainment
editor for the Carlisle
Sentinel, and Larissa Boyer, assistant lifestyles/
entertainment editor for the Carlisle Sentinel.
Having these community leaders in the classroom
has helped to build and strengthen important
bridges between the university and the
region.
Dr. Drager also participated this year in
the Franklin County Friends of Legal Services
Book Sale, for which he assisted in promotion,
collected books for sale and worked as
a volunteer the days of the sale. He also took
part in the Coyle Free Public Library “Raisin’
Dough Charity Bicycle Ride,” assisting with
the creation of the ride and providing support
the day of the charity ride to raise money for
the library.
Professor Margaret Evans brought in
a panel of photojournalists from the area to
speak to her photography classes about ethics
issues, arranging this with her graduate assistant
Marijon Shearer. Invited panelists included
Jason Minick, freelance photojournalist
from Carlisle; Ryan Blackwell, staff photographer,
the Public Opinion; Kevin Gilbert, chief
photography, the Hagerstown Morning Herald;
and Mark Pynes, director of photography, The
Patriot-News. The panelists brought along examples
of their own work that helped to illustrate
the issues about which they were asked
to speak.
Professor Evans has also continued her
work with the SHAPE board (Shippensburg
Arts Programming and Education), a nonprofit
arts organization serving the borough
of Shippensburg and its surrounding area. In
addition to attending monthly meetings and
participating in all SHAPE sponsored events,
She secured grants for approximately $11,000
in funds to support arts-centered events.
In addition to these activities, Professor
Evans works with Cat Rescues, a group of
citizens committed to saving the community’s
outdoor cat population and ArtSHIP, a community
even held during Alumni Days in June.
Also, as a SHAPE board member, she exhibited
her work, along with her husband and
SHAPE member Art Berman in the window
of ABC Lettering, a King Street business.
Professor Kim Garris participated in
the 20th Anniversary celebration program
of Capital Area Head Start program and facilitated
the Survivor Speakers’ Bureau for
the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime
and Delinquency. She was appointed to
the Pennsylvania State University College
of Communications Strategic Planning
Committee and continued to serve on the
Milton Hershey School Career/Technical
Advisory Committee.
Kim Garris, communication/journalism
Economics Department
Drs. David E. Kalist and Daniel
Y. Lee completed a research project entitled,
“Measuring and Analyzing Juvenile
Recidivism in Rural and Urban Pennsylvania.”
The $50,000 grant project was funded by the
Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative
agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
Dr. Brendan Finucane has served for the
past year as Secretary of the board of directors,
Finance Committee Member, Keystone
Health Center (KHC) a Federally Qualified
Health Clinic (Budget of 20M). He also
served as co-chair of the board of directors,
Keystone Physician Services, Inc., Cardiology
Practice, Subsidiary of KHC; and served on
the board of directors, The Shook Home and
the Quarters, a long-term nursing and independent
living facility.
English Department
English Department faculty members
contribute generously to many local community
service endeavors, serving on planning
commissions, library boards, church groups,
parent-teacher organizations, and other voluntary
organizations. Dr. Laurie Cella collaborates
with a number of local non-profit
agencies to create service-learning projects for
her students and the larger community. Dr.
Catherine Dent has served as an editor for
an international service publication. Dr. Shari
Horner continued to volunteer at the Grace B.
Luhrs University Elementary School, where
she has served as a literacy tutor and classroom
volunteer. Often she supervises field trips and
helps at various PTO events. Dr. Kim van
Alkemade serves on the board of the Old
Neighborhoods League, Carlisle, and recently
assisted with a salvage sale at the October
Festival of the Arts in Carlisle. Dr. Mary
Libertin is a member of the North Middleton
Committee Women for the Democratic Party.
Dr. Dawn Vernooy-Epp took part in the annual
Vagina Monologue reading to raise money
to combat violence against women.
Numerous faculty have made presentations
at the Institute for Retired Persons at
Wilson College, the Harrisburg Shakespeare
Festival, and the University Lutheran Church,
the Interfaith Chapel and Spiritual Center.
Members of the department have participated
in Carlisle’s Project Share, and in various
events at local high schools, including
Shippensburg, Chambersburg, Gettysburg,
and SciTech in Harrisburg. Dr. William
Harris, the department chair, met with students
at Shippensburg High School to discuss
dealing with homophobia. Drs. Kim van
Alkemade, Dawn Vernooy-Epp, and Mary
Stewart have gone door-to-door encouraging
voter turnout.
Students are equally as involved as faculty.
Members of Sigma Tau Delta, the English
honor society, sponsor an annual middle school
and high school writing contest that draws
over 100 creative and expository contributions
each spring. In addition, Sigma Tau Delta
members participate in various community
service events each year, including Habitat for
Humanity, and volunteer at local retirement
communities. Several students give countless
hours volunteering for Relay for Life and
Light the Night. By leading book discussions,
giving presentations, and helping to develop
programs for local schools, businesses, professional
groups, councils on women’s issues, and
minority organizations, English Department
faculty and students combine scholarship and
service, using their specialized knowledge to
represent the university to the community.