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Travel grants put to good use by faculty

Dr. Rory L. Bedford and Dr. Waneene Dorsey of Grambling State University were recently awarded travel grants for $3840 for the Gulf South Summit on Service-Learning and Civic Engagement through Higher Education at the University of Georgia. The grants were awarded through the University of Louisiana System Serve program and Learn and Serve America Higher Education to further institutionalize service-learning at the university.

The grants were competitive and based on the applicants’ involvement with service-learning at the university.
Dr. Dorsey engaged biology students in a water quality awareness project with the City of Grambling.

The students also participated in the World Water Monitoring Day which allowed students to enter water parameter data online in a global database.

Students learned to use GPS coordinates to identify the Grambling Park Pond location.
Dr. Bedford serves as director of service-learning and currently administers a mentoring program for approximately 40 Arcadia High School students.

The program is sponsored in part by UL Serves and Learn and Serve America, Title III, GSU Office of Student Affairs, and the Student Government Association.

The project allows Grambling students to assist in the academic development of select Arcadia High School students.
Students participate in activities that facilitate social, cultural, and academic development.

The mentoring program enhances basic skills and improves the students’ chances of having successful careers in business, industry and education.

The one-year program is designed specifically to help the mentees discover the full richness of the sciences.
While attending the conference, Dr. Bedford and Dr. Dorsey were engaged in workshops that addressed the importance of using service-learning to achieve accreditation standards.

A number of other topics that will be beneficial to Grambling State University’s Service-Learning program were discussed.
Dr. Bedford and Dr. Dorsey, along with representatives from other University of Louisiana System Schools, will travel to Northwestern State University in Natchitoches to discuss “Best Practices in Service-Learning” at the Regional Professional Development Mini-Conference on Service-Learning sponsored by the University of Louisiana System Council on Service-Learning.