TSU Service Learning

Service Learning and Civic Engagement

at Tennessee State University

Where scholarly service is the bridge uniting learning with civic responsibility.

Our Mission:  The Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement exists to facilitate quality educational experiences through community-based service-learning. The Center connects campus and community resources to create diverse learning experiences for students, and to serve community needs. Its programs integrate the academic, service, and reflection components of service-learning by providing resources -including training and technical assistance- to students, faculty and community. In doing this, the Center advances TSU’s goals of quality teaching, research, and service.

 Our Vision: Knowledge, Engagement, Reflection, Transformation. As a land grant university and an HBCU, Tennessee State University has a rich tradition of service and an opportunity to instill in our students an ethic of caring and a sense of responsibility for making our world better. We envision moving beyond service- we want to transform our university and our communities through sustainable partnerships with the community.  We have adopted the following core values to guide our work:

• Building authentic partnerships that demonstrate shared leadership, collaboration and reciprocity
• Acting with compassion, demonstrating honesty and authenticity
• Working towards social justice:  continual movement toward an equitable society
• Developing multicultural understanding and respect for differences
• Cultivating awareness of self in relation to social inequities through reflection and active service with the community

 Our Goals:

• To provide students with the opportunity to realize academic learning objectives through participation in community service
• To enhance student learning by connecting theory with experience and thought with action
• To fill unmet needs in the community and on campus through direct and meaningful service
• To engage students, faculty, and staff together with community members in ways that strengthen communities
• To educate students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to create a more just and humane world
• To increase the civic and citizenship skills of students
• To empower students to address issues of social inequality and injustice
• To better prepare students for their careers and continuing education
• To build capacity in the communities through reciprocal partnerships
• To examine issues of justice, diversity, and social responsibility through service learning

Service-Learning Courses:  To be well-prepared for our increasingly multicultural and global society, TSU students must develop the skills to work collaboratively and compassionately to create more just and equitable workplaces, communities, and social institutions.  TSU’s service-learning courses, therefore, include learning objectives that help students clarify their own conception of service as they participate in the community. Service learning enables moral and civic learning to become a component of the curriculum. Learning becomes a tool for both individual and social betterment.  Through service learning, TSU students acquire the knowledge, skills and awareness to become more culturally aware, self-reflective and responsive community participants.

Philosophy Statement
Social justice is the guiding principle for our practice in service learning.  We believe that:

• TSU students, as future leaders of our community, deserve a real world education that inspires social responsibility, cultivates respect for diversity, and encourages compassion for all
• TSU should be a responsible, engaged member of the local community
• Academic learning is strengthened by engaging in meaningful service and reflection
• Education at TSU should be transformative; creating ethical and responsible community participants; and that
• All partners in the service learning process should be engaged in teaching and learning, serving and being served