Public Service Activities at The Citadel
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The following outreach activities demonstrate not only The Citadel's commitment to community service, but also to the institutional philosophy that service is an important component of learning and of leadership. See A Statement of Philosophy: Student Support Programs, Services, and Activities at The Citadel.
• Greater Issues Speaker Series. A lecture series that brings two to four nationally-recognized leaders to The Citadel each year to speak on vital issues of our time. The primary audience is the Corps of Cadets, but the entire community is invited. Since 2000, the Greater Issues Series has brought the following persons to campus:
• Fine Arts Series. A series of evening programs that bring concerts, drama, and dance to The Citadel and the community several times per year.
Academic Departments (General) • Faculty Service. Almost all faculty in almost every academic department routinely serve the community by acting as judges for events such as science fairs, poetry contests, and group engineering projects; by giving lectures to high school classes and community groups of all sorts; and by involving local teachers in research projects. In the aggregate, these services are substantial indeed, but they are too numerous to be listed individually in this report. Rather, they are included in the annual performance evaluations of faculty members (available in departmental offices). In contrast, the faculty service activities presented on this page are sponsored by departments or schools and are generally more sustained and formal than most individual service activities. • Academic Conferences and Programs. Several departments host significant academic conferences and programs which serve the community by informing and by providing forums for an exchange of ideas. These include the departments of English, Psychology, History, and the Schools of Education and Business Administration. They are listed on a separate page entitled Some Conferences and Programs Sponsored by Academic Departments at The Citadel, 1999-2003.
College of Graduate and Professional Studies • Citadel Senior Scholars. The Citadel Senior Scholars program is sponsored through the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. Intended for senior adults who desire continued intellectual and social stimulation in a learning environment, it provides members the opportunity to share in the resources of The Citadel through various academic, cultural, social, and recreational activities. • Charleston County Library President Series. The Charleston Country Library Presidents Series is sponsored jointly by The Charleston Country Library and the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. It focuses on six United States presidents. The program offers the opportunity to discuss central policy issues that confronted the United States in the 20th century and continue to confront the nation today. Using documentary films and texts, six different scholars will lead the discussions. • Charleston Co. Library "Let's Talk" Program. The Charleston County Library Let's Talk Program is a joint reading and discussion program for adults jointly sponsored by The Citadel and the Charleston County Library. Participants read five books per year, each of which is discussed in a separate session by a humanities scholar. • Education Appreciation Day. Each year The Citadel honors educators from Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester Counties with a party and discounted tickets to a football game. The highlight of the occasion is the presentation of the Outstanding Educator Award. • Teacher Cadet Program. The Teacher Cadet Program, coordinated by the CGPS in cooperation with the S. C. Center for Teacher Recruitment and The Citadel's School of Education, is an introduction to the teaching profession for high school students. Its main purpose is to encourage students who possess a high level of academic achievement and the personality traits found in good teachers to consider teaching as a career. During the course of the program, students are exposed to teaching careers and the education system through a variety of teaching methods.
School of Business Administration • Partnership with Junior Achievement.
Junior Achievement® (JA)
is a world-wide non-profit economic education organization made up of
local chapters of volunteer businesspeople (including the Coastal
South Carolina Chapter of JA) who raise funds to finance JA's educational
programs. JA's mission is to provide educational programs which teach
young people about free enterprise and entrepreneurship, explain some
basic ideas from business and economics, and help students become "workforce
ready." The program uses age-appropriate curricula and hands-on activities
for each grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade developed by
a panel of national experts in education and economics . Volunteers in
local communities go into classrooms and use these materials to serve
as the teachers for the JA curriculum. • VITA Program Participant. The
Citadel's Accounting Program has been involved with the Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) for approximately ten years.
This program, run by the Internal Revenue Service, trains volunteers in
income tax preparation as a community service. Volunteers meet at scheduled
times and specific locations during February through April 15th and prepare
returns for individuals requesting assistance. Volunteers, who must pass
an authorized exam in order to assist, have no legal liability and are
supervised by IRS employees. • Citadel Business Network. An informal network that reaches out to all interested Citadel alumni and others. The Network currently publishes a quarterly distributed email that covers developments at the Citadel and in the Business School, Citadel alumni involved in business and other sectors, and events in Charleston. This email is distributed by a private firm using a list provided by the alumni office. • Business Forum. A collaborative effort between MUSC, Trident Technical College, and Charleston Southern University to provide small, minority-owned and family businesses with expertise to develop their organizations at a one-day symposium. In November, 2003, the keynote speaker will be Dr. Mike Mescon of The Citadel School of Business Administration Advisory Board and Dean Emeritus of Georgia State University's College of Business Administration.
• Gear Up. Gear Up is a joint effort of The Citadel and the Commission on Higher Education. Its purpose is to prepare first generation students who want to attend college. The program at The Citadel targets 7th grade students and has recently expanded its program to students in grades 8-10. The program includes a Homework Club in two middle schools in which undergraduates serve as mentors for students who need assistance. • Summer Reading Program for Disabled Readers. This program has operated since 1978 and targets children in the tri-county area who are reading two or more years below grade level. The program provides diagnostic and remedial assistance to the community during the summer for three weeks. This service function has received national and state recognition for its literacy efforts, including the state literacy award. • Teacher Cadet Program. Faculty members in The School of Education provide instruction for a total of about sixty seniors in three local high schools (Wando, West Ashley, and James Island) who are considering a career in teaching. Students who complete the program receive credit for Education 101. • Partnership School Program. The School of Education and Alice Birney Middle School in Charleston County School District participate as partners in which the Gear Up Program provides academic support for students in various content areas. Students at this middle school attend sessions on the campus for twenty Saturday Academies as well as a Summer Institute. The Gear Up Program provides a homework club at the school for those students who are participants in the Gear Up Program. • Reading Recovery Event. The School of Education co-sponsors an annual Reading Recovery event in conjunction with Charleston County School District. Additionally, the School of Education has been involved in Charleston County's A Community of Readers which is a local initiative to recognize schools, principals, families, and students.
Community Service. In AY 2001-2002, members of The Citadel's Corps of Cadets logged 42,873 hours of community service! This included such activities as
Department
of Cadet Activities • Bulldog-Bullpup Program. A mentoring program designed to provide positive role models for students in grades 1 through 5 who come from single-parent homes in Charleston County and have no day-to-day positive influence from either parent. • Blood Drives. In association with the Carolina Lowcountry Chapter of the American Red Cross, The Citadel sponsors several on-campus blood drives each year. The Citadel regularly donates significantly more blood than any other organization in Charleston, Dorchester, or Berkeley Counties.
• Friends of Daniel Library. An organization of patrons of Daniel Library. One of its purposes is to present informative programs to the community at large. Its yearly program series (about ten programs per year) focuses upon local scholars and authorities presenting topics of local interest.
• Varsity Team Service Projects. Each intercollegiate athletics team is associated with an off-campus service organization and works with it throughout the year:
• Take a Kid to the Game. The Citadel has participated with the NCAA for four or five years in this national community service program. Through orphanages, recreational centers, schools, and other community organizations, The Citadel provides free tickets to youngsters to attend football, basketball, and baseball games.
• "Wild About Nature." Coordinated visit of Charleston County Schools Program: Education extension of Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. 750 children came during Spring Break week March 2003. • Rocket Event and Program on Space and Rocketry. Annual event at Sullivan's Island Elementary School. 30 fifth graders. Participation by faculty and cadets. March 2002.
• Expert Commentators. Each year The Citadel's Public Affairs Office updates an impressive List of Experts within the ranks of faculty and staff. These persons are willing to serve community groups and radio and television shows as expert analysts on a large number of topics ranging from world terrorism, to politics, to the works of Shakespeare.
• Joint projects. In 2000-2003, the Department of Chemistry participated in several joint projects that utilize equipment and/or expertise with NOAA and the Charleston Aquarium.
• The Lowcountry Writing Project, an affiliate of the National Writing Project, is supported by The Citadel and directed by Dr. Thomas C. Thompson of the English Department. It regularly sponsors public service activities such as the following:
Department of Modern Languages Sigma Delta Pi (the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society), the Spanish Section of the Department of Modern Languages, and the Hispanic-American Society of Charleston together sponsor an annual poetry contest for high school and college students. This past year 94 students from area high schools submitted their original work to be judged. The awards ceremony and a reception were hosted in The Citadel's Mark Clark Hall. Additionally, the Spanish Section, through Sigma Delta Pi, annually presents Certificates of Merit for commendable performance in the study of Spanish to outstanding high school students in Charleston and Berkeley Counties. In 2002 and 2003, approximately 460 certificates were awarded.
• Service through Internships. Graduate and undergraduate students work as interns with various local agencies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a number of academic courses. The agencies include police forces, mental health inpatient and day treatment settings, schools, and recreational programs for children with disabilities. • Learning through Service Activities. Undergraduates in the Psychology Club and other undergraduate students in introductory psychology courses participate in "application activities" to "learn by service." Over 100 students per year volunteer in such activities as special olympics, unified sports, family support events (all mostly with children with disabilities and their families), and other community events for persons with special needs. A favorite is the bi-annual "Buddy Dance" which the Psychology Club cosponsors with the Advocacy Coalition for Persons with disabilities, bringing hundreds of group home residents and others in the community with disabilities for a grand, large dance event on campus. At least a third of the students who participate in these activities for course credit return as volunteers for the sake of outreach and service. • Buddy Program. The Psychology Department routinely offers an Internship in Disabilities, informally called the "Buddy Program." The purpose of this internship is to provide students with opportunities to interact with members of the community who have special needs. By developing a time-limited relationship with such a person, the student learns about individual differences as well as the common threads that tie all of us to one another. Regularly scheduled group supervision, ad hoc individual supervision, and participation in community events for persons with special needs help students to develop communication and problem-solving skills and to become more aware of the interventions that are appropriate for these individuals. • Club Activities. Students and faculty in the Psi Chi Honor Society prepare and serve lunch to over 200 homeless persons every fifth Tuesday at the Crisis Ministries Homeless Shelter. Additionally, Psi Chi collects food and toiletries at least once and often several times per year. After September 11, 2001, it collected and donated money to Crisis Ministries and to other assistance funds. • Psychology Department Graduate Students' Service Activities. Under the auspices of the Peer EXPRESS grant, graduate students volunteer at ECCO, Crisis Ministries, Special Olympics, and Advocacy Coalition events.
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