Community outreach proves beneficial for higher education

AASU reaches out but needs to bring community in

As the AASU student body grows, the university is reaching out to the community in a variety of ways. By getting out into the Savannah area, both AASU and the community reap positive benefits for the future.

Research done by Australian Universities Community Engagement Alliance cites that university’s involvement in the community leads to better relationships with “businesses, industries, professional associations, schools, governments, alumni, indigenous and ethnic communities, as well as groups of local citizens.”

Professor Ian Young, vice-chancellor of Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, discussed the positive effects of community involvement. Young said that community involvement is “an important element in developing a diverse higher education sector.”

By getting out into the community, the university develops a relationship with the citizens of the community that surrounds the university, as well as the citizens that pay state taxes to support that university.

Although AASU deserves kudos for getting involved, there are still improvements to be made in order to make the campus friendlier for visitors to our campus.

AASU’s mission statement says that one of their goals as a university is: “Advancing teaching, scholarship, creative endeavors and service to the community by supporting the collaborative initiatives of students, faculty and staff.” Many of the departments on campus are bringing this vision to life by not only going out into the community to teach and offer programs to enrich the lives of Savannahnians and citizens of the Low Country, but departments are also encouraging the community to come to campus and get involved in the AASU community.

Community education

During the 2008-2009 academic year, AASU partnered with East Broad Elementary School (EBES) in order to accomplish EBES’s goal of reading one million words through the Real Aloud Program. AASU students, faculty and alumni have the opportunity to go into EBES and read to the elementary classes for one hour, once per month. Read Aloud assisted in raising Criterion-Referenced Competency Test scores for the students involved in Read Aloud.

AASU and EBES continued their partnership for the 2009-2010 academic year and has had an overwhelming response by members of the AASU community.

Athletic activities

AASU athletics are gearing up for a strong semester of community involvement, as well as trying to bring the community into AASU. All active and retired military people and their families are invited to attend certain games for free. The Boy Scouts are going to be involved in upcoming basketball games and will also participate in half-time shows and one-on-one time with the teams. In February, the Lady Pirates basketball team will visit local breast cancer treatment centers, where they will spend time talking with patients who are receive chemotherapy treatments. The Lady Pirates are also hosting a basketball clinic on campus for the Girl Scouts.

Literature

The Languages, Literature and Philosophy department hosted events during the nationwide library series that focused on the Federal Writers’ Project, “Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story.” This lecture and film series hosted events throughout Savannah at various venues, including the Armstrong Center. The National Endowment for the Humanities funded this month-long series.

Other notable AASU community outreach activities include university sponsorship of authors for the Savannah Book Festival in February. The festival brings authors and booklovers together to honor writing in an event that is free of charge and open to the community.

However, AASU still has some improvements to make in order to better host community involvement on campus.

Anyone who has tried to navigate AASU’s campus knows how difficult it is to find a building that you have never been to before. The lack of signage on campus makes for a user un-friendly atmosphere that discourages outsiders from visits. If a first-time AASU theatergoer decides to check out the latest theater performance at Jenkins Black Box theater, how many people would actually be able to come onto the campus and find the theater without assistance? Clear signage is missing from our picturesque campus, which causes frustration and confusion and may lead to few return visitors.

The Armstrong Center is another problem area on AASU’s campus. Since the completion of the building renovation in 2006, no new leases for tenants have been renewed. If AASU wanted to bring in people who would typically not have a reason to visit our campus, it would make sense for businesses to stay put in the Armstrong Center—unless the space was needed for AASU classes or office space—and gain exposure to the campus through the business that are paying rent. This seems like a win-win situation for AASU.

It seems AASU has mastered the “going out” part of community outreach, but has not yet perfected the community’s invited participation onto the AASU campus.