Alabama Poverty Project 2009 Higher Ed Annual Report

8/4/2019 Alabama Poverty Project 2009 Higher Ed Annual Report

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Lietime oLearningAlabama Poverty Projects

Higher Education Partnership200809 Annual Report


2/12

Alabama Poverty Project Board of Directors

David Potts, PhD, ChairPresident, Judson College

Mark BerteGrassroots Education Director,Alabama Citizens or Constitutional Reorm Foundation

Stephen F. BlackDirector, Center or Ethics and Social Responsibility,Te University o Alabama

Robert Corley, PhDDirector, Global and Community Leadership Honors Program,University o Alabama at Birmingham

Elizabeth DottsAssociate, Public FA, Inc.

Scott DouglasExecutive Director, Greater Birmingham Ministries

James Evans, DMinPastor, First Baptist Church Auburn

Sean FlyntElectronic News Editor, Samord University

Wayne Flynt, PhDProessor Emeritus o History, Auburn University

Kimble ForristerState Coordinator, Alabama Arise

Leon Frazier, EdDProprietor, Proessional Support Systems

Johnny Green, PhDDean o Students, Auburn University

Susan Pace HamillProessor o Law, Te University o Alabama School o Law

Debra Thomas JonesClient Counselor, Te Lovelady Center

Humphrey Lee, EdDPresident, Northwest Shoals Community College

Sue McInnishExecutive Director, Alabama Civil Justice Foundation

Carolyn McKinstryPresident, Sixteenth Street Foundation, Inc.

Susan Yvette PriceVice Chancellor o Instructional & Student Aairs,Alabama Department o Post-Secondary Education

Isabel RubioExecutive Director, Hispanic Interest Coalition o Alabama

Nancy Francisco Stewart, PhD

Assistant Proessor o Social Work, Jacksonville State University

Carlissa StrongSenior Financial Sales Consultant, BBVA Compass

Linda TillyExecutive Director, VOICES or Alabamas Children

Carol Ann Vaughn, PhDAssistant Proessor o Core Curriculum, Samord University

Carol Prejean Zippert, PhDCopublisher, Greene County Democrat

Carole Zugazaga, PhDAssistant Proessor o Social Work, Auburn University

Dear Friends:

Tis has been an exciting yearat the Alabama Poverty Project.

I joined APP as its Executive Director last August, and one othe rst things I set out to do was talk with our board memberstakeholders and supporters about their vision or the AlabamPoverty Project and our Higher Education Partnership.

Tose conversations had a common rerain : you are deepcommitted to eradicating poverty in Alabama, and you see serviclearning and outreach as important tools to achieve that goal.

Service-learning gives students an opportunity to examine hopublic policies and their own preconceptions impact tho

whose quality o lie is diminished by poverty.

You also made clear that students service-learning experiencshould be the beginning, not the end, o their personal anintellectual development and engagement. Tats why our HighEducation Partnership is called A Lietime o Learning.

Our talks also inspired this rst-ever Higher Education PartnershAnnual Report, which highlights APPs milestones and showcaseour partners accomplishments in service-learning during th2008-09 academic year.

Tere is a great deal o success to report, partially because APPHigher Education Partnership has grown to 22 members, includineight members o the two-year college system. Your nancisupport has given APP a diverse, sustainable unding base upo

which to build. Tank you.

I also want to invite you to the Lietime o Learning Conerencon Friday, September 25, at Birmingham-Southern College. Somo the top innovators in the state will present their service-learninwork, and we are bringing in three acclaimed national speakerDr. Peter Levine rom the Center or Inormation and Researcon Civic Learning and Engagement at uts University, Dr. PatClayton rom the Center or Service and Learning at IndianUniversity-Purdue University Indianapolis, and Vincent Ilustrrom the Center or Public Service at ulane University. Man

thanks to Birmingham-Southern College and Auburn Universior sponsoring this event, and I hope we will see you there.

Again, thank you or making this such a spectacular year at thAlabama Poverty Project. Your continued participation is criticto our success.

Warm regards,

Kristina ScottExecutive Director, Alabama Poverty Project


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HIGHER EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP ANNUAL MEETINGSTRESSES THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Nearly 80 aculty, sta, students and community partners attended Service-Learningnd the Role o Community Partners as Co-Educators, the Alabama Poverty Projects

Higher Education Partnership annual meeting, which was held at the APP oce on June0, 2009.

APP Board Member Stephen Black, president o Impact Alabama and director o the

Center or Ethics and Social Responsibility at Te University o Alabama, led a paneliscussion with Lisa George rom the Birmingham Botanical Garden Horticultural

Terapy Program; Shannon Horsley, volunteer manager at First Light Center orHomeless Women & Children; and Rev. Becky Wadley, children and youth program

irector at Urban Ministry.

Ater the panel discussion, the participants had small group discussions to reect on thehallenges they encounter in their own service-learning experiences.

articipants identied communication between higher education partners andommunity partners as one o the most important elements o a successul service-earning relationship. Tey also emphasized the importance o establishing trust with

ommunity partners and showing respect or the community partners work.

TIME, TACT, TALENT & TRUST KEYS TOCOMMUNITY-UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP SUCCESS

Research reveals that successul community-university partnerships are based on:

TimeCommit to spending time on the service-learning project.Ensure that partnership meetings are ecient and productive by encouragingindividuals to be prepared.

Tactful CommunicationShow respect or the community partners work through communication.Recognize that each partner will have dierent strengths and needs, and work towardachieving a common vision.Consult a community advisory group to help provide a third-party perspective.Develop methods o obtaining eedback rom the community about their satisaction

with the service-learning project.

TalentGive each individual's skills proper recognition and utilize them in a way that maximizesthe benet to the partnership.

Arm and praise the accomplishments and successes o the community partners bothpublicly and privately.

TrustDevelop a shared vision and mutual priorities to establish trust.Keep communication lines open.Share the leadership and decision-making power to ensure a collaborative eort.

Adapted rom ime, act, alent, and rust: Essential Ingredients o Eective Academic-Community Partnerships, Lisa Ann Plowfeld, Erlinda C. Wheeler, and Jean E. Raymond.Nursing Education Perspectives, Vol. 6 No. , 5; and Campus-Community Partnerships:Te erms o Engagement, Robert G. Bringle and Julie A. Hatcher. Journal o Social Issues,Vol. 58 No. 3, .

images (rom top): photos by Anne Condit

Community partners like Shanno

Horsley and Becky Wadley are co

educators who acilitate onsite learnin

and refection, resulting in an integrativ

teaching approach that provides

oundation or student learning

alabamapovertyproject

Nearly 80 representatives rom highe

education institutions and communit

organizations identied communicatio

between partners as one o the mo

important elements o a successu

service-learning relationship


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Birmingham-Southern College hosted 25 rising high school seniors or their Student Leaders in Service program rom June 14 to 19Students learned about active citizenship, leadership, and service-learning through classroom activities, simulations, service projects and other a

images (rom top): Lietime o Learning logo by Ford & Karla Wiles; photos courtesy Birmingham-Southern College

A Conerence on Service-Learning, Civic Responsibility & Higher EducationFriday, September 25, 2009Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, AL

Featuring Keynote Addresses by

Patti Clayton, PhDSenior Scholar, Center or Service and LearningIndiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

Vincent IlustreExecutive Director, Center or Public Serviceulane University

Peter Levine, PhD

Director, Center or Inormation and Research on Civic Learning and Engagementuts University

and Breakout Sessions Featuring Innovative Practices at APPs Higher Education Partners

Sponsored by the Alabama Poverty Project, Auburn Universityand Birmingham-Southern College. CEUs available.

Event registration and inormation online at lifetimeoflearning.eventbrite.com


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DRAKE SUMMER STEM PROGRAM PREPARESHIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR COLLEGE

Te Summer Bridge Program at J.F. Drake State echnical College, unded by agrant rom the National Science Foundation (NSF), gives rising high school juniorsand seniors an opportunity or enrichment in Science, echnology, Engineering andMathematics as they prepare or college.

Students participating in the our-week program were on campus or our hours a

day. Tey took two classes per day rom experienced high school and college-levelinstructors.

Te program had a record number o applicants this year, with over 300 studentsapplying or approximately 80 spots.

Te increase in interest rom students indicates the program is successul. oo manytimes, students just do not realize the importance that science and math play in sucha variety o elds o study or in career choices, said John Reutter, principal or theNSF grant at Drake State. We are excited that students are making this recognitionearlier in their high school studies versus getting to college and nding out they arenot properly prepared.

Participating students thought that the program provided them with a solidoundation or continuing their studies.

Te program created a good transition to college; it was a great program, saidChase Kerr, who would like to study mechanical engineering.

UA FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN AUTISMAFTER-SCHOOL AND SUMMER CAMP PROGRAMS

In the all o 2008, six students rom Te University o Alabama reshman learningcommunity seminar class volunteered with Arts n Autism, a uscaloosa ater-school and

summer camp program that provides services to children ages three to 19 with autism.

By working with Arts n Autism, the students integrated their classroom studies inHuman Development and Psychology courses with hands-on, real-world experiences.Students participating in the program described an immediate connection that wasmade with the kids and expressed a desire to continue their volunteer service.

FAULKNER UNIVERSITY QUALITY ENHANCEMENT PLANPUTS UNPRECEDENTED FOCUS ON SERVICE

As a Christian university, Faulkner Universitys vision is the pursuit o academicexcellence with a sense o responsibility to use ones gits or the service o others andthe benet o society. Tis holistic vision o spiritual and intellectual growth was

rearmed by Faulkners adoption o their Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP).

Te QEP outlines the goals o Faulkners new Institutional Conceptual Framework(ICF) under the program name I Can Soar. Te ICF outlines three broad learningoutcomes: Intellect, Character, and Service.

An unprecedented emphasis is placed on service, which symbolizes the actions ocontemporary Christians owing rom Intellect and Character.

Faulkner students are currently involved in several ministries including AdullamHouse, Montgomery Inner-City Ministries, Agape, Family Promise, 100X Missions,Save-a-Lie, and Woman-to-Woman.

J.F. Drake State echnical College

Summer Bridge Program saw

record number o applicants this yea

with over 300 students applying o

approximately 80 spot

images (rom top): photos courtesy J.F. Drake State echnical College and he University o Alabama

By working with Arts n Autism

students at Te University o Alabam

had the opportunity to integrat

their classroom studies in Huma

Development and Psychology wit

hands-on, real-world experience

spotlight onour partners


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JSU, CANCER SOCIETY PARTNERSHIP ADDRESSES CANCPATIENTS NEEDS WITH COMMUNITY RESOURCES

For most American amilies, services such as laundry, childcare, and the availabiltransportation are a given. But or the 66 Alabamians diagnosed with cancer eachthese necessities can become inaccessibleeven as the need or them grows.

At Jacksonville State University, Dr. Nancy Francisco Stewarts Human BehavioSocial Environment II students developed community resources to address these need

collected materials to ease cancer patients burdens. Te class is part o JSUs BaccalauSocial Work program, which emphasizes student work with local agencies.

Te American Cancer Society sent their research and development agent to ask help developing community resources, said Stewart. Tey came to us and said, T

what we need.

Te students started by asking cancer patients a simple question: What wouldhelped you? Te patients answers varied widely, and oten surprised the students patients needed everything rom translation or non-English speakers to pet sitting

What is needed most, however, are sustainable community resources that continphysically and emotionally provide or patients ater the class ends, said Stewart. W

a student can identiy both a community need and the means to meet it continuousustainable resource is developed.

Te classes service-learning work was presented at the College o Liberal Studies ResSymposium, the AL/MS Social Work Education Conerence, and the Association o

Work Baccalaureate Program Directors' Annual Meeting in Phoenix. Te AmCancer Society also recognized their work with a Best Practices Award or develmore new resources or cancer patients than any ACS Division in six states.

CARNEGIE FOUNDATION RECOGNIZES APP PARTNERWITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CLASSIFICATION

wo o the Alabama Poverty Projects Higher Education Partners, Judson College anUniversity o Alabama, received the 2008 Community Engagement Classication

the Carnegie Foundation or the Advancement o eaching.

"Service-learning helps bring Judson students and the people o Perry County togesaid Judson senior Kari Reeves. "It allowed me to have ace-to-ace contact with maMarion's amilies which would not have happened otherwise."

Tese institutions were among the 119 higher education institutions to receive the elclassication based on their participation and partnerships with their local, regional,national and global communities.

UA STUDENTS IN FREE ENTERPRISE EMPHASIZEOUTREACH, SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

Te University o Alabama Students in Free Enterprise (UA-SIFE) chapter conducmany outreach activities during the 2008-09 academic year, including organizing and clothing drives, teaching a Boy Scout Entrepreneurship Merit Badge class anddoing nancial literacy presentations.

UA-SIFE was also named the 2009 Regional Champion at the SIFE USA RegionaCompetition in Atlanta. SIFE is a worldwide organization o college students engain creating a more sustainable world by promoting the power o business.

images (rom top): photo by Anne Condit; photo courtesy Jacksonville State Unive

hese JSU students were among

those who unlocked the strengths o

their communities and developed

new local resources or area residents

in partnership with the American

Cancer Society.


(Sustainable resources), like getting

Chick-l-A to provide meals or a

cancer support group meeting,

means that the group gets the

input it needs to keep going.

Dr. Nancy Francisco Stewart, Jacksonville State University


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UA UNIVERSITY FELLOWS CREATE SUSTAINABLECHANGE WITH BLACK BELT EXPERIENCE

n 2008, Te University o Alabama launched the Black Belt Experience, a service-learninglass which engages students in the Honors College's University Fellows program bysking them to use their strengths to create projects impacting Black Belt communities.

Over the course o the 2008-09 academic year, 24 students designed group projects withhe input and assistance o community leaders, and then spent three intensive weeks in

Marion implementing their projects and working alongside local residents.

Te student-produced projects included a Fly-In and Family Festival that broughtpproximately 50 pilots to Marions Vaiden Field and showcased improvements tohe airport. Another project ocused on increasing area tourism by developing short

multimedia clips o ghost stories in historic Black Belt homes.

n addition, students led several workshops or the community, including a danceworkshop, a nancial literacy workshop and a wellness workshop. Students also helpedepair and reurbish homes in collaboration with Sowing Seeds o Hope.

or Wellon Bridgers, University Fellows coordinator and Honor College teacher, Marionwas an area that just made sense or the service-learning projects.

Tere is something incredibly rich, moving and invaluable about rural Alabama, saidBridgers.

he believes that students are best used and the community is best served when studentsre working with their own gits and talents. Service-learning helps bridge the gapetween students education and their proessional development, while at the same timereating a sustainable change with the ultimate goal o eradicating systemic poverty inhe Souths poorest communities.

JUDSON POVERTY AND INEQUALITY CLASSPARTICIPATES IN LOCAL AND GLOBAL PROJECTS

udson Colleges Oce o Faith-Based Service and Learning provides students withpportunities to become engaged with Perry County community-based organizationshrough service-learning projects and academic curriculum.

Director o Faith-Based Service and Learning Susan Jones teaches a Poverty and Inequality

lass, which explores the causes and interactions between poverty and inequality while

valuating the acts and social policies surrounding these issues. For the service portion the class, students participated in both local and global projects. Locally, they worked

with Mountain Brook Baptist Church members or the churchs annual Family Fun

Day at the Perry County Court House Square. Globally, they assembled birthing kitshat contained supplies or 100 deliveries and sent them to a midwives cooperative in

ural Haiti.tudents said that participating in Judsons Faith-Based Service and Learning programsave them new insight.

Service-learning projects have helped me realize how important it is to be involved inhe community that surrounds me, said Christina Lee, a second-year student. Ive hadn opportunity to learn how to eectively help other people.

I have enjoyed the way service-learning brings dierent groups o people together, saidCat Popp, a second-year student. I have come to learn that while there is so much

iversity, we all have basic human needs that need to be ullled.

images (rom top): photos courtesy he University o Alabama and Judson College

Service-learning brings dieren

groups o people together. I have com

to learn that while there is so muc

diversity, we all have basic huma

needs that need to be ullled

Cat Popp, Judson Coll

Tere is something incrediblyrich,

moving and invaluable about rural

Alabama. Its an area o such need,

and such richness, right in our own

backyard.

Wellon Bridgers, Te University o Alabam



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SAVEFIRST STUDENTS ADVOCATE FOR LEGISLATION

Many low-income amilies in Alabama rely on commercial tax preparation serwhich charge approximately $250 or a simple return. Tese commercial tax preroutinely convince amilies to take out Reund Anticipation Loans, which have ainterest rates o up to 800 percent.

In addition, many low-income taxpayers are not amiliar with their eligibility oederal Earned Income ax Credit (EIC). Te EIC is a reundable tax credit

to $4,824 or low- to moderate-income individuals and amilies. According to IAlabama President Stephen Black, the EIC can lit amilies above the poverty licovering expenses and encouraging them to continue working.

SaveFirst, a program o the student-service initiative Impact Alabama, trains cograduate, and law students in tax preparation. Students then provide ree tax preparand nancial literacy coaching to low-income amilies in an eort to prevent predtax preparation and lending practices.

Impact Alabama student volunteers documented predatory tax preparation practicconducting a statewide undercover operation. Volunteers ound that 11 o 13 reprepared were raudulent, with the preparers incorrectly showing sel-employmeninterest income. All o the returns contained errors. Tey also ound that the comm

tax preparers did not inorm the taxpayers about ree electronic ling, which resultsIRS reund in about a week.

As a result o the investigation, SaveFirst volunteers wrote the Alabama aProtection & Assistance Act to protect low-income amilies rom predatory praand loans by requiring all commercial tax preparers in Alabama to pass a miniprociency exam, obtain a license and ulll continuing education requirements.

Kendra Key, Alex Flachsbart, and David Lindsay were among Te University o Alastudents who advocated or the passage o the bill in the Alabama legislature. Flachand Lindsay researched similar bills in three other states or guidance, and Key eduother students about the legislation.

Te students talked to editorial boards o newspapers and media outlets across theto inorm them about the bill and ask or their support. With the help o lobbyist JoCraword, the students also spoke directly to state legislators.

Te three students traveled to Montgomery to hear the bill debated on the SenatHouse oors. While there, they encountered opposition rom hired lobbyists represesmall tax preparers across the state. Te Alabama axpayer Protection & Assistancpassed the Senate 25-0, but nevertheless died in the House.

In spite o the opposition and challenges to the bill, Flachsbart said that instebeing pessimistic about the problems they encountered, he is more optimistic aboulegislative process because he has seen what can be accomplished.

Flachsbart said, the experience shows how ar willpower and persuasive power can gAll three students stressed the importance o becoming democratically engaged ciin order to create change.

Citizens need to look at the government and hold it accountable. Democratic engagehelps citizens to be more critical o their government, said Lindsay.

Key added that the UA students she talked to were excited about the legislation bunot know what to do. Ater this experience, she is better equipped to help other stuaect systemic change.

SaveFirst plans to re-introduce the bill in 2010.

images: photos courtesy he University o Alabama and Impact Alaba

Citizens need to be able to look at the

government and hold it accountable.

Democratic engagement helps citizens

to be more critical o their government.

David Lindsay, SaveFirst

In 2009, SaveFirst volunteers served

2,600 amilies and helped them

claim $4.7 million in reunds and

save $670,000 in ees.



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AUBURN EMPHASIZES STUDENT ENGAGEMENT,SERVICE-LEARNING IN NEW STRATEGIC PLAN

During the 2008-09 academic year, Auburn University made signicant commitments

to student engagement with the inclusion oservice-learning as a key objective in thenstitutions new strategic plan, which will institutionalize service-learning and student

engagement across campus.

Te University Outreach oce launched a new website, www.auburnserves.com, during

the spring semester. Te site provides aculty, students and community partners withnetworking resources. Auburn recruited approximately 40 community partners in EastAlabama. In addition, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System will begin oeringstudent service projects through its county oces. Te community partners and AlabamaCooperative Extension System will oer students a comprehensive network o more than100 service outlets across the state.

Nearly 100 service-oriented courses and internships are currently available through theundergraduate program. In the all semester, a series o aculty and course developmentprograms will be launched to encourage expansion o service-learning throughout thecurriculum.

Additional academic eorts on campus support the advancement o student engagement.Te universitys Learning Communities initiative incorporates service components in itsactivities, and the College o Liberal Arts Summer Civic Engagement Academy assistsparticipating aculty in integrating service-learning into their curriculum.

Auburn also joined Campus Compact and was appointed to the executive board o theGul South Summit on Service-Learning.

NW SHOALS PHI THETA KAPPA CHAPTER DEVELOPSPARADOX OF AFFLUENCE HONORS SYMPOSIUM

Members o the Alpha Zeta Iota chapter o Phi Teta Kappa International Honors Society,

the ocial honor society o Northwest Shoals Community College at Phil Campbell, spentthe 2008-09 academic year studying Te Paradox o Afuence: Choices, Challenges andConsequences as their honors study topic. As a result o what they learned, studentsdeveloped a project to share their knowledge and inspire others to take action.

Phi Teta Kappa members developed the Honors in Action Leadership Symposiumater many discussions about economic justice and the paradox o afuence that exists inAlabama. Tey sought to overcome these barriers by showing leadership through civicengagement. Over 300 high school and college students attended the symposium, whichtook place on the Phil Campbell campus in early September.

Alabama Poverty Project Executive Director Kristina Scott spoke to the students aboutthe systemic causes o poverty and how they are rooted in Alabama history. She also

emphasized the relationship between educational attainment and income, and shediscussed how pollution and its environmental impacts disproportionately aect poorneighborhoods.

wo NWSCC aculty members also spoke. An economics proessor explained hownatural disasters aect those who live in underserved communities and how those eventsrelate to climate change. Finally, a chemistry proessor talked about alternative uels andshowed o his car, which runs on recycled vegetable oil.

As a result o the conerence, the attendees indicated an understanding o the issuessurrounding poverty and a willingness to take action. Phi Teta Kappa members areplanning additional service projects to address poverty in the Shoals region.

images (rom top): photos courtesy Auburn University and Northwest Shoals Community College

Phi Teta Kappa members

Northwest Shoals Communit

College participated in a variet

o service activities, includin

helping clean up Highway 43

Service-learning is a key objectiv

in Auburns new strategic plan

which will institutionaliz

service-learning and studen

engagement across campu



10/12images(clockwisefromleft):AlabamaPovertyMapdatafromtheUSCensusBureau;photocourtesyHectorL

andaeta,stockxchng.com.

Nearly one in ve Alabamians - and one in our o our children - live below the ederal poverty line, which is$21,203 in household earnings or a amily o our.US Census Bureau; VOICES or Alabama's Children

Poverty disproportionately impacts Arican Americans. However, the number o whites and Arican Americanliving below the poverty line in Alabama is nearly equal.US Census Bureau

Te gap between Alabamas richest and poorest amilies is the second largest in the nation. Our richest amiliesincome increased 43.7 percent rom the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s, while middle-class amilies income onlywent up 25.3 percent, and the poorest amilies did not see a signicant increase at all.Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Alabama is the third most obese state in the country and has the ourth highest rate o diabetes among adultBoth conditions are closely associated with poverty. Centers or Disease Control and Prevention; Kaiser Family Foundation

Alabama ranks 42nd in the nation in per capita income. Nearly 60 percent o the states income gap with thenation can be attributed to our high school drop out rate, which was 41.4 percent in 2007.Southern Education Foundation

Te net college cost tuition, room and board, minus nancial aid or the 40 percent o Alabama amilies with

the lowest incomes is about 36 percent o annual income or a community college and 39 percent or a publiour-year college or university.National Center or Public Policy and Higher Education

Te average monthly ood stamp allotment is $96 per person - or just $3.20 a day. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Hal o all bankruptcy lings are caused in part by health care costs. Health Aairs Journal

a few facts about poverty in alabama


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alabama poverty projectvision

Inorm and inspire the civic and moral responsibilityo Alabamians to create a state in which no individuals

quality o lie is diminished by poverty.

missiono provide leadership in poverty educationthat results in the elimination o poverty.

higher education partnershipcornerstone members

Alabama State University Auburn UniversityAuburnUniversityatMontgomeryBirmingham-SouthernCollege

CalhounStateCommunityCollegeNorthwestShoalsCommunityCollegeSamord University Te University o Alabama

University o Montevallo University o West Alabama

membersAlabama State Department o Post-Secondary Education

Athens State University Faulkner UniversityGadsdenStateCommunityCollegeHuntingdonCollege

JacksonvilleStateUniversityJ.F.DrakeStateTechnicalCollege

JudsonCollegeNortheastAlabamaCommunityCollegeSnead State Community College Spring Hill College

Wallace State Community College-Hanceville

Te Alabama Poverty Project works with higher education institutions and thecommunity o aith to educate Alabamians about the nature o poverty and the systemicchanges needed to eliminate it.

Our Higher Education Partnership brings together administrators, aculty and studentsrom 22 colleges and universities around the state. Our members are committed toeducating college students to become active citizens through classroom teaching,ervice-learning and civic engagement. ogether, we leverage the collective assets o our

higher education institutions in partnerships with our communities to develop creative

olutions to eradicate poverty.

Members o our Higher Education Partnership have the opportunity to present at APPconerences. Our other services include proessional development opportunities, on-sitepresentations and inormation services in response to requests rom member campusesand their community partners.

Many thanks to Jake Appelbaum, Stephen Black, Nicole Bohannon, Wellon Bridgers,Anne Condit, Sara Doughton, Marty Dubey, Alex Flachsbart, Jilleyn Foley, David M. Ford,Ralph Foster, Lauren Goodson, Lenora Hansen, Kristin Harper, Susan Jones, Kendra Key,Nora Lee, David Lindsay, Vicki Peeples, David Potts, Alicia Scott, Sarah Louise Smith,Nesha Spencer, Nancy Francisco Stewart, ommie Syx, Rachel rapp, Ford Wiles, KarlaWiles and Jason Yarbroughfor their contributions and support.

Te Alabama Poverty Project and Alabama

higher education community lost a dear rien

this year when Samord University PresidenEmeritus Tomas E. Corts passed away.

Corts was a aithul and dedicated APP boar

member or many years. He gave APP a hom

on the Samord campus, helped hire its r

executive director and helped create its High

Education Partnership, which today is th

major source o APPs unding.

Corts personally went on many o the ear

site visits to college presidents ofces, an

the respect that his peers had or him wa

instrumental in building support or APP.

His contributions to the organization didn

stop there, though. As a dedicated evangelic

Christian who cared deeply about issues

social justice, Corts gave a ace to our oth

dimension o support, the state's churches an

aith communities.

Corts served as Samord's president rom 198

to 2006, and presided over one o the brighte

periods in the schools history. Ater retiring

2006, he served briefy as interim chancellor

Alabamas two-year college system.

Corts had recently returned to Birmingharom Washington, DC, ater completing

term o service at the U.S. State Departmen

Born in erre Haute, Ind., Corts grew u

in Ashtabula, Ohio. He graduated ro

Georgetown (Ky.) College and held master

and doctoral degrees rom Indiana Universit

Corts was named president o Wingate Colle

in North Carolina in 1974, serving until h

election as Samord president nine years late

Corts is survived by his wi e o 44 years, Marl

three children and six grandchildren.

in memoriam

Thomas E. Corts19412009


12/12

alabama poverty projec

po box 55058, birmingham, al 3525

205.939.1408 www.alabamapoverty.or

Alabama Poverty Project 2009 Higher Ed Annual Report

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Transcript of Alabama Poverty Project 2009 Higher Ed Annual Report