The center has recently awarded eight professors with a $1,000 stipend each to develop and teach nine new service-learning classes during the 2003-2004 academic year. Additional professors are also gearing their courses toward service-learning and will soon be eligible for the stipend.

Winners of the stipend and the courses they teach are:

• Benita Chaum, Education - "Psychological Foundations."
• Lynn Gordon, Elementary Education - "Teaching Reading in Elementary School."
• Matt Harris, Music - "Jazz Combo."
• Virginia Kennedy, Special Education - "Service-Learning Pedagogy and Practice for Special Education Teachers."
• Debra Patterson, Kinesiology - "Empowering Girls through Physical Activity-Academic Internship."
• Debra Sheets, Health Science - "Dementia Care" and "Intro to Gerontology."
• Ronald Sorenson, Health Science - "Health Planning and Marketing."
• Frank Vigneron, Marketing - "Consumer Behavior."

"Service-learning maintains its popularity on campus because it is a proven pedagogy and students realize its value to their education," said center director Maureen Rubin.

Service-learning classes link meaningful community service to explicit academic objectives, preparation and analysis. Funding to support development of these courses came from the governor's office.

More information on these and other service-learning classes can be found on the center's web site at www.csun.edu/~ocls99.

Launched in 1998, the Center for Community Service-Learning aims to inspire, encourage and support students and faculty in their pursuit of academic excellence through involvement in meaningful community service.