Want to get involved with the Office of Service-Learning?
Consider joining the Service-Learning Scholars Roundtable (SLSR). The SLSR is a listserv maintained by the Office of Service-Learning, and is the best way to get the latest news on what service-learning is up to at Ohio State. With a current membership roster of over 200 members from a variety of disciplines, the SLSR has the opportunity to advise Office of Service-Learning staff on vision and direction for service-learning and assist with planning and implementation of faculty development workshops.
Use this website to sign up for the roundtable.
A little bit of history
Historically speaking, the Service-Learning Scholars Roundtable was instrumental in developing service-learning at The Ohio State University and establishing the Office of Service-Learning. In 1998, Dr. Martha Garland, Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Studies, convened a group of eight faculty to begin discussions about service-learning at Ohio State University and to identify ways to promote it. This group, the Service-Learning Scholars Roundtable (SLSR), was structured as a forum and advisory group for discussion of approaches, challenges, and outcomes associated with community-based scholarship.
Coordinated by faculty members Golden Jackson, College of Human Ecology, and Dr. Susan R. Jones, College of Education, the SLSR was initially charged with considering ways of improving the quality of the undergraduate experience through engaging students in teaching, research, and/or service activities, with particular attention to the role of service-learning as an effective strategy for engaging faculty, students, and community members in community-based teaching/learning/inquiry. The SLSR met monthly during the 1998-1999 academic year, beginning in November 1998. The group made recommendations focused on faculty development, a common definition and visibility, and development of infrastructure. As its membership grew, the Roundtable played an active role in development of a successful proposal for funding from the Corporation for National Service that led to the establishment of the Service-Learning Initiative in 2000-2001, which has since evolved to the Office of Service-Learning.