LEWISTON – Betty Robinson, associate professor of leadership and organizational studies at the University of Southern Maine/Lewiston-Auburn, has been awarded the Donald Harward Faculty Award for Service-Learning Excellence.

The award is presented through the Maine Campus Compact to faculty members who have demonstrated a significant commitment to practicing and promoting service-learning.

Harward honorees have created and implemented projects that reflect the best practices of service-learning, including reflection, community impact, reciprocity with the community partner and creativity.

Robinson was cited for her work to increase opportunities for active student learning through the interweaving of classroom learning with hands-on service experience in order for students to gain a sense of their own efficacy in the world.

She said, “It seems clear to me that in our context of a democratic society, facing an array of serious challenges, helping students to learn the importance of citizen participation is a moral imperative.”

Robinson teaches in the undergraduate and graduate programs in leadership at USM/L-A. Some of her courses include “Organizational Theory,” “Applied Social Policy,” “Foundations of Leadership” and “Ethical and Spiritual Dimensions of Leadership.”

The Maine Campus Compact is a statewide coalition of college and university presidents established to encourage and enhance campus engagement in the community.

The Donald Harward Faculty Award is presented annually and honors former Bates College President and Maine Campus Compact Board Member Donald Harward.

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