SCOTT/ROSS CENTER FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE
2007-2008 ACADEMIC YEAR
SUMMARY REPORT
The 2007-2008 academic year was another significant year of growth and recognition for the
Scott/Ross Center for Community Service. Over 2,400 undergraduate and graduate students
engaged in community service throughout the year, including close to 800 students who enrolled in
our service learning courses.
For the second consecutive year, the Scott/Ross Center was named to the President’s Higher
Education Community Service Honor Roll in the distinctive category, one of only 127 colleges and
universities nationwide to receive this honor. Additionally, four of our programs were featured in
Boston Globe articles last year, reflecting increased recognition of the Center’s many contributions to
the College and the city of Boston. In May, the Center also received the Community Service award
from the Fenway Community Development Corporation.
UNDERGRADUATE SERVICE LEARNING
AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Undergraduate students’ community service projects
during 2007-2008 included: service learning, federal work
study, and volunteer service programs. At the start of
each semester the Scott/Ross Center sponsored a service
fair so students could meet with representatives from
many of our partner agencies and programs. Additionally,
the Scott/Ross Center published a placement guide that
described the available opportunities for serving our
community partners.
UNDERGRADUATE SERVICE LEARNING
Undergraduate service learning opportunities continued to expand last year with support from our
unique Student Service Learning Assistance (SSLA) program. The program trains undergraduates to
assist faculty in service learning courses and builds civic engagement leadership among our students.
A total of 630 students enrolled in our 2007-2008 courses. Under the guidance of the Associate
Director of Undergraduate Service Learning, students and faculty in classes within twelve
undergraduate departments served more than 40 of our community partners (See Table I on Page 2).
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Table I: Undergraduate Service Learning Courses
PROGRAM/COURSE TITLE
BIOL 109: Biology of Women
COMM 390: Studio 5
ECON 100: Principles of Microeconomics
EDUC 156: School in an Era of Change *
HON LCIS: Democracy and Difference
IDS 228: Service Learning in Nicaragua
MCC: Achievement or Opportunity Gap
MCC: Equal Education: A Reality?*
MCC: From Borders to Barrios
MCC: Help, I Need Somebody
MCC: My Space, Your Space
MGMT 100: Introduction to Management
MGMT 224: Socially-Minded Leadership
MGMT 260: Principles of Finance
PHIL 139-01: Environmental Ethics
PSYC 235: Developmental Psychology*
SJ 220: Working for Social Justice
SJ 222: Organizing for Social Change
SOCI 101: Principles of Sociology
SOCI 266: Sociology of Sports
SOCI 267: Globalization
* Multiple sections per semester
FACULTY
Lite, Randi
Burrows, Sarah and Grabiner,
Ellen
Biewener, Carole
Bettencourt, Joy; Cunnion,
Maryellen; Oakes, Gary
Aoki, Masato and Raymond, Diane
Gullette, David
Graves, Daren
Muller, Terry; Oakes, Gary
Cohen, Louise
Smith-McQueenie, Lisa
Berman, Mary
Warren, Bruce
Betters-Reed, Bonita
Guertler, Indra
Stafford, Sue
Birchander, Ellen; Turner, Geoff
Ward, Janie
Biewener, Carole
London, Steve
London, Steve
Sandoval Girón, Anna
Undergraduate service learning courses had an impact within the Simmons community and offcampus. One example is the following December 2007 Boston Globe article featuring Anna Sandoval
Girón’s Sociology 267: Globalization class:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/12/23/global_positioning_students_immigrant
s_paired/
COMMUNITY SERVICE WORK STUDY
Last year, more than 150 students engaged in community service through the federal work study
program administered by the Scott/Ross Center. Of the total federal work study funds received by
the College last year, nearly 30 percent were expended for community service positions. This
exceeded the seven percent required by the federal government, and was among the highest in the
country as recognized by the Corporation for National and Community Service.
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STUDENT COORDINATED PROGRAMS
Undergraduate students coordinated the following twelve tutoring and mentoring programs
throughout the past academic year. Most of these students were engaged through work study
program and service learning courses:

AFTER SCHOOL AT SIMMONS: A tutoring and educational activities program for elementary
school youth from two nearby public housing developments, coordinated by Antigoni
Sinanis ’09 and Brittany Fraser ’11.

AMERICA COUNTS AT THE FARRAGUT: Coordinated by Meredith McFarland ’08 and Laurie
Batchelder ’08, this after-school math tutoring program supported students in grades 1-3 at a
nearby elementary school.

AMERICA READS AT THE FARRAGUT: An after-school literacy tutoring program for
students in grades 1-3, coordinated by Gabrielle Mahoney ’09.

AMERICA READS AT THE MENDELL: First graders at Mendell, a local elementary school,
took part in this after-school literacy tutoring program, coordinated by Deborah DeAngelis
’08.

EDUCATION SPARKS: This after-school program for grades K-5 at the Farragut School
offered activities with a unique daily disciplinary-based theme. It was coordinated by Kristy
Beaudoin ’09, Sara Connor ’08, Maia Deporte ’09, Melissa Flynn ’10, and Darcel Hunt ’08.

FARRAGUT AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM: Jennifer Rheaum ’08 and Danielle Gulizia ’10
coordinated this after-school homework assistance and enrichment program for students in
grades K-5.

FARRAGUT MORNING PROGRAM: This before-school tutoring and enrichment program for
students in grades K-5 was coordinated by Siobhan Wilson ’11.

GATEWAY: Annie Dunbar ’10 coordinated this after-school tutoring program for students
attending a nearby high school.

GIRLS PREPARING TO SUCCEED: Founded and coordinated by Julia Reynolds ’08, this
program provided a self-esteem and academic support program for local high school girls.
This program was featured in the following Boston Globe article:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/04/20/grad_reaches_back_to_empowe
r_rindge_girls/

SPLASH!: This after-school program at the Farragut School offered innovative arts and crafts
activities for students in grades K-5, coordinated by Abigail Samsel ’10.
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
STEPS TO SUCCESS: This after-school program for low-income Brookline students included
a college awareness component with student-organized visits to the Simmons campus. It was
coordinated by Katelynn Grim ’08 and Emily Richarde ’08.

STRONG WOMEN, STRONG GIRLS: Coordinated by Katherine Centrella ’08 and Danielle
Zuber ’09, elementary school girls benefited from this self-esteem and skill-building
program.
OTHER MAJOR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS
 JUMPSTART
This national AmeriCorps program provided the Scott/Ross Center with a full-time site
manager who oversaw 40 Simmons students serving two Head Start programs in Jamaica
Plain.

BEACON ACADEMY
This unique program prepares low-income Boston
area eighth grade students for admission to selective
private schools and the city’s examination high
schools. The Scott/Ross Center provided classroom
space during the summer months as well as laboratory,
athletic, and computer facilities throughout the 20072008 academic year at no cost. Simmons students also
served as tutors throughout the year.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AT SIMMONS
Under the leadership of the Scott/Ross Center’s AmeriCorps VISTA, Megan Marincic,
Simmons students provided Aramark and UNICCO English language learners with
opportunities to strengthen their English language skills.

SOCIEDAD LATINA MISSION ENRICHMENT PROGRAM
High school students involved in this nearby program came to Simmons one evening each
week for academic support and assistance with the college application process.

YMCA INTERNATIONAL LEARNING CENTER
Simmons students served as English tutors for Boston’s immigrant and refugee community.
This program was facilitated by AmeriCorps VISTA, Megan Marincic.

GLOBAL SERVICE DAY
At the end of each academic year, the Center sponsors this event in celebration of a year of
community service. Last spring, we invited many of the youth we served throughout the year
to campus. They enjoyed various programs, including service and college awareness
activities.
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GRANTS AND AWARDS
The Scott/Ross Center received the following grants and awards during the 2007-2008 academic
year:
 Massachusetts Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA grant provided us with our VISTA
staff member
 The Clowes Fund supported our partnership with the YMCA International Learning Center
 Massachusetts and Rhode Island Campus Compact Learn and Serve Award (see Scott/Ross
Center Faculty Fellowship section – Page 10)
 Massachusetts Campus Compact Service Learning in Teacher Education Award (see
Scott/Ross Center Faculty Fellowship section – Page 10)
 Massachusetts Campus Compact AmeriCorps Student Leaders in Service Award (see
Graduate Service Learning and Civic Engagement section – Page 6)
ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK
During the 2007-2008 academic year, the Scott/Ross Center sponsored three spring break service
projects in early March:

BOSTON IMMERSION ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK
The second annual Colleges of the Fenway (COF) Boston Immersion Alternative Spring
Break enabled students to learn about the local Boston community and make personal
connections with many of its members. The program focused on post-secondary school
opportunities for Boston area youth, and encouraged participants to challenge their
assumptions. As it did last year, the program combined daily service activities, mornings
spent exploring the city, skill-building trainings, meetings with local leaders and government
officials, and opportunities for self-reflection.

GSLIS/FARRAGUT LIBRARY ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK
See description in the Graduate Service Learning and Civic Engagement section (Page 6).

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY ALTERNATIVE SPRING
BREAK
Last March, the Habitat for Humanity alternative
spring break program traveled to Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania. The team, which included 14 students, a
Simmons staff member, and Trustee Kathleen
Morrissey LaPoint ’84, renovated a Habitat for
Humanity headquarters building.
UNDERGRADUATE SERVICE AWARDS
At our annual Community Recognition Reception, the following awards were presented to six
graduating seniors who had demonstrated an outstanding commitment to service:
 Darcel Hunt ’08 and Katelynn Grim ’08 received the Jenni McKee Distinguished Student
Award.
 Wei Wong ’08 and Justine Pattantyus ’08 received the Leadership in Service Learning Award.
 Carolyn Swanhall ’08 and Katie Centrella ’08 received the Judy Botelho Commitment Award.
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GRADUATE SERVICE LEARNING AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Throughout the 2007-2008 academic year the Center experienced continued growth in graduate
service learning and civic engagement initiatives. Over 170 graduate students participated in service
learning, a 100 percent increase from the 2006-2007 academic year. Students also took part in several
civic engagement programs. AmeriCorps Scholarships for Service, Graduate Student Assistantships,
and Promising Pals, offered multiple ways for graduate students to engage with the Boston
community.
The graduate service learning program was also recognized in the following two Boston Globe articles,
“Offering a Therapeutic Touch” and “Inmates Shape up for their Release”:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/05/12/offering_a_therapeutic_touch/
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/05/19/inmates_shape_up_for_t
heir_release/
Additionally, the Scott/Ross Center was awarded the Fenway Community Development
Corporation’s Community Service Award. This honor recognized the work of Simmons graduate
service learning classes that have supported this local organization.
GRADUATE SERVICE LEARNING COURSES
Through their work with local organizations during the 2007-2008 academic year, Simmons graduate
students applied critical thinking and problem solving skills to support community partners’
initiatives.
Graduate service learning uses a project-based model. Students engage in a project with a local
community partner as part of their coursework and apply the lessons learned in the classroom to
address the specific needs of local non-profits and other organizations.
Table II: Graduate Service Learning Courses
PROGRAM/COURSE TITLE
GEDUC 493: Topics in Urban Education
GEDUC 400/401: Pre-Practicum Seminar, Practicum
Seminar Elementary
MCM 458: Online Communications
MCM 422: Writing for Communications Professionals
MCM 454: Communicating Corporate Image
MCM 481: Strategic Communications and
Organizational Change
SPAN 380: Migrant in the City: Field work
PT 750: Health, Wellness, and Advocacy
FACULTY
Graves, Daren
Cunnion, Mary Ellen; Davidson,
Ellen
Mascuccio, Peter
Danna, Kris
Powell, Vonda
Gifford, Gayle
Cohen, Louise
Tasker, Toni
SUMMER 2007
 MCM 458: ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS
PROFESSOR PETER MASUCCI
Teams of students worked with several non-profit organizations to help meet their Web site
needs by implementing online communication tactics. The teams worked with the Fenway
Community Development Corporation, Massachusetts Campus Compact, Friends of the
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Fort Point Channel, and the Scott/Ross Center for Community Service. Each team created a
Web plan to help meet the online needs of their community partners. Each group’s
recommendations included an assessment of their community partner’s Web site and
strategies to enhance their partner’s online presence.
FALL 2007
 MCM 422: WRITING FOR COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONALS
LECTURER KRIS DANNA
Building on the online marketing strategies service learning work from the Online
Communications course, students wrote copy to complement their recommendations for
community partners.

GEDUC 493: TOPICS IN URBAN EDUCATION
PROFESSOR DAREN GRAVES
The theme of this class was Multicultural Education: Affirming Diverse Identities and Challenging
Oppression in Education. This course provided urban teachers with curricular and pedagogical
theories and strategies to ensure that all students receive a high quality education. In addition
to providing classroom teachers with activities to implement in their classrooms, the course
promoted thoughtful discourse to help urban teachers become more intentional about the
approaches they used to promote multiculturalism, cultural responsiveness, and social
justice. Each graduate student also learned how to plan and implement a service learning
project with their students.

GEDUC 400/401: PRE-PRACTICUM SEMINAR, PRACTICUM SEMINAR ELEMENTARY
PROFESSOR MARYELLEN CUNNION AND PROFESSOR ELLEN DAVIDSON
These courses addressed topics that align with Graduate Education students' classroom
experiences – including developing curriculum frameworks and lesson plans, and effective
classroom management and communication skills. Each student participated in a prepracticum or practicum experience. Additionally, the Scott/Ross Center provided a service
learning workshop that educated graduate student participants on how to incorporate service
learning in their elementary school classrooms. The workshop also provided support in
planning and implementing service projects, including small grants to cover service project
costs.
SPRING 2008
 MCM 481: STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE
LECTURER GAYLE GIFFORD
Students worked in teams with several community partners to provide strategic plans that
addressed communications strategies and other needs for each organization. The course
blended communication theory with practice. Participating community partners included
Citizens Schools, Women in the Building Trades, America SCORES, SpeakOUT, and the
YMCA/ILC and Science Club for Girls.
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
MCM 454: COMMUNICATING CORPORATE IMAGE
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR VONDA POWELL
Students worked in groups with the Women’s Lunch Place to help strengthen the
organization’s branding and donor outreach initiatives. Each student group determined a
theoretical model of branding to support the objectives of the Women’s Lunch Place, taking
into consideration the organization’s strengths and goals.

PT 750: HEALTH, WELLNESS AND ADVOCACY
PROFESSOR TONI TASKER
Teams of Simmons students worked with
multiple community partners to share their
knowledge of nutrition and exercise in a variety
of programs. The Simmons students reached
diverse community groups and supported such
partners as Special Olympics, Boston
Healthcare for the Homeless, Community
Re-entry for Women (CREW), Walk Boston,
Citizen Schools, Science Club for Girls, and the
Peterborough Senior Center.

SPAN 380: MIGRANT IN THE CITY: FIELDWORK SEMINAR ON PUERTO RICAN CULTURE
PROFESSOR LOUISE COHEN
This course combined Puerto Rican culture with service placements in the community.
Topics covered through service learning included: migration, housing, employment,
education, race and racism, machismo, and the Puerto Rican woman.
GRADUATE STUDENT ASSISTANTSHIPS AND SERVICE AWARDS
Last year, the Scott/Ross Center received support from the deans of the College of Arts and
Sciences and the School of Social Work for three graduate student assistants:



GRADUATE COMMUNICATIONS LIAISON: Sujata Adamson-Mohan ’08GS
PROMISING PALS COORDINATOR: Ethan Kennedy ’08GS
SSW/SCOTT/ROSS CENTER GRADUATE ASSISTANT: Corey Kritzman ’09SW
These students received the 2007-2008 Distinguished Graduate Civic Engagement Award. Sujata
Adamson-Mohan ’08GS received the award for her work as a teaching assistant and her
participation with multiple service learning classes. Ethan Kennedy ’08GS was honored for his work
with the Promising Pals program at the Timilty Middle School. The award also honored Corey
Kritzman ’09SW for her work with Student Leaders in Service and the strong relationship she
developed between the School of Social Work and the Scott/Ross Center.
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GRADUATE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
 STUDENT LEADERS IN SERVICE
Student Leaders in Service is part of the
AmeriCorps Scholarships for Service Program.
Funded through Massachusetts Campus Compact
(MACC), students volunteer for 300 hours and
receive a $1,000 AmeriCorps Educational Award.
During the 2007-2008 academic year, 22 School
of Social Work students and three undergraduate
students participated in the program. These
students volunteered at local organizations
including Community Servings, and visited the
Facing History and Ourselves exhibit, Choosing to Participate, at the Boston Public Library.

GSLIS FARRAGUT SCHOOL LIBRARY PARTNERSHIP
This service learning program has been active for
several years, thanks to GSLIS students who have
worked to improve and organize the library at the
Farragut School in Mission Hill. In March, as part
of alternative spring break initiative, 19 students
and staff members helped organize and process
the library’s collection. Service volunteers also
read to children in their classrooms and created
learning tools to help make reading more
accessible.

FILM SCREENING
The Scott/Ross Center sponsored a special student film screening of the documentary, The
Price of Sugar, which had been in limited release in theaters. Film Producer Eric Grunebaum
and Writer Peter Rhodes, accepted the Scott/Ross Center’s invitation to attend the screening
and respond to questions from the audience. This initiative was part of the Scott/Ross
Center’s larger mission to highlight community service on a global level. The film has since
been purchased by the Simmons College library and is now available to the entire Simmons
Community.
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SCOTT/ROSS CENTER FACULTY FELLOWSHIP
The 2007-2008 academic year marked the first year of the
Scott/Ross Center Faculty Fellowship program with our first
Fellow, Daren Graves. Daren is an Assistant Professor of
Education and the Director of the Urban Elementary Masters’
program. The fellowship enabled him to share his lens on race,
power, and education while shaping many Simmons students’
service learning experiences.
Through the fellowship, Daren encouraged the Scott/Ross Center
staff to strategically work with members of the Education
Department Faculty to integrate service learning into their
teaching. His suggestion resulted in at least three Education faculty
members incorporating service learning in their classrooms during
the 2007-2008 academic year.
Daren helped to train numerous undergraduate and graduate service learning students. Additionally,
he helped the Scott/Ross Center secure and implement two grants mentioned earlier in this report:
 The 2007-2008 Massachusetts Campus Compact's Service Learning in Teacher Education
Award: a grant awarded to faculty to implement service learning projects in college-level
courses for pre-and in-service teachers; and
 The 2007-2008 Massachusetts and Rhode Island Campus Compact Learn and Serve –
Faculty Fellowship for Youth: a grant awarded to faculty to help their institutions become
more engaged in youth development work
REFLECTING AND LOOKING AHEAD
The past academic year is highlighted by significant growth in the number of undergraduate and
graduate students engaged in service through the Scott/Ross Center, the number of service learning
courses offered, and the number of community partners whom we served.
We look forward to further enhancing and strengthening our service opportunities, community
partnerships, and programs during the 2008-2009 academic year.
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