OurPeople
Faculty Director of CBL
Interim Executive
Director of SHECP Professor of Cultural Anthropology
Associate Director of CBL
Associate Director of CBL
Judy Repair
Administrative Assistant
Bethany Ozorak
Sascha Goluboff
Alessandra DelConte Dickovick
WHAT IS COMMUNITY-BASED LEARNING?
ABOUTUS
Community-Based Learning (CBL) connects faculty and students with community partners to create mutually beneficial collaborations CBL is an educational approach that integrates learning and mentorship with community engagement through reciprocal community partnerships and critical reflection. CBL typically occurs within a credit-bearing course or within similar structured learning activities.
COREVALUES
CBL is collaborative and assets-based.
We believe in working with others, as opposed to performing work for others.
CBL is process-oriented and personcentered
CBL is highly relational work, and we acknowledge the complexity of the individuals with whom we engage.
MISSION
Our mission is to support, enhance, and develop mutually-beneficial, reciprocal collaborations that enrich engaged teaching and learning while advancing community interests
W&L Received the 2024 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement
Washington and Lee University is 1 of 15 private colleges and universities to receive this designation within the 2024 cycle. The designation recognizes an institutional commitment to community engagement W&L has demonstrated noteworthy community engagement through its mission, campus culture, leadership, resources, and practices.
There are four ways classes can engage in collaboration with community partners.
SITE-BASED ACTIVITIES
Students are assigned to sites where they serve the organization's mission while applying and expanding their expertise. Students process what they've learned in structured reflections and activities.
PROJECT-BASED ACTIVITIES
Students, faculty, and community partners collaborate on a project to address a community-defined interest. Community partners and faculty participate in all aspects of the project, including design, implementation, and shaping the final product.
COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH
Students, teachers, and community partners collaborate on research that addresses a community-defined interest. Community partners and faculty participate in all stages of research, from developing the research question to designing, implementing, and shaping the final result.
COMMUNITY-PARTNERED SEMINARS
Students join faculty and learning partners from the community to read, discuss, and learn together about a topic of social relevance. This model typically occurs off-campus.
Courses/Sections of CBL
AWordFromOurFaculty
Holly Shablack, Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science (CBSC), was a member of the 2022-2023 Collaborative This year, she taught CBL designated course CBSC 212, Health Psychology, which had students work with the Rockbridge Area Prevention Coalition on creating public health materials According to Professor Shablack, since CBSC courses are about people, this project helped students experience putting theory to practice
“I really like to try and find ways to engage students more. CBL naturally allows for that and allows them to have more practical experiences.”
Through her course, Professor Shablack felt she had better prepared her students for life beyond college by creating a more immersive classroom and getting them involved with the local community. She also found CBL beneficial as a researcher. “Oftentimes, we [researchers] can get into our own little bubble...it is really nice to see how the research I was aware of is applied and think about ways to tweak things for my approach.” Shablack looks forward to building more community relationships.
Dick Kuettner, Professor of Romance Languages and Teacher Education, continuously teaches CBL designated course EDUC 366, Practicum: Methods for World Language. In this course, students are given the opportunity to teach foreign languages in Rockbridge area elementary and middle schools through the “Languages for Rockbridge” program. Youth in this program learn a new language and gain cultural understanding. College students in EDUC 366 are required to complete 30 hours of teaching fieldwork, maintain a journal and time log, and meet with their classmates to learn and discuss their experiences. Professor Kuettner believes that the biggest value of this course is growth.
“Growth in all aspects. Growth as responsible adults... When put in a leadership position, you assume a lot of responsibility. It is the practical application of many important skills and relating well with individuals of all ages.”
The college students have to communicate with school administrators, teachers, and youth, which adds to their personal development. Professor Kuettner sees this course as teaching “methods for life. They can take a lot of the skills, a lot of the philosophies, and a lot of the theories that we have in class and put them to good use ”
Professor Shablack
Professor Kuettner
The Collaborative
CBL forges connections among faculty interested in teaching CBL-related courses We provide an environment that supports innovative ideas, knowledge sharing, and collaboration The Collaborative is an ongoing program that enhances faculty knowledge about CBL and assists them in developing CBL courses.
23-24 COLLABORATIVE COHORT
This past academic year, seven faculty members took part in The Collaborative. By the end of the year, all participants had acquired the necessary components to create their own CBL course, including establishing connections with community partners and developing syllabi, assignments, reflections, and rubrics. As a result of the Collaborative, four members taught a CBL course in the Winter, one in the Spring term, and two plan to teach one in the future.
MichelleCowan Assistant Professor of Business Administration
KarenaGill Visiting Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience
EmilyLandry Assistant Professor of Business Administration
ToniLocy Professor of Journalism & Mass Communications
AmiraWalker Research Services Resident Librarian and Assistant Professor
KatiaYoza Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish
JaysonMargalus Johnson Professor of Entrepreneurship and Leadership, Director of the Connolly Center for Entrepreneurship
CBLTeachingAssistant Program
Students served as CBL Teaching Assistants within CBL-designated courses to offer faculty and students support with community engagement initiatives. While serving as TAs, they took a TA course, CBL 211, taught by Professor Goluboff, Director of CBL, and Bethany Ozorak, Associate Director of CBL
The course prepared TAs to help students bridge understanding between course materials and their community engagement, communicate best practices when working with community members, provide follow-up assistance for students regarding community engagement responsibilities and tasks, and assist professors. TAs developed professionally and collaborated closely with a faculty member.
Student Highlight
SarinaCusumano‘25
Sarina's responsibilities were to support students in ENGN/PHY 207 Electrical Circuits, taught by Professor Erickson. Her primary duty was to assist students in teaching electrical circuits to youth at the YMCA afterschool program at a local elementary school. Through her experience, she learned how to adapt to different young students and their learning styles. Sarina appreciated the leadership skills and development she gained from this experience, which she will apply in future opportunities.
2023-2024TAs
CBSC 113: Principles of Development
Kathleen Roberts, ‘24 with Professor Jacob Gibson
ENGN/PHY 207: Electrical Circuits
Sarina Cusumano, ‘25 & Michell Lin, ‘25 with Professor Jon Erickson
SOAN 253/POV 253: Narrating Culture, Society, and Identity
Alina de Zoysa, ‘25 with Professor Sascha Goluboff
WRIT 100: Writing Seminar for First Years
Jessie Zhang, ‘26 with Professor Holly Pickett
ENGN/PHY 207 students work through an electrical circuit activity
COMMUNITY-BASED LEARNING INTERNSHIPS
Every summer, Community-Based Learning interns partner with a community organization to complete specific projects and initiatives. This experience aims to fulfill community partners’ organizational goals and provide students with professional development and education about community organizing. CBL interns work twenty-five hours a week for seven weeks and meet with their cohort once a week for training and reflection.
CommunityPartner Organizations Grace Episcopal Church
Lexington-Rockbridge County Chamber of Commerce
Main Street Lexington
The Advancement Foundation, The Virginia Innovation Accelerator (VIA)
Interns from left to right: Ethan Babb ‘27, Arden Courtney Collins ‘26, Andrew Plate ‘25, Elias Dakhoul ‘26
TheTransportation Hub
The Office of Community-Based Learning (CBL) Transportation Program is a free resource established for students with valid driver’s licenses needing transportation to and from volunteer or service-learning sites. Enterprise rental cars and bikes are available on campus for students participating in a course or program-related community service. First priority is given to those students requesting transportation for Community-Based Learning courses.
Numbersfor2023-2034AcademicYear
NumberofStudents
ENGAGEW&L
Engage W&L, powered by GivePulse, is an online platform that supports student volunteering and community engagement in the Rockbridge County Area. Students can find, sign up for, and log experiences on this platform, as well as connect with community members and agencies. All W&L students have an Engage W&L account.
Sampling of Community-Focused Groups Found on Engage W&L
30,581
COMMUNITY PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
THECOMMUNITYTABLE
“TheCommunityTableisdesignedtobeaplacewhereeveryoneinthecommunityiswelcometocomeand shareamealtogetherwithdignity”
The Community Table for the Rockbridge Area (TCT) addresses food insecurity and strengthens the community through sharing healthy meals together in an inclusive restaurant-style experience “We work really hard to build relationships with the people who come. That can be relationships between the volunteers, the patrons, our customers, anybody who comes to the neighborhood, and the board,” states Ginger Bomar, President of the Board of Directors for TCT. Anyone is welcome to have a meal at The Community Table
Food is sourced from various partnerships and donors, such as the Rockbridge Area Relief Association, W&L Campus Kitchen, area food banks, local caterers, and restaurants. Many churches in the area also provide desserts In addition, monetary donations are critical for helping TCT purchase food and supplies.
Washington and Lee University has partnered with TCT for several years. According to Kate Gordon, former President of the Board of Directors for TCT, it really became a partnership when TCT started to bring students onto its board. “That opened my eyes to the possibilities of W&L students, how much they had to contribute, the level of engagement and enthusiasm, and the amount of fresh ideas. The students injected a fresh perspective.” Some students volunteer with TCT for all four years of their college careers, while others come to volunteer on an ad-hoc basis. TCT also has a very close relationship with Campus Kitchen, which provides Wednesday and Friday lunches.
TCT is powered by volunteers and is almost fully run by them. They are consistently getting new volunteers and have had some with them for over 12 years. However, TCT is not just about food It is also about the lasting, trusting relationships and memories that are built there. “We have parents and caregivers that bring young people in for lunch. A lot of them don’t have the opportunity to get out and eat at a restaurant, and this gives them that experience,” says Bomar. Patrons’ relationships with volunteers have made a difference She continues, “They trust us, so we can guide them in different things. We have helped patrons identify resources in the community. Volunteers can discern what their needs are and help. A lot of the time, people don’t know where to get help.”
TCT hopes W&L student volunteers are learning what it means to serve the community on a personal level. “They really get to know the people that come to the table. The students get a really good sense of the impact of services like ours and how they directly benefit so many people,” Gordon states Building relationships between the volunteers and patrons is important to the work of TCT. “It is great for the patrons to see kids from campus because they often do not go into the campus area. It really builds a nice bridge between the two worlds,” Bomar says.
The Community Table is located at 350 Spotswood Avenue in Lexington, VA. To learn more about TCT please visit their website at https://www.communitytablerockbridge.org/
Ginger Bomar, President of the Board of Directors for The Community Table -
AnnualEvents
Walking
Tours
For Faculty: Faculty gather at 2 South Main to learn about how they can partner with local community organizations to create innovative classroom experiences. They embark on an hour-long guided walking tour of downtown Lexington, highlighting W&L's partner organizations. This year, groups had the opportunity to sit down with representatives from the Rockbridge Area Relief Association, Project Horizon, and the Walker Program.
Parents and Family Weekend: Parents enjoy a leisurely walk around Lexington and learn about innovative student and faculty partnerships with local businesses and nonprofits.
Community Engagement Fair
The annual Community Engagement Fair, hosted by the Community Engagement and Service Learning Committee and organized by the CBL office, provides students the opportunity to connect with local organizations and learn about volunteer and service opportunities from 30 community organizations across the Rockbridge area.
COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS
Juneteenth: Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the United States. Across the country, people have enjoyed celebrating Black history as an important part of our nation’s history. The Lex Rock BV Juneteenth celebration, first held in 2021, is co-sponsored by the Office of Community-Based Learning at Washington and Lee, Rockbridge Regional Tourism, the Rockbridge Historical Society, and the Community Foundation for Bath, Rockbridge, and Alleghany Counties.
Student Community Engagement Council: A combined initiative between Student Activities, The Shepherd Program, and Community-Based Learning, the Community Engagement Council is comprised of student leaders who are involved in organizations that regularly engage with the community. The goal is to create opportunities for collaboration across student groups and offer resources. Topics discussed this year were goal setting, troubleshooting, leadership transition, and Engage W&L.
W&LCOMMUNITYSERVICE
EXCELLENCEAWARD
The W&L Community Service Excellence Award recognizes a student group that has made a significant positive contribution to the Lexington/Rockbridge area community through volunteer service.
This year’s recipient was W&L Student Consulting Group, which is part of The Williams School. This student-led organization provides pro bono consulting services to businesses and not-for-profit community organizations
"Through sourcing local clients, I have learned the importance of supporting small businesses in our area The clients are so excited about the work they bring to us that it energizes the team. In a small town like Lexington, it is so important to foster a relationship with the university and the community, and both parties receive benefits from the other. WLSC receives real world client work from experienced business owners, and local businesses receive the help of our talented consultants and a student perspective."
Elizabeth Foster '24 Business Administration & Cognitive and Behavioral Science
