Today is a day that our newly elected President, Barack Obama, called upon us all to serve in every way possible to rebuild this nation. We in culinary arts and hospitality education can and should do all we can to connect our students to the community of which they are a vital part through community service. I am doing so every fall in a class of 200+ students by requiring each one of them to perform six hours of community service for a non-profit organization that is connected to our discipline. In doing so, some have helped to set up a major tourism event that raises funds for the Tippecanoe Historical Association, some have helped to faciliate fundraising dinners that benefit the arts, while others have helped the local food bank raise funds and collect food to feed those who are hungry. In the spring, the student associations I advise will also be asked to give of their time and talents to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate in our community.
I hope you will join me to find more ways for our students to give of themselves to those in the community that can use the help and in doing so make both better off for it. I also invite those of you who are working to connect the classroom to the community through civic engagement to share your stories with me so that I can pass them on to our faculty learning community in this blog.
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