STATEMENT OF SERVICE



STATEMENT OF SERVICE

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I will learn." Benjamin Franklin

In my perspective, to establish a reciprocal partnership, both the university and the Bellingham community have to work together as a unified system because each depends on the other to function. Service is a way of building lasting relationships by collaborating with people through sharing ideas and resources. Service has been a part of my childhood, adolescence, and adult years. I come from a culture in which service is a way of life, so it comes naturally to me. To serve others is something that my single-parent mother taught my four siblings and me. She taught me to bring a number of cultural communities to work together and celebrate their commonalities and differences. During my teen and college years, I started an African- Caribbean youth group to advocate for the voices and education of young people. As a practicing journalist in Vancouver, B.C., I wrote for our local newspaper, The Afro News. I covered stories about cultural issues facing our community and current events such as Jesse Jackson’s visit. Due to my upbringing, I have learned how to create respectful collaborative relationships with colleagues, students, community partners, neighbors, and friends. My goal is to continue my family legacy of providing service to others, since it is an important cultural value. My commitment to service is very important to my personal, professional, and educational growth.

Departmental Service

At the departmental level, service is an integral part of my day-to-day work life. I consider my department as a family, and we help each other meet our personal and professional goals. Over the years, I have established a close relationship with my colleagues, thus we can depend on each other. Since we are a smaller department, it is important to be flexible with service related tasks. My priority is to ensure that the department goals are met. For example, when colleagues are on professional leave or sabbatical, I serve additional students. When required classes need to be taught, I am ready to sign up because the students are our priority. Departmental service is demonstrated at two levels, service to students and administrative service.[1]

I believe that committee work is very rewarding because it allows me to have a voice and be active in change. Early in my career, I served on a number of different committees such as the strategic planning (i.e. 2001-2003 and 2006-2008), search, unit evaluation plan, and the student technology grant proposal. I have served on the Scholarship Nominating Committee for the Abigail Tandy Maye Stout Scholarship.

Since my research is in the area of scholarship of teaching and learning, I have taken an interest in helping with curriculum development. I was an active member on the Research Methods in Communication 398 committee and developed course revisions for Intercultural Communication 425, Professional Communication 318, and Communication Ethics 498. For several years (i.e. 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2010) I have represented our department at Western Preview because I enjoy meeting parents and admitted students, and telling them about the benefits of becoming a Communication major. This is one of my most enjoyable presentations because it reminds me of when I first attended WWU as an undergraduate. I have mentored and trained seven incoming non-tenure track faculty who teach our 200 and 300-level courses.

Currently, I continue to serve my department. I attend graduation once a year as a representative of our department. In Survey of Communication 220, I take part in the Parade of Faculty whereby I inform students of my research interests and the courses I teach. In the future, I plan to continue to help with marketing efforts of our department, develop our assessment plan, help with Scholars Week, present at Western Preview, get involved with diversity efforts to encourage more students to major in Communication, teach required classes in our major, and assist with upcoming events and tasks.

I serve the department at the student level by reviewing major application portfolios, advising pre-majors and minors, and supervising practicums and independent studies. I have worked closely with students primarily by encouraging them to further their research by presenting at conferences, participating in Scholar’s Week, and publishing. I recently co-authored an article in Academic Exchange Quarterly with two previous Communication undergraduate students and Dr. Anna Eblen. The article, “Building Community Through Co-authorship” received the Editor’s Choice Award by reviewers for its content and quality. From 2001 to 2009, I have taken 12 undergraduate students from our department to various conferences to present their research.

I have also co-authored presentations and workshops with some students. I took two students to present topics of disAbility in service-learning communities at the National Communication Association; eight students presented at regional conferences on topics of service-learning and intercultural communication (i.e. Northwest Communication Association and Continuums of Service conference); two students presented at the Festival of Scholarship, Celebrating Collaborative Inquiry at Western Washington University. According to WWU’s mission statement and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), involving undergraduates in research is encouraged. Since I have been at WWU, the writing professional development sessions have helped me to translate what I have learned about writing to teaching my students about becoming effective writers. I thank the Faculty Writing Series Residency, Backward by Design: A Reflective Workshop for WWU Faculty Teaching Writing Courses, Writing Opportunities at Western (WOW), and The Writing Center.

To further students in research, I was an active member of the Scholar’s Week planning committee in 2002, 2007, 2008, and 2009. I served as a co-coordinator, panel chair, and faculty mentor of this committee. I nominated students who wrote scholarly papers in my writing proficiency courses, I blind reviewed papers, took groups of students to the banquet, and co-coordinated our department event. I oversaw eight independent study students in Communication 300 and 400 who researched various topics: leadership in service-learning, a narrative of disAbility experience, and student mentorship. These students researched various topics. From 2001 to currently, I have had a total of 52 Communication 339 Practicums. These students served as service-learning student leaders, teaching assistants, research assistants, videographers, and office assistants. The skills and knowledge learned from the practicum have helped students to gain jobs after graduation and gain entrance into graduate school due to their prior hands on experience. I will continue in these efforts so that our students will be able to prepare for in these competitive times as they graduate.

College and University Service

My service extends to the university at large through serving on committees and advisory boards. I was an advisory board member for the Academic Honesty Board, American Cultural Studies, the Center for Service-Learning, and assisted with the new minor Diversity in Higher Education. I was involved in the following committees: Academic Support Coordinator, Office of Admissions Search Committee, and Service-Learning Visioning and Strategic Planning Committee.

Due to my diversity efforts at WWU, in winter 2009, students recognized me as a faculty ally on WWU’s campus. I am featured on a poster that is visible to all students on campus who may be in need of an ally. I was a panelist at the Western Reads and was asked to speak about the book “Honky” by Dalton Conley from a Communication perspective. The presentation was delivered to incoming students. I contribute to the Compass 2 Campus Mentoring project. This summer I was invited by the Director of Human Resources at WWU to present a professional communication workshop emphasizing social media. The title of the workshop was Keeping it Real in A Virtual World. The workshop was delivered to human resource directors and employees of Washington State at the College and University Professional Association for Human Resource (CUPA-HR). I invited Communication student, Amy Jackson to co-present with me at the conference. Amy was delighted to present to professionals and have the opportunity to network. . I was recently appointed by the Academic Coordinating Commission to serve on the Admissions Committee for a two-year term.

Service to the Communication Discipline

My service links to my research in Communication, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Organizational Communication, and Critical/Cultural Studies. I provided service to various disciplinary and interdisciplinary organizations: The National Communication Association, Northwest Communication Association, Continuums of Service Conference, Community Advocacy and Support Center (CASCAID) Peace Conference, and the International Globalization, Diversity, and Education Conference. I have assisted a number of divisions that directly relate to my research agenda such as Disability Caucus, Interpersonal Communication, Media & Cultural Studies, Organizational and Instructional, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. At the local, regional, and national level, I served as a chair, division chair, panel organizer, respondent, and conference reviewer, and blind reviewer for journals.

Service-Learning and Community Partnership

WWU mission supports community partnerships through service. When I first arrived at WWU, Lisa Moulds, past director of the Center for Service-Learning (CSL) at WWU, introduced me to the Bellingham non-profit community partners. She encouraged me to provide service-learning (SL) opportunities for my students and the Bellingham community. Since then I have worked closely with the Center for Service-Learning, Timothy Costello and Angela Harwood. The CSL staff has trained me, my students, and my service-learning student leaders (SLSL). I received a number of financial grants from the CSL and the Provost to integrate community SL into my classroom and to travel. With support from the CSL, I have also trained incoming faculty at WWU through the Service-Learning Faculty Fellows Program and presented at workshops for community partners interested in integrating service-learning. All of these efforts better prepared me to develop a nurturing friendship with the Bellingham community.

Each quarter, I provide training sessions that teach the community partners about how my course content, SL pedagogy, my students, and I can all be of assistance. My five student teams provide 100-125 hours (i.e. per team) of community SL. For example, in one class (e.g. Professional Communication 318), I teach my students to develop a skilled-based communication workshops (e.g. social media at work, how to prepare for an interview, job search strategies, webpage development, Facebook causes page, etc.) for the community partners or clients they serve. Examples of my most recent Professional Communication 318 SL projects are: Students brought 11 Ethnic Student Club members together to build a relationship with the local community and learn about environmental justice by working with the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Center. The purpose was “to foster ally building and cultural understanding. Learn about removing non-native plant life from surrounding rivers to provide a healthier areas to live” (318 students); raised public awareness of community causes by conducting social media workshop for the Whatcom Volunteer Center; Students develop a workshop for Womencare to inform women how to best prepare for a job from job searching, to resume and cover letter development, interview skills, and professional attire; for Bikers Fighting Cancer students taught Bikers about listening skills, how to professionally present oneself, effective delivery, and the use of visual aids as a professional resource.

In 10 years, I have extended service-learning opportunities to over 40 community organizations (e.g. Whatcom Volunteer Center, Bikers Fighting Cancer, Womencare, Evergreen AIDS Foundation, Ethnic Student Center), provided more than 13,500 student SL hours, and integrated SL into five courses. I specifically select non-profit organizations that emphasize cultural diversity. I select organizations that help diverse populations such as low-income families, unemployed citizens, youth at risk, people with disAbilities, women in protective shelters, all male agency, etc. Most importantly, I have developed countless relationships with the community partners who have taught my students and me about the true meaning of civic responsibility. For further information regarding my integration of SL please, review the following sections in my teaching dossier #1, Comm. 318, Comm. 339, Comm. 297, and Comm. 224, SL Instruction, and Teaching Showcase. Please visit my webpage at

to view my SL participation and hear stories that come directly from the voices of students and community partners. In addition to assisting the community through SL, I also take part in community service. For one year, I was on the nominating committee for the YWCA. For the last two years, I have volunteered for Make A Difference Day (MADD) and offered credit for students interested in helping the community for a few hours on one weekend. I plan to be involved in MADD this academic year.

Given all of my service activities, my department recognized my contributions from 2000-2009 to the extent that Dr. Anna Eblen, chair of the Department of Communication nominated me for WWU’s Faculty Outstanding Service Award in 2009. Support letters came from a diverse representative group: a community partner, a student, and colleagues. Recommenders emphasized the contribution that I made to my department, students, university, my profession, and local community. My dedication to the Bellingham community through SL over the last 10 years received recognition.

Although I did not win the award this year, I am very honored to have been nominated for this prestigious award. All recommenders emphasized my leadership efforts in service-learning (SL). At the department level I was noted for my willingness to serve on various committees; represent my department as a an invited lecturer (e.g. Economics Department, Ethnic Student Center, Discovery Days); deliver workshops on writing, leadership in SL, teamwork and professional communication; help our student Communication Club with their presentations; mentor adjunct faculty and students. From my beginning years at WWU, I was able to participate in a number of faculty development SL workshops on campus and at conferences. This led me to train faculty members within and outside my department regarding how to integrate SL into their classroom. I have developed my own SL student leadership program that places students and the community at the forefront.

Several time during Scholar’s Week, I represented the Center for Service-Learning and spoke of the importance of engaging students in service-learning. My services at the university were also mentioned. I served on a number of different committees (Fairhaven student committee, Search Committee) and advisory boards (Diversity in Higher Education Minor, Center for Service-Learning). They mentioned my contributions to my field at regional and national conferences.

Below I have included some quotes from letters of recommendations. For further readings, please see the letters in my service nomination section of my dossier:

• “Dr. Perry has been a leader in our departmental service-learning efforts (Dr. Anna Eblen)”;

• It has been my pleasure to work with Tara for over 10 years as she has developed into one of the finest practitioners of service-learning on Western’s campus (Dr. Angela Harwood)”;

• “Dr. Perry did something that no other professor did; take a genuine interest in her students’ lives. Dr. Perry gave me a plethora of opportunities from being her service-learning student leader. I was given the chance to present in Campus Compact Conference…my freshman year about my service-learning experience (Brian Launius, student).”

At WWU, I practice a service philosophy that builds community within my department, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the field of Communication, the university, and local and global communities. I believe that active involvement in service helps me understand the needs of academia and the community. I look forward to my continued efforts in service. For further description of my service, please review dossier #2, which includes the service award nomination and support letters, evidence of service to the department, discipline, university, and community. Given my accounts of service contribution, I believe that I have demonstrated excellence in service at WWU. Thank you for taking the time to review my commitment to service.

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[1] Department of Communication Evaluation Plan, 2010, p. 8.

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