ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Dr. Alison Black and Ms. Jane Miller of the Elementary Education and Reading Department at the SUNY College at Oneonta have received the annual 2009 Ashok Kumar Malhotra Seva (Compassionate Service) Faculty Award. Dr. Black and Ms. Miller will deliver the 2009 Malhotra Seva Lecture, an address entitled "Literacy Opening Doors to the Community and to the World," at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 8, in the Craven Lounge of the Morris Conference Center. Admission to the event is complimentary, and members of the community are invited to attend the presentation and the dessert reception that will follow.
In their presentation, the faculty members will discuss two programs--Reach Out And Read (ROAR) and Heifer International--that they have used to take their students’ learning beyond the classroom in their Reading and Literacy course.
For the past seven years, SUNY Oneonta students in their classes have volunteered to read aloud for children at Bassett Healthcare in Oneonta through the local ROAR program. The students have contributed over 400 hours of service, reading for children who are waiting for appointments at the clinic.
Students also volunteer to participate in Heifer International by seeking sponsors for the 25 children’s books that they read as a requirement for the course. With contributions from sponsors of several hundred dollars each semester, the classes have contributed over $6,500 to Heifer International, which uses the funds to provide farm animals to impoverished families around the world. In 2007, Heifer International honored the SUNY Oneonta students and faculty members with its Ark Award in recognition of their efforts.
Alison Black, who holds a doctorate from Syracuse University, has been a member of the SUNY Oneonta faculty since 1995. She taught previously at Syracuse University.
Jane Miller holds a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Oneonta and a master’s from SUNY New Paltz. She has taught at SUNY Oneonta since 1996 and worked for many years as a reading teacher at Franklin Central school.
The Ashok Kumar Malhotra Seva Faculty Award was established through the College at Oneonta Foundation by Dr. Malhotra, a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor who has taught philosophy at the College since 1967. The fund provides an annual award of $1,000 to a SUNY Oneonta faculty member who exemplifies the ideals of compassionate service.
Award recipients are selected by the College provost based on the
recommendations of a faculty selection committee. Criteria for the award
include performing community service locally, nationally, or
internationally; demonstrating the ability to motivate and inspire others to
perform community service; and integrating community service into the
teaching and learning process.
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For more information about the College, please call the Community Relations Office at (607) 436-2748 or send e-mail to Carol Blazina, Vice President for Community Relations.SUNY College at Oneonta - Ravine Parkway - Oneonta, NY 13820 - 607.436.3500
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