Spring 2009
Opportunities Guide
Community Work & Learning
The Swearer Center works to connect the capacities of
the university and community to address inequalities in
our society and communities; create, share and apply
knowledge for the public good; and educate and prepare
students for lives of effective action. Our work is guided
by the following principles:
Collaboration and partnership
Both university and community hold extensive knowledge and
resources. We strive to work through a model of respect and
cooperation, establishing long-term relationships and jointly
defining, implementing and evaluating all efforts
Critical thinking and reflective practice
Building on Brown’s educational philosophy, Center initiatives
encourage intellectual integrity, interdisciplinary connections
and self-reflection.
Capacity building and sustainability
The scope and urgency of inequalities require us to pursue
actions that build individual community capacity to achieve
significant and sustainable outcomes.
25 George Street, Box 1974 * J. Walter Wilson, 3rd Floor
Providence, RI 02912-1974 69 Brown Street, Box 1838
(401)863-2338 Providence, RI 02912-1838
swearercenter.brown.edu * National College Advising
Corps
Section Name 1
Table of Contents
How to Use This Guide 2
Introductory 4
Community Service Opportunities Fair
Walking Tours
The Swearer Bulletin
The Providence Community Agency Directory
The Volunteer Center of Rhode Island
Campus Forums, Lectures, Films
Advising at the Swearer Center
Coursework
Engagement 6
Break Projects
Community Programs
Educational Equity
Community Development, Health, and Human Rights
Social Entrepreneurship
Work-Study and Americorps Opportunities
Careers in the Common Good
Leadership 14
Community Programs
College Guides
Fellowships
Urban Education Semester (UES)
Coursework
Faculty/Student Course and Research Partnerships
GISPs, ISPs & Internships
Other Support, Resources and Opportunities 18
Transportation
Rhode Island Community Jobs
Resource Library
Community Fellows Program Sources of Data
on Providence and Rhode Island
Contact 19
Location Map 21
2 How to Use This Guide
How to Use This Guide
The Swearer Center’s work seeks two complementary objectives:
Having a positive impact on serious community issues, and
providing opportunities to advance student learning.
Swearer Center opportunities are organized into three categories,
which reflect the goals and type of work of each, along a
continuum of learning and impact.
Introductory
If you are new to Providence, or new to community work, these
programs provide opportunities to learn the context of community
work in Providence, and to try out different kinds of work. They
also include channels to find ways to work on your own with
particular agencies or issues.
Engagement
These programs require a certain level of knowledge and experience,
along with a greater commitment, with the potential for greater
learning and impact on particular community issues.
Leadership
These programs provide channels or resources to work in-depth
on particular issues or programs, usually with the opportunity to
engage other students or community members. Students should
be able to demonstrate their understanding of relevant concepts
and context in order to pursue these opportunities.
How to Use This Guide 3
The Swearer Center structures its programs to provide opportu-
nities for students to gain skills and knowledge in six areas that
we believe are important to be effective in community work long
term.
Disciplinary Understanding is the knowledge
of a particular field of focus, including research,
data, current work, skills and critical questions
in the field.
Management and Implementation is the
practice of actively leading a program, project or
organization through its day-to-day workings.
Strategy and Change Skills are demonstrated
by synthesizing data and systems analysis and
developing strategies to achieve long-term goals.
Networks, Connections and Relationships
provide opportunities to learn about and meet
the network of local, national or global individuals
and resources that are important to achieving
programmatic and professional goals.
Local Knowledge is an understanding of the
local context of specific social problems and the
relationship between academic knowledge,
community knowledge and community work.
Self Reflection, Empathy, and Moral Convictions
refers to one’s ability for increasing self-reflection
and knowledge, an openness to personal growth
and change, and the ability to examine and
articulate one’s convictions.
4 Introductory
Introductory
Community Service Opportunities Fair
Held at the beginning of each fall and spring semester, csof
provides an opportunity for students to meet representatives of
dozens of community organizations to learn about their work.
Look for news about csof coming from the usual campus channels,
as well as at swearercenter.brown.edu.
Walking Tours
Held during the first week of school, these tours introduce
students to their new community through walking around
neighborhoods of the city. Tours highlight area agencies, cultural
highlights, historic landmarks and natural resources. More
information is available at swearercenter.brown.edu.
The Swearer Bulletin
Published weekly during the academic year, The Bulletin includes
announcements of community events, volunteer opportunities,
and jobs. Email Swearer_Bulletin@brown.edu to join or post to
the list.
The Providence Community Agency Directory
The Directory is found on the Swearer Center website and features
hundreds of local agencies that often have volunteer
opportunities available.
The Volunteer Center of Rhode Island (VCRI)
vcri connects people and opportunities for effective volunteer
community service. Check the database at http://www.vcri.org to
connect with a volunteer’s opportunity that matches your interest,
location and availability.
Providence 101
The Swearer Center regularly organizes a range of events that
provide opportunities for learning, discussion and connection
with those engaged in social issues locally and globally. Watch
for announcements in university communications or on the
Swearer Center website swearercenter.brown.edu.
Introductory 5
Advising at the Swearer Center
The Swearer Center provides a range of advising support to
students through opportunities such as the University Community
Academic Advising Program (ucaap), to more general support
for students seeking academic and career advice. ucapp provides
academic advising support to first-year students, and has been
designed to encourage students to embrace community partici-
pation, reflection, and civic responsibility as central parts of a
Brown education. ucaap students are matched with academic
advisors who encourage them to think about the connection of
academic study with work and service in the community.
Coursework
As an office of the Dean of the College, the work of the Howard
R. Swearer Center for Public Service is linked directly to the
work of the university and to the Brown curriculum. The Center
works with Brown faculty in a range of ways to advance teach-
ing, learning and research - strengthening students understanding
and abilities as outlined in the curricular goals; and supporting
efforts to extend the expertise and skill of faculty and students to
benefit local and global communities. See Coursework section on
page 16 for more information.
6 Engagement
Engagement
Break Projects
This is a unique weeklong immersion experience sponsored by
the Swearer Center for Public Service that takes place during
the last week of winter break. Thirty students live communally
in downtown Providence and work in small teams to explore
and engage in salient local issues such as housing and homeless-
ness, food security, immigrants’ rights, environmental activism
and others. These investigation-based projects are designed to
immerse students in the rich world of activism, service, policy,
advocacy and organizing that exists in Providence. Applications
for the January ’09 session will be available in Fall ’08. Contact:
Sonia Russo
Community Programs
They are led by paid student coordinators, engage student volun-
teers in efforts to address community issues. Our programs are
organized into clusters around Educational Equity and Commu-
nity Development, Health, and Human Rights. The following
programs provide students with hands-on opportunities to address
these issues. Many programs recruit new volunteers at the start
of each semester. To find out more, email the student coordinator
listed at the end of each program description.
Community Programs: Educational Equity
The Swearer Center is building an approach to educational
equity and opportunity that works with students and families
across a continuum of time and through a combination of
research, direct service, policy work, and advocacy. Our
current programs provide the starting point for this effort.
Elementary and Middle School
LITERACY
The Swearer Classroom Program provides hands-on
literacy training to student volunteer tutors at the William
D’Abate Elementary School and Asa Messer Elementary
School in Providence. Brown student volunteers work, one-
on-one, with elementary school students on their reading.
Contact: Joshua Curhan
The Brown Language Arts Program provides writing sup-
port for children at the William D’Abate Elementary School in
Olneyville and Asa Messer Elementary School in the West End.
The program works with children at the third, fourth and fifth
grade levels. Contact: Michelle Lee and Nicholas Chung
Engagement 7
ARTS
No Small Parts is an acting and play-writing program
encouraging improvisation and the creation of new theater.
Participants work through their own interpretations of existing
plays and discover new ways of performing, rewriting, and
making them their own. The program allows students to be
performers, playwrights, and directors. All pieces are
performed at a group showcase. Contact: Emma Price
BAM! Brown Arts Mentoring seeks to build relationships
between college students and elementary school children in
Providence to encourage confidence, inspire learning and foster
creativity for all participants. Classes include instruction in
creative writing, dance and choir. Contact: Maura Pavalow
SCIENCE/MATH
Providence Science Outreach (PSO) sends Brown
students into Providence elementary schools to organize
hands-on science projects with kids. Volunteers try to ignite
interest in science by showing children that science is exciting,
fun and useful. By serving as role models and organizing
simple experiments, volunteers show children that anyone,
regardless of gender, ethnicity, or age, can succeed in sci-
ence. Volunteers teach in teams of four or five, going to the
same site weekly. Elementary School Classromms, Elementary
After-School Club, Middle After-School Club. Contact: Aaron
Becker and Neha Zope
MENTORING
CityGirls and CityBrothers pairs boys and girls ages 8–14
from Bridgham, Perry, and Gilbert Stuart Middle Schools in
Providence and Goff Junior High in Pawtucket with a volunteer
college mentor. The program’s focus is around campus
visits, programming in the schools and special events and
activities. Special programming encourages academic enrich-
ment, leadership and community service. Contact: Jakina
Debnam
The John Hope Mentoring Program is a partnership
with the John Hope Settlement House, an agency that offers a
variety of services to culturally diverse children and families in
Providence. Mentors provide educational, social, and
emotional support for children through weekly tutoring
sessions and youth development activities. Contact: Dilania Inoa
8 Engagement
Project Eye-to-Eye pairs learning disabled Brown students
with learning disabled children from the Vartan Gregorian
Elementary School in the Fox Point neighborhood of Providence.
The pairs share their experiences, offer academic support and
engage in after-school art activities. Contact: Sarah Heffernan
High School
COLLEGE PREPARATION/ACCESS
The College Guidance Project works with Hope High
School seniors to build one-on-one relationships, and prepare
them for and guide them through the college application and
admissions process. Contact: Andrew Kim
Brown SAT/College Prep offers free sat preparation and
access to information on the process of apply to college,
primarily to Hope High juniors and seniors. The program
aims to instill the experience and confidence needed to better
master the test. Furthermore, through interaction with the
mentors in a low student:teacher ratio, a sense of community
is fostered that will offer students a source of support and
guidance on their path to college. Contact: Sejal Jhaveri
Access Scholars is an initiative of the Howard R. Swearer
Center for Public Service through its National College Advising
Corps program. Access Scholars (Brown undergraduate advisers)
will collaborate with College Guides (full-time advisers),
who are recent graduates of Brown and URI working in high
schools in Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls to provide
college admission and financial aid information, advising and
assistance to those students and their families. Access Scholars
will also participate in training, bi-weekly seminars and other
Swearer Center activities that combine student learning
outcomes with thoughtful community engagement opportunities.
Access Scholars will gain in-depth academic and hands-on
experience of college access issues nationally and locally, and
will be eligible for an AmeriCorps scholarship and work-study
stipend. Application Deadline: 9/11/08. Contact: Rosanna
Castro and Jesse Cohen.
SCIENCE/MATH
Brown Science Prep is a program designed to engage high
school students with science through interactive lessons geared
to real world phenomena, applicable learning, and hands-on
demonstration. In addition, Brown student volunteers mentor
BSP participants through the college preparation process.
Contact: Lauren Huckaby and Jennifer Park
Engagement 9
Algebra in Motion is an educational partnership between
Hope High School, Brown University, and Texas Instruments.
The collaboration provides access to graphing calculators for
every ninth-grade algebra student at Hope High School, and
aims to improve student engagement and achievement in math.
Brown students serve as in-class taeching assistants and after-
school tutors. Contact: Mandeep Gill and Aditya Voleti
YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
The Rhode Island Urban Debate League (RIUDL)
exists to provide access to policy debate to students, teachers,
and communities in the urban core of Rhode Island. College
student volunteers partner with dedicated teachers to coach at
after-school practices, Saturday workshops, and a number of
local and travel tournaments, developing mentorship relation-
ships with high school students along the way. Contact: Matt
Grimes, Zack Beauchamp, Michael Ewart, Morgan Whitworth
The Rossi House Debate and Speech Program a
partnership with the Rhode Island Urban Debate League
and the Rhode Island Training School (rits), the Rossi
House Debate and Speech Program seeks to empower
incarcerated young women to think critically and proac-
tively about personal and political issues through debate
and public speaking. Brown students work at least once
a week in the female unit at the rits to help participants
develop stronger advocacy skills in ways that draw on
their unique strengths and honor their lived experiences.
Contact: Neeta Pal
OLEEP (Outdoor Leadership Environmental Educa-
tion Project) is a mentoring program for Met High School
students of all grade levels. Brown volunteers engage with the
Met students in one-on-one mentoring relationships, weekly
environmental education/science workshops, and camping
or backpacking trips. oleep fosters individual awareness,
personal challenge, and leadership skills in Brown and Met
students as they learn from each other. Contact: Rebecca deSa
and Kevin O’Brien
Adult Learning
Literacy Resources / Rhode Island was established in
1997 to expand existing professional capacity within Rhode
Island’s adult education community; increase educators’ and
learners’ capacity to use and interact with on-line technology;
and to assist in improving delivery of resources to adult learn-
ers, thereby strengthening adult education provision across the
state. lr/ ri’s work continues through the newly formed RI
Professional Development Center; for more information about
this center please contact lrri@brown.edu.
10 Engagement
The Olneyville ESOL Program offers esol classes four
evenings per week. The classes are held at the William D’Abate
Elementary School / Olneyville Community School. Volunteers
work with learners to encourage language and community
development, and to assist learners in meeting their self-defined
goals. Contact: Vicki Wang
Genesis Center Teacher Education / ESOL Program
provides Brown students an opportunity to observe and reflect
upon adult esol classes taught at the Genesis Center, and to
enter into a process of learning about adult education teaching
approaches, methodologies and philosophies.
Students observe classes weekly at the Genesis Center (once
or twice), meet weekly with others in the group and with co-
coordinators, and submit written reflections of their time at
Genesis to coordinators. Over time, they take on responsibilities
for classroom activity at Genesis, working with adult esol and
literacy learners. Contact: Camilla Hawthorne
Space in Prison for the Arts and Creative Expression
(SPACE), a partnership with the Women’s and Men’s Divisions
of the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institutions (aci),
works to create an entertaining and educational environment
to explore creative writing, dance, movement song and theater
with inmates and student volunteers. Contact: Women’s
Program, Ariel Werner; Men’s Program, Phil Kaye
The Developmentally Disabled Literacy Program pairs
volunteer tutors from Brown University with developmentally
disabled adults from the greater Providence community. Tutors
and learners focus on developing social, literacy, and computer
skills, with attention to individual needs. The program,
founded in 1989, serves learners from group homes, sheltered
work sites, and independent living centers. Contact: Rudmilla
Rahman and Claire Williams.
The Deaf Literacy Program the only program of its kind in
the state, offers classroom instruction in English literacy skills
to adult learners who are Deaf or severely hard-of-hearing.
Classes are conducted in American Sign Language, and team-
taught by Deaf teachers. Signing volunteers provide additional
support, as needed. Contact: Janet Isserlis
Writers’ Groups offer developmentally disabled adults at
Blackstone Valley Industries a forum to engage in creative
writing and to practice literacy skills. The Writers’ Groups
encourage both developmentally disabled adults and Brown
student volunteers to develop their personal creativity, critical
thinking and communicative skills through creative writing
Engagement 11
workshops. The program strives to develop skills and support
activities which enable participants to increase their indepen-
dence and enhance the quality of their lives. Contact: Jessica
Newman
Intergenerational Learning
MET Family Literacy Program is a partnership with the
Met School, offers classes two evenings per week to parents
and children. Classes include esol, computer literacy, and
Spanish language. Volunteers work with learners to encourage
language and community development, and to assist learners
in meeting their self-defined goals. Contact: Jorge Torres (adult
programs) and Dilania Inoa (children’s programs)
Community Programs: Community
Development, Health & Human Rights
The Swearer Center is working with Making
Connections Providence (MCP), a collaborative effort to
build resident leadership and community capacity in Providence,
to develop a strategy that would engage Brown students and
faculty in this work. Through mcp, residents of particular
neighborhoods in Providence, define the issues that their
families are most effected by, and develop strategies to address
them on the community and government level. Currently we have
established the following opportunities for student involvement.
The Making Connections Leadership Institute (MCLI)
is at the heart of this effort to build stronger, healthier
neighborhoods. mcli trains residents in neighborhood
issues, public policy, the smart use of data, and community
organizing. Residents are provided with the resources
and social networks to buildtheir personal leadership
capacity in order to influence change in their schools and
neighborhoods, on non-profit boards and at community
meetings. Brown students participating in mcli will be
immersed in neighborhood issues, work collaboratively
with residents, come face to face with the dynamics of
race, class and power as they relate to change, coalition
building, community organizing, defining relevant issues
and engaging in shared leadership. For students who
want a closer relationship with Providence residents and
issues facing neighborhoods this is a fabulous and time
intensive opportunity. Contact: Claudia DeCesare
12 Engagement
Providence Business Teens at John Hope Settlement
House is part of mcp’s“family economic success”
strategy. Brown University students and the John Hope
Settlement House collaborate to provide opportunities for
High School students to learn about the finance and
business industries. Participants will learn how to generate
revenue through trading stocks and entrepreneurial
ventures. At the end of the program, students will have
researched and participated in stock trading and the stock
market as well as have prepared their own business plans
and proposals. Providence Business Teens will provide
a comfortable and casual environment where learning
about these distant fields will be easy, relatable, and fun.
Contact: Sanjay Bhatt or Samantha Favis at
providencebusinessteens@gmail.com
Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE)
grew out of a 2004 Break Project and has as its mission building
solidarity with the homeless community in Rhode Island.
Students engaged with hope work closely with People to End
Homelessness to support their advocacy efforts. hope partici-
pants also provide direct service to soup kitchens, shelters and
other community agencies and help support the Street Sights
Newspaper. Contact: Megan C. Smith and Meghna Philip.
Project for HIV/AIDS Site-based Education (PHASE)
works collaboratively with Destiny House to provide hiv/
aids and domestic abuse prevention/education to adolescents
and young adults. Volunteers are trained to implement and
develop curricula in various locations, with the guidance and
supervision of professionals. Contact: Cassidy Boesch or Gina
Silverstein.
Go! Kids is an obesity prevention program that works in
collaboration with Head Start, utilizing the parent and children
curricula of the Children’s Aid Society. Through a year long
series of lessons, the program seeks to convey the most crucial
aspects of obesity prevention, including: how and why we need
to eat the various food groups, portion sizes, listening to your
body, exercise, body image, the food pyramid, shopping for
affordable and healthy food, and the importance of drinking
water. Contact: Sarah Garcia.
Providence Allied CPR Education (PACE) provides low
cost cpr education in collaboration with volunteer instructors
and community organizations in Providence. The project
stresses the benefits for health and youth leadership development
in their teaching. Contact: Ruby Shah and Nina Karlsen-Ayala.
Engagement 13
Social Entrepreneurship
The Social Innovation Initiative (sii) fosters and supports a
community of students and alumni who hope to create social
change through effective and innovative solutions. sii presents
a range of programming to students to Inspire and Involve them
in social entrepreneurship theory and practice through relevant
coursework and independent study, through campus lectures and
seminars, through internships that provide experience and context.
As students gain knowledge and experience in the work of
communities, SII offers resources and support to encourage
students to work in communities to design and test new, innovative
solutions through the Starr Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship,
seed grants for student led initiatives, and Social Entrepreneurship
Boot Camp workshops to provide hands-on skills. The Social
Entrepreneur’s Network promotes impact and sustainability by creat-
ing a vibrant support network for student and alumni entrepreneurs
through mentoring, advising, and networking. Additional information
about these programs is available online at swearercenter.brown.
edu/whatwedo/social and by contacting Alan Harlam.
Work-Study and AmeriCorps Opportunities
The Off-Campus Federal Work-Study program allows students to
gain experience at community based organizations while meeting
work-study obligations. In addition, the Swearer Center administers
the Americorps Scholarships for Service Program, which provides
scholarships for students who perform over 300 hours of community
service in Rhode Island. For more information on Work-Study or
Scholarships for Service, contact Claudia DeCesare.
Careers in the Common Good
This Fall the Swearer Center and Career Development Center
are relaunching Brown’s Careers in the Common Good program,
featuring online resources and workshops for job seekers,
opportunities to hear from and network with alumni engaged in
community-based work, and weekly conversations over coffee
about connecting your passion to your academics, and the
challenges and rewards of living an engaged life. For more
information, contact Peggy Chang at Peggy_Chang@brown.edu.
14 Leadership
Leadership
Community Programs
The Swearer Center’s community programs are described earlier
in this booklet. Students can take leadership roles by serving as
paid staff coordinators for these programs. Coordinators commit
to leading the program, and engaging in in-depth learning and re-
flection with Swearer Center Staff about community issues, com-
munity work and program management. Use the list on the back
page of this guide to contact the appropriate Swearer Center
staff person for more information on a program or download an
application to become a student coordinator http://swearercenter.
brown.edu/documents/job_application.pdf
National College Advising Corps at Brown
The National College Advising Corps seeks to increase the number
of low- to moderate-income high school students who enter college
and earn bachelor’s degrees, by providing college application
and financial aid guidance to those students and their families.
Eleven full-time College Guides (recent graduates of Brown and uri)
work collaboratively with guidance staff, principals, teachers, and
others at partner schools across R.I. to increase the awareness,
preparation, and college-going disposition of students. Brown
undergraduate volunteers will assist in tutoring, mentoring and
college preparatory work with students at four sites. The initiative
is funded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and the Rhode Island
Service Alliance. For more information, contact Rosanna Castro.
Access Scholars is an initiative of the Howard R. Swearer
Center for Public Service through its National College Advising
Corps program. Access Scholars (Brown undergraduate advisers)
will collaborate with College Guides (full-time advisers), who are
recent graduates of Brown and URI working in high schools in
Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls to provide college admis-
sion and financial aid information, advising and assistance to those
students and their families. Access Scholars will also participate in
training, bi-weekly seminars and other Swearer Center activities
that combine student learning outcomes with thoughtful commu-
nity engagement opportunities. Access Scholars will gain in-depth
academic and hands-on experience of college access issues nation-
ally and locally, and will be eligible for an AmeriCorps scholarship
and work-study stipend. Application Deadline: 9/11/08. Contact:
Rosanna Castro and Jesse Cohen.
Leadership 15
Fellowships
The Swearer Center offers several fellowships to support research
and engagement in the community. More information about
these fellowships, including application materials, profiles of
past fellows and deadlines can be found on the Swearer Center
website http://swearercenter.brown.edu.
The Royce Fellowship provides financial support for an
innovative research, curricular or public service project. Fellows
meet regularly throughout the academic year to discuss their
work with faculty fellows and each other. Contact: Kerri Heffernan
The Sports and Society Fellowship supports innovative
research or applied projects that explore the intersection of
sport and human rights within a particular context, health,
education, public policy, disability rights, gender, race or ethnicity.
Contact: Kerri Heffernan
The C.V. Starr Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship
supports the development of innovative solutions that promote
social change through mentoring, workshops and funding.
Students work with mentors to develop their proposals, attend
workshops to prepare them for their work, then meet monthly
with other fellows to evaluate and refine their initiatives.
Contact: Alan Harlam
The Swearer International Service Fellowship is a
summer fellowship for rising sophomores, juniors and seniors
to pursue international public service work. Awards support
work of the student’s own design or pre-existing internships.
Contact: Alan Flam
The Arthur Liman Fellowship supports 4–5 students per
year to do summer internships in the field of public interest
law. Broadly defined, public interest law helps those often
lacking resources to have adequate access to legal services.
Liman Fellowships often exist at the intersection between law
and human / civil rights movements. The program is co-coor-
dinated by the Swearer Center and the Arthur Liman Public
Interest Program at Yale Law School. Contact: Alan Flam
16 Leadership
Urban Education Semester (UES)
Through the Urban Education Semester (UES), students spend
a semester in New York City, engaged in a combination of
supervised fieldwork in a public school and coursework offered
by Bank Street College of Education. This interdisciplinary, aca-
demic immersion program earns academic credit and introduces
students from all academic backgrounds to the complexity of
issues facing urban public education. Students interested in urban
environments, community development, teaching and learning,
and systemic reform find that this semester-long immersion pro-
gram enables them to examine urban public education from the
perspective of educators and policy makers in one of the nation’s
largest and most complex school systems. For more information,
visit http://www.theventureconsortium.org/urban_ed/urban_ed_
semester.html or contact Peggy_Chang@brown.edu. Applications
for the Spring 2009 program are due on Monday, October 27.
Coursework
As an office of the Dean of the College, the work of the Howard
R. Swearer, Center for Public Service, is linked directly to the
work of the university and to the Brown curriculum. The Center
works with Brown faculty in a range of ways to advance teaching,
learning and research - strengthening students understanding and
abilities as outlined in the curricular goals; and supporting efforts
to extend the expertise and skill of faculty and students to benefit
local and global communities.
Sample courses that include community-based work or
research include:
Sociology 1870A: Investing in Social Change The Practice of
Philanthropy
This course will engage students in the conceptual frameworks
and research regarding philanthropy, social change, and
organizational dynamics; as well as concrete practice in designing
and implementing a philanthropic strategy. Students will work
in teams to investigate a particular community concern, design
an investment strategy, recommend the investment of grant
dollars, and set up the means to evaluate the outcomes of that
investment. The course is geared toward students with experience
in community work, and enrollment requires instructor
permission. Application will be available at swearercenter.
brown.edu shortly before spring semester.
Education 0081: Poetry in Service to Schools and the Community
A creative writing/community service project. Students will re-
ceive intensive workshop and teacher training, and spend 6–8
weeks visiting local elementary, middle and secondary schools
as ‘poets-in-the- schools.’
Leadership 17
BC032: Introduction to Public Health
This course is designed to provide an overview of the u.s.
Public Health System, with an emphasis on the core functions
of public health, challenges and strategies for working with
communities, and specific health issues that impact the health
of the population. It will present a comprehensive overview
of the environmental and behavioral factors associated with
health promotion and disease prevention. To better understand
the public health system students will write a proposal to
develop and evaluate an intervention for members of the met
High School community in South Providence. As part of this
project, leaders of the MET High School have identified seven
topics for which they would like to have proposals developed.
Each student will choose to be a member of one of seven
coalitions. Each coalition will address only one of the seven
topics and consist of up to 12–14 Brown students and 1-2 met
students.
Music 123: Topics in Ethnomusicology
This course explores the theories and practices of applied eth-
nomusicology. Students will learn how to identify, document,
and assist a local or regional music tradition bearer. Through
their fieldwork, the students will engage in the issues that
applied ethnomusicologists and folklorists face as advocates
and translators of culture, such as representation, authentic-
ity, agency, and definitions of tradition in the face of moder-
nity and relocation. The students will also lay the basis for
ongoing connections between the Providence community and
Brown.
Faculty / Student Course and Research
Partnerships
The Karen T. Romer Undergraduate Teaching and Research
Award Program, administered by the Office of the Dean of
the College is designed to strengthen undergraduate education
through supporting collaborative research, course development,
and teaching activities between faculty members and students in
all academic disciplines. The fellowship may be held either over
the summer or during the semester.
GISPs, ISPs & Internships
Visit the Curricular Resource Center to learn about designing
your own Academic Internship, Group Independent Study Project
(GISP), or Independent Study Project (ISP) that helps integrate
community-based experiences with academic work. www.brown.
edu/Student_Services/Resource_Center/rc/main.php
18 Other Support, Resources and Opportunities
Other Support, Resources
and Opportunities
Transportation
Most community agencies are accessible by walking, biking or
public transportation. Information on the Rhode Island Public
Transportation Authority (ripta) is available at http://www.ripta.
com or by calling 781-9400. Brown students, faculty and staff
ride ripta free with their Brown id. The Swearer Center owns
two mini vans, which are available for use only by participants in
Swearer Center programs and can only be driven by those trained
and certified to do so. Contact the Swearer Center for more
information on using the vans.
Rhode Island Community Jobs
is a public e-mail announcement list raising the profile of meaningful
work in Rhode Island by helping non-profit and public employers
publicize openings effectively. Job seekers and employers can use
the service free of charge. Details are available at
http://www.ricommunityjobs.org.
Resource Library
The Swearer Center’s resource library contains information about
fellowships, domestic and international learning opportunities,
social justice, community development, health and well being,
prisons and pedagogy. Additionally, the library contains a wealth
of materials for young readers and adult learners.
Community Fellows Program
In recognition of the rich resources of the Rhode Island community,
the skill and expertise of many community professionals, and the
strong partnerships that have been established between the
Swearer Center and community organizations, the Swearer
Center has established the Community Fellows Program. Swearer
Community Fellows are selected annually for their expertise, ability
to advise students, faculty and staff, and willingness to deepen
the community context of the work of the Swearer Center.
Sources of Data on Providence and Rhode Island
For those interested in learning more about the demographics
and context for these efforts in Providence and Rhode Island, the
following websites provide extensive information:
Providence Plan www.providenceplan.org
Poverty Institute www.povertyinstitute.org
KidsCountRI www.rikidscount.org
HousingWorksRI www.housingworksri.org
Contact 19
Contact
Business hours (while classes are in session)
25 George Street
Mon – Thu, 9:00 am – 9:00 pm, Fri 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
69 Brown Street / J. Walter Wilson, 3rd Floor
Mon – Fri 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Staff 25 George Street
Adam Bradley
Web and Technology Specialist
Adam_Bradley@brown.edu
Linda Cunningham
Program Director, Education Equity
Office Hours: 1:00 – 3:00 pm, Tuesdays
Linda_Cunningham@brown.edu
Claudia DeCesare
Program Manager, Community / Resident Partnerships
Includes Work-Study, Americorps Scholarships for Service
Office Hours: 12:00 – 2:00 pm, Wednesdays
Claudia_DeCesare@brown.edu
Amy Doyle
Community Programs Coordinator
Orientation Programs, Student Coordinators
Amy_Doyle@brown.edu
Alan Harlam
Director, Social Innovation Innitiative
Includes C.V. Starr Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship
Office Hours: 1:00 – 3:00 pm, Mondays; 9:30 – 12:00 pm, Fridays
Alan_Harlam@brown.edu
Kerri Heffernan
Director, Faculty Engagement & Royce Fellowships
Includes Courses & Research
Office Hours: 1:00 – 3:00 pm, Mondays; 9:30 – 12:00 pm, Fridays
Kerri_Heffernan@brown.edu
Dilania Inoa
Program Manager, Elementary & Middle School
Office Hours: 2:00 – 4:00 pm, Thursdays
Dilania_Inoa@brown.edu
Janet Isserlis
Program Manager, Adult Learning & Literacy
Office Hours: 1:00 – 3:00 pm, Mondays
Janet_Isserlis@brown.edu
20 Contact
Roger Nozaki
Director, Associate Dean of the College
Office Hours: 2:00 – 3:30 pm, Thursdays
Roger_Nozaki@brown.edu
Wendy Perelman
Department Coordinator
Wendy_Perelman@brown.edu
Leticia Tejada
Program and Communications Coordinator
Leticia_Tejada@brown.edu
Staff 69 Brown Street / J. Walter Wilson, 3rd Floor
Jan Cal
Administrative Assistant, The Venture Consortium @ Brown
Janice_Cal@brown.edu
Rosanna Castro
Program Manager, National College Advising Corps at Brown
Rosanna_Castro@brown.edu
Peggy Chang
Director, The Venture Consortium @ Brown
Includes Urban Education Semester
Peggy_Chang@brown.edu
Jesse Cohen
Program Assistant, National College Advising Corps at Brown
Justin_Cohen@brown.edu
Alan Flam
Senior Fellow
Includes Academic Advising/UCAAP, Arthur Liman & Swearer
International Service Fellowships, Break Projects, Hunger
& Homelessness
Office Hours: 2:00 – 4:00 pm, Tuesdays
Alan_Flam@brown.edu
25 George Street, Box 1974 * J. Walter Wilson, 3rd Floor
Providence, RI 02912-1974 69 Brown Street, Box 1838
(401)863-2338 Providence, RI 02912-1838
swearercenter.brown.edu * National College Advising
Corps
House
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ST R EET
M EET IN G
Bio Medi cal
2 3 Center
Location Map
T R EET
T O LIV E S
K EEN E ST R EE
D EFO E PLA C E
T H A Y ER ST
Brown Hi llel
The Swearer Center for Public Service is located at 25 GeorgeLadd Observatory
(Hope St.
Street, one block from Brown’s Main Green and across from the Doyle Ave.)
and
BR O W N
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loadingL dockEof the Rockefeller Library.
ANGE L S
T R ET Corliss-Brackett House
(Admission and English J.W.
Financial Aid) Wilson
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ST R EET
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FO N ES A Arts
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Menco ff
BR O W N
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Robinson Hall Partridge H
Hall Institute for Hall
25 George Street Archaeology and W A T ER M
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Blistein House Prospect Hope
Campus Map House Carrie 219 College 2
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Center John Hay Hall/ChapelNew 4
Library
Pembroke
Metcalf Miller Champlin
Macfarlane Gerard Dorms
Hall Hall Van Hall Sayles
House House University 1 The
W ickle Hall College C U S H I N G
C O LLEG E ST R EET Pembroke Gates
PR O SPEC T
111 Campus M orriss Hall Green
Brown Street Wilson
(Dorm) Verney-Woolley
Slater
Dining Room
Rockefeller Alumnae Hall
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ST R EET
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Rhode Island
W ilbour Hall
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NS House House Alumni
KI Swearer Horace Miller
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BR O W N ST R EET
M ann House Taubman Center
Center
Center
Sidney E. Frank Hall Sarah H
for Life Sciences Faculty Doyle
Club Student W omen’s
Grimshaw- Life Center U C L I
Bio Medi cal E
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Gudewicz BEN EV O LEN T ST R EET
Building
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First Unitarian 5 Bigelow Arnold
Benoni Cooke
ST
Church Benevolent Brown OLounge
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✝ Street Building
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Poland
and BookstoreArchibald
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O L I V69 Brown Street / J. Walter Wilson
E ST R Mead House
Sharpe House House House
House Keeney Quad
121 Brown Hi llel
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Everett
House House House
Urban Churchill Building
BR O W N
Environmental House A R L E S F I E L D S T R E E T
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Corliss-Brackett House Lab
(Admission and English J.W.
T.
Financial Aid) Wilson Sheridan Center
ST R EET
L L E Y Literary Norwood
FO N ES A Arts
Lab
House
for Teachi ng and Lear ning
Menco ff Walter
Robinson Hall Partridge Hall
Institute for Hall
Hall AN ST R EET
Archaeology and W A T ER M
the Ancient World Plant Arnold Lab Sc
Stuart Environmental L
Hunter Center Metcalf
Faunce Hou se Theatre Medical W E R S T R E E T
PO Chemistry
t Hope Lab
Carrie College Research Lab Lab Presi
Tower Ho
Lyman Hall/ Metcalf
Salomon Leeds Theatre Research
M anning Center
Hall/Chapel Nightingale
Brown Ho us
Lincoln Field
Van Sayles Hall Caswell M
BE
University The Hall
W ickle
NE
Hall College Lincoln
Gates
PR O SPEC T
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Green Maxcy Field
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Building
ST
Wilson Hall Hall Hegeman
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Slater St. Stephen’s Hall
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Hall Little eld Church
Hall
ST R EET
John Carter Brown
Gardner
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Rhode Island Library
House
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Hall
Sears
Shirley Nicholson Maddock House
MA
Sharpe