Mary Jo Callan wants to better serve students, faculty and the community by further connecting the available resources at the University of Michigan to the needs within the community through engaged-learning opportunities.
“U-M is uniquely positioned to develop the leaders we need today and to shape our future citizen leaders,” says Callan, who became director of the Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning last summer.
The Ginsberg Center was created nearly 20 years ago and was one of the first centers on campus to engage students in service learning experiences in the community. Today it is among many centers and initiatives that promote student development through community service.
“With a student population upwards of 40,000, collaboration among those whose work focuses on community engagement is key for serving the university,” says Callan. “I’d like to explore how Ginsberg can be the most use to the university and have the greatest impact on our students and community partners.”
To do that Callan has launched a strategic planning process, which includes broad outreach to the Ann Arbor campus and in the community. The outreach is exploring how the Ginsberg Center can best serve the university’s 19 schools and colleges, and faculty, staff, and students while meeting the needs of the community in the process.
Working with the Office of the Provost, Student Life and other academic and educational programs, the center is collecting information through focus groups and interviews to understand the existing service opportunities, the needs of the campus community and what support the center can offer in the short and longer terms.
“Increasing the understanding of how the community can partner with us to leverage the rich resources and talent at the university, and at the same time increasing awareness among faculty and educators of where the opportunities are and how to connect students to them is a role the Ginsberg Center wants to play,” says Callan.
The outreach so far has highlighted common needs among the university community and community partners, including:
• Consistent preparation and training for students participating in community engaged learning.
• A portal for connecting the deep expertise and passion available at the university to the needs within the community.
• Increased coordination among centers involved in engaged learning informed by community needs.
• Infrastructure for maintaining community relationships beyond one-time or expired service experiences.
Callan is a U-M alumna with more than two decades of experience working to advance social justice. Before joining U-M, she served as the director of Washtenaw County’s Office of Community and Economic Development.
Prior to her position with the county, Callan served as director of the Office of Community Development for the city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, and executive director of Ozone House Youth and Family Services. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work at U-M.
The Ginsberg Center was created in 1999 in honor of U-M alumnus Edward Ginsberg, whose life exemplified the value of civic engagement through community service. It provides avenues for students to get involved in the community, provides support to faculty and educators, and delivers specific programs and services.
