The Independent
Dixie State University students, faculty, and staff posted a record-breaking year of providing community service through the institution’s service learning program. Overall, the DSU community combined to provide nearly 93,000 hours of service during the 2014-15 academic year to the campus, the St. George community, Washington Count,y and southwestern Utah through a number of academic, athletic, and campus initiatives.
According to David Zielke, DSU Faculty Service Learning Coordinator, Dixie State University had 39 total courses or programs that involved students, faculty, and staff in performing some type of service. DSU saw a 35.2% increase (24,175 hours) in the number of service hours reported in the 2014-15 academic year for a total of 92,803 hours, compared to 68,628 hours recorded in the 2013-14 academic year.
“All of these are new records for Dixie State,” Zielke said. “We have doubled the number of reported service learning hours over the past five years.”
These activities included campus improvement projects, tutoring area elementary and secondary school-age students in mathematics and reading, teacher preparation with the Washington County School District, forensics training, language translation, food drives, and several health care screenings and procedures. The University worked with several community organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and the ReStore, the new SwitchPoint Community Resource Center, the DOVE Center, United Way Dixie, and the Dixie Care and Share to provide much needed assistance and service.
DSU biology students helped restore areas damaged by recent flooding by transplanting native vegetation back into those areas. History students completed oral history projects with local veterans and the elderly in the community. Chemistry students and faculty performed chemistry “magic shows” to excite students about science. Dixie State’s accounting program set another record in providing free federal and state tax return preparation and filing services during the 2015 tax season. In all, students helped file 1,930 federal tax returns and 1,928 state returns, with tax-related refunds surpassing $3.2 million going back into the community.
DSU’s athletic department also stepped up to send a number of student athletes and coaches to area elementary schools for reading and mentoring activities with students. DSU athletes also played sports with special needs children, visited patients at Dixie Regional Medical Center, collected food for the Dixie Care and Share, raised money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Kay Yow Cancer Fund, and held special athletic skills camps.
In addition, DSU’s allied health programs performed health and preventative screenings, including dental hygiene services, flu vaccinations, x-rays, and various screenings and presentations in coordination with Kolob Care and Rehab, local Head Start programs, and the Southwest Public Health Department, among other community entities.
For more information about Dixie State’s service learning program, please contact David Zielke at (435) 652-7716 or [email protected].
