Salvation Army Learning Spaces Created by Medaille Students Officially Open
A ribbon-cutting party was recently held to officially open new learning spaces at the Salvation Army Buffalo created by Medaille College students and faculty. Using a grant from the Center for Community-Based Learning, the sophomores, juniors and seniors in Dr. Alice Villaseñor’s ENG 375 Children’s Literature service-learning class revamped two classrooms, a technology room and a community center reading space. They also researched age-appropriate, multicultural children’s books to add to the Salvation Army’s collection. Under the guidance of Library Director Andy Yeager, the students completely reorganized the book collection and created a system that can be easily used for years to come. In addition, the Medaille students cleaned, painted, created chalkboard walls, and rearranged learning materials to make every aspect of the spaces more user-friendly.
The ribbon-cutting introduced the children to the revamped spaces. Attendees included Medaille President Dr. Ken Macur; Center for Community-Based Learning Director Bridget Brace-MacDonald; Dr. Villaseñor; Director of Academic Development and Special Projects Kari Costelloe; associate professor Claudia Conway; associate professor Dr. Elaine Correa; assistant professor Kyle Shrader; assistant professor Dr. Bridgette Slavin; instructor Erika Hamann; and a number of Medaille students.
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Medaille has signed three agreements with the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University — a 4+1 program, a 3+1 program and a 30% scholarship agreement — that will take effect immediately and will create new opportunities for communication students.
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As part of the newly established Buffalo College Success Network, Medaille is able to offer increased access, support and opportunities to students from the city of Buffalo, thanks to Say Yes Buffalo and a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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This June, Associate Professor of English Dr. Alice Villaseñor participated in the “Activism and Empathy” Children’s Literature Association Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, speaking about her experiences teaching children’s literature courses in partnership with the Buffalo City Mission’s Literacy and Enrichment After-School Program (LEAP) Program.
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Living out community as one of Medaille's core values, College administration, faculty and staff members gave back to the WNY community by volunteering at local organizations as part of 2019 Day of Service events held in Buffalo and Rochester.
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Department of Education Chair Dr. Colleen Wilkinson participated in the 2019 Council for Exceptional Children Leadership Institute in Washington D.C. earlier this month, and facilitated discussions about professional development opportunities for New York State educators.
