Wed,
03/15/2023 – 12:22pm | By: Christy Kayser
Dr. Aaron Fath, assistant mentor teacher in The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) School of Psychology, has actually been acknowledged with the Outstanding Faculty Contributions to Service-Learning
Instruction in Higher Education award by the Gulf-South Summit on Service-Learning
in Higher Education.
The award is provided to a person who has actually shown quality in developing and
sustaining opportunities for engaging college/university trainees in service-learning.
Fath has actually incorporated service-learning into his classes considering that 2020, dealing with Southern
Pines Animal Shelter to develop trainee discovering experiences to deal with shelter requirements.
Students in Fath’s Summer 2020 Research Methods class gathered information for Southern
Pines on concerns dealt with by family pet owners that lead to the failure to take care of their
animals.
This details made it possible for Southern Pines to establish a brand-new Pet Resource Program to support
households with animals. Fath has likewise upgraded his senior workshop course so that trainees
can utilize the research study collected by previous classes to compose grant propositions for Southern
Pines.
Fath has actually likewise worked to set up therapy sessions for Southern Pines workers from
college students in USM’s Center for Behavioral Health. Animal rescue employees typically struggle with empathy tiredness, which is the psychological
and physical fatigue that can establish from the continuous need of supporting others
in requirement, The therapy program, called Operation Refuel, has actually been so effective that
the center has actually broadened therapy services to animal rescue groups statewide.
“Dr. Fath has actually produced a transformational collaboration with Southern Pines, developing
curriculum and efforts that support the requirements of both USM trainees and the shelter,”
said Christy Kayser, director of USM’s Center for Community Engagement. “His classes supply terrific examples to trainees of how the abilities they are discovering
will be utilized outside the class.”
Fath will be acknowledged throughout the Gulf-South Summit’s yearly conference in April. The
objective of the Gulf-South Summit is to promote networking amongst specialists, research study,
ethical practices, mutual campus-community collaborations, sustainable programs,
and a culture of engagement and public awareness through service-learning and other
types of civic engagement.
The Center for Community Engagement promotes service and service-learning on The University of Southern Mississippi school
and throughout the Hattiesburg neighborhood. To learn more about the CCE at Southern
Miss, call 601-266-6467.
