Della Pollock received the 2011 Robert L. Sigmon Service-Learning Award during the 13th North Carolina Campus Compact PACE (Pathways to Achieving Civic Engagement) Conference held February 9 at Elon University. The award, named for Robert L. Sigmon, a North Carolina native and pioneer in the national service-learning field, is presented each year to a NC Campus Compact institution faculty member who has made significant contributions toward furthering the practice of service-learning.
Pollock, a communication studies professor at UNC Chapel Hill, received a Ueltschi grant in 2006 to deepen an APPLES Service-Learning experience with a local church to establish, and now direct, the Marian Cheek Jackson Center for Saving and Making History, a community-based center for the collection of oral histories. A number of community events, including an annual May Day celebration and Facing our Neighbors, have fostered the relationship between the community, the church and the university.
Pollock has served at UNC Chapel Hill since 1999 as professor, since 2007 as director of graduate studies and for nine years as director or co-director of the University Program in Cultural Studies. She is the 2008-2011 Bank of America term professor at UNC, recognized for her innovative pedagogy and service to the university honors program. Currently, Pollock has a two-year appointment as Faculty Engaged Scholar for development of the Jackson Center, and in 2009 received the Office of the Provost Engaged Scholarship Award. She earned a Ph.D. in performance studies at Northwestern University. Included in her multiple publications is a book in progress on the role of service-learning and engaged scholarship in sustained activism and community development in a historically African-American community.
Pollock received the award from Sigmon as well as Tom Ross, president of the University of North Carolina system and Nicole Gallant, director of Learn and Service America at the Corporation for National and Community Service.
###
North Carolina Campus Compact builds collaborations amongst public, independent and community colleges and universities. The 46 member presidents and chancellors commit their institutions to being engaged campuses that enhance a student’s sense of responsibility, citizenship, leadership and awareness of community, and impact the community by partnering with local organizations to address real needs. For additional information about NC Campus Compact or the Robert L. Sigmon Service-Learning Award visit www.nccampuscompact.org.
Original Article – http://www.unc.edu/ccps/profile-dellapollack.php