In an area where the unemployment rate hovers around 10.2 percent -- one and a half percent higher than the statewide average – fewer people have access to employer-provided dental insurance for themselves and their families.
But two years ago, Ivy Tech State College came up with a solution that provides low-cost basic dental care to the community while offering a hands-on training opportunity to students in its dental hygiene program.
The million-dollar facility, where students see about 90 patients a week under the supervision of a licensed dentist, charges on a sliding fee scale. Teeth cleaning, for instance, costs about $20 for adults and $10 for children.
“Anytime we can help the community, we are helping our students,” said James Willey, vice chancellor of Ivy Tech’s Anderson campus.
Officials at Ivy Tech and Anderson University profess a belief that educating their students is not only a matter of preparing them for careers but also for developing and understanding of community involvement. And both schools have made a monetary investment in that belief.
Though Ivy Tech is a system divided into 14 statewide regions with a total of hundreds of educational sites, community-based programs like the clinic help anchor a campus to a specific locality.
“Even though we are a community college, we want to be the community’s college. Ninety percent of our graduates stay in the community,” Willey said.
The Community Partnership Center is one of the most visible ways Anderson University touches the surrounding community. The university and its students reach out to the residents of Anderson through campus ministries, including prison ministry; the Study Buddies tutoring program at local shelters and after-school programs; and Park Place Community Center’s food pantry.
CPC director Stephanie Moran said the university takes a broad approach to service by giving students local, national and international opportunities. The relationships developed by the center tap into the students’ wide range of interests and needs, giving them opportunities to explore a variety of fields from business to the environment.
“It allows the students to learn and become the people of character that the university cares to claim as alumni and graduates,” she said. “Service is one thing that creates sustainable relationships between students, the campus and the community.”
As a Christian institution, the university has a long history of community service. But it was only four years ago that its officials established the center, placing service front and center.
“There’s really been an intentional opportunity on the part of the university for the students to have engaged learning while at the university,” Moran said. Community service rounds out the university’s stated mission to “educate for a life of faith and service.”
“You can’t really meet your mission if you don’t have opportunities for your students to be engaged,” she said.
That engagement, Moran added, does as much for the students as the for the community.
“They become changed by the experience. Intellectually, yes, but socially and emotionally, as well,” she said.
Annual Report: Health & Public Service
Related Photos
-
A class meets outside at Anderson University on Thursday. According the the Chronicle of Higher Education, the percentage of students receiving a bachelor’s degree within six years at AU in 2010 was 56.8 percent. Don Knight
Discussion
Ivy Tech, AU engage students in community
- Annual Report: Health & Public Service
-
-
Ivy Tech, AU engage students in community
Though Ivy Tech is a system divided into 14 statewide regions with a total of hundreds of educational sites, community-based programs like the clinic help anchor a campus to a specific locality.
-
Brown leads student volunteers
Many people don’t really know what the Urban League of Madison County has to offer their community. But Lindsay Brown, the organization’s president and CEO, hopes that will change soon.
-
Nonprofits rethinking the way they do business in today's economy
United Way of Madison County president Nancy Vaughan has banded together with other local nonprofit organizations, business and local government agencies to find ways to stretch every dollar her organization receives.
-
Operation Love has big goals
Operation Love Ministries may not have a huge budget, but the power of a large volunteer group and helpful spirit help the faith-based nonprofit have a giant impact in the lives of those it seeks to help.
-
Madison County school districts weather ups and downs
It was another year of ups and downs for Madison County schools as some districts reaped the benefits of legislation like school choice while others suffered from it.
-
Buck struggles with South Madison budget
With the economy in a recession, schools such as South Madison are facing many challenges with budget cuts.
-
Area churches hope to spread message through outreach programs
As the area’s largest and most visible church, Madison Park Church of God claims a membership of well over 2,000 people. However, the county as a whole is somewhat behind when it comes to religious presence.
-
Main Street ministry small but full of life
Anderson’s Main Street Church of God has been around for nearly one hundred years. Lately, the congregation has been reinvigorated with new members and a spirit of outreach, proving that you can indeed “teach an old church new tricks.”
-
Local unions fight for fair wages, benefits
For the past 20 years, the firefighters union has been a right-to-work union, according to John Smith, president of the Anderson Firefighters Local 1262. Despite this, there has been a 98 percent involvement rate among firefighters in Indiana.
-
Unions seek to make city government more efficient
With the passage of House Bill 1001, unions are prohibited from forcing workers to join or pay dues and fees to a labor union. The bill was mired in controversy, which included a walkout by many democratic legislators during last year's session.
- More Annual Report: Health & Public Service Headlines
-
