Three University of Georgia faculty members have been recognized by the Office of Service-Learning with Service-Learning Teaching Excellence Awards for 2022. These awards recognize faculty for excellence in developing, implementing and sustaining academic service-learning opportunities for UGA students. Since 2011, more than 30 UGA faculty have received these awards.
Service-Learning Research Excellence Award
Jon Calabria (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
Jon Calabria, associate professor in the College of Environment and Design, connects his research with his service-learning courses to benefit the community. Calabria’s research focuses on improving and restoring the environment through landscape architecture, and he has revamped and developed several courses using service-learning pedagogies to provide students with hands-on experiences in environmental enhancement in the Appalachians, Costa Rica and the Georgia coast. In addition to his research in landscape architecture, Calabria has researched the public’s attitude and behavior toward the topics of water quantity and quality. He is also part of UGA’s Faculty Learning Community on Service-Learning Scholarship and Research.
Service-Learning Teaching Excellence Award
Katie Darby Hein (Submitted photo)
Katie Darby Hein, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior in the College of Public Health, teaches multiple service-learning courses to prepare students for careers in health promotion. For nearly a decade, Hein’s service-learning course, “Foundations in Health Promotion Professional Practice and Service,” has placed students at sites around Athens-Clarke County to gain hands-on experience working with the community. Hein also helped develop a study abroad trip to Japan in which students worked with rural communities and gained valuable health promotion experience. As the undergraduate internship coordinator for her department, she has connected interns with nearly 200 organizations and companies in Georgia and beyond.
Kim Skobba (File photo)
Kim Skobba, associate professor in the Department of Financial Planning, Housing and Consumer Economics in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, has developed and taught multiple service-learning courses on topics including housing and community development, housing counseling and sustainable housing. Her “Topics in Sustainable Housing” service-learning course teaches students to critically examine the effectiveness of green building in different environmental, economic and social contexts and connects students to local community partners such as the Athens Land Trust and Athens Habitat for Humanity. Skobba also co-developed FHCE 4900, “Green Building and the Tiny House Movement,” which allowed students to build a tiny house each semester.
