Duquesne University Times

University Strengthens Commitment to Service-Learning with New Gaultier Fellows

Posted on October 26, 2011

In support of its commitment to service-learning, Duquesne has announced the creation of a new fellowship for University faculty. The first Gaultier Fellows—named in honor of the late Spiritan, the Rev. Mathurin Gaultier, C.S.Sp.,—will begin their appointments during the 2012-13 academic year.

Dr. Amy Phelps, assistant professor of quantitative sciences in the Palumbo•Donahue School of Business, and the School of Nursing’s Dr. Yvonne Weideman, clinical assistant professor, and Dr. Rebecca Kronk, assistant professor, have been named the inaugural Gaultier Fellows.

Gaultier was a professor of moral theology at Seminaire du Saint Esprit and later served as assistant general of the Spiritan congregation. He advocated for scholarly study within the congregation and attracted a number of scholars to the work of the Spiritans. This group is known as the Gaultier Circle of Scholars. The Gaultier name is symbolic of how well scholarship complements the practice of the Spiritan charism, just as the faculty fellow brings scholarship and scholarly leadership to the practice of service-learning at Duquesne.

As a Gaultier Fellow, Phelps will implement clear, executable, quantitative assessment of direct measures of student learning that result from service-learning. Her work will build on the existing indirect and qualitative work undertaken by the Office of Service-Learning and will contribute to the field a model for quantitative assessment that is consonant with the values and mission of a Catholic University, specifically Duquesne. During the fall 2013, she will lead a faculty learning group on service-learning.

In their roles as Gaultier Fellows, Weideman and Kronk will promote faculty mentored, student-led, community-engaged research using “photovoice.” Photovoice allows researchers to use photography as a means to understand community members’ lived experiences, including their joys, strengths, challenges and unmet needs. Specifically, faculty and students will use photovoice to understand the experience of grandparents who are the primary caregivers of grandchildren in the Hill District. As a result, they will produce shared scholarship with the students, and will produce a faculty toolkit on community engaged scholarship with particular emphasis on developing opportunities for undergraduate mentored research.