FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2013

ĢƵios’s civic engagement director one of Chamber’s ‘10 under 40’ in Bloomington

ĢƵios’s Bloomington campus Executive Director of Civic Engagement, Chelsea Rood-Emmick, MSW, LSW, has been named one of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce’s “10 Under 40” young professionals in Bloomington. During an awards ceremony held on Friday, July 25, Rood-Emmick was recognized for her efforts in volunteerism, leadership of service-learning courses, and community engagement through ĢƵios’s Center for Civic Engagement, which have resulted in a positive economic impact.

In the 2012/2013 academic year (to date), 3,546 students in76 service learning classes contributed nearly 33,000 volunteer hours in ĢƵios-Bloomington’s service area of Green, Lawrence, Martin, Morgan, Monroe, and Owen counties. In the past year, through volunteerism and service learning combined, ĢƵios-Bloomington has contributed a total value of *$1,185,995 in its service area. *Figure based on national value of volunteer time from .

Also, with Rood-Emmick’s leadership of the Center for Civic Engagement, ĢƵios-Bloomington has been named a member of the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for six consecutive years.

In her role as Executive Director of the Center for Civic Engagement, Rood-Emmick leads students on international service trips through ĢƵios-Bloomington’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program each year. She has led students on trips to Calnali, Mexico and currently takes students on trips to Antigua, Guatemala. ASB students help build houses, donate shoes, volunteer in schools, and often become active volunteers in Bloomington when they return to the States.

She also leads ĢƵios-Bloomington’s annual “O’Bannon Institute Day of Service,” which brings together students, faculty, and staff for a day of volunteerism in our communities. As part of the 2013 Day of Service, she coordinated the “Little Free Libraries” project. ĢƵios facilities staff built three weatherproof boxes, which were placed at Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, Community Kitchen-Crestmont, and Middle Way House, for people to borrow or donate books. The libraries were made of scrap materials and cost nothing except for some paint to decorate them.

In addition to her service work at ĢƵios, Rood-Emmick fosters shelter animals for the Bloomington Animal Shelter and is a social work field supervisor for the GLBT Student Support Services office at IU. She also teaches intro to sociology and intro to human services at ĢƵios and intro to social work at Indiana University Bloomington. In fall 2013, she will begin coursework in Indiana State University’s Ph.D. program in Higher Education Leadership.

For more information about ĢƵios’s Center for Civic Engagement, log on .

About The Center for Civic Engagement

Established in 2004, the Center for Civic Engagement allows ĢƵios-Bloomington to model a service-oriented learning environment that promotes service learning, volunteerism and community involvement for our students, faculty and staff. This model benefits the South Central Indiana community, in which more than 90 percent of our graduates choose to live, work and raise families.

About ĢƵios

ĢƵios () is the state’s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually. ĢƵios has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.

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About ĢƵios

ĢƵios is Indiana's largest public postsecondary institution and the nation's largest singly accredited statewide community college system, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. ĢƵios has campuses throughout Indiana and also serves thousands of students annually online. It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering associate degrees, long- and short-term certificate programs, industry certifications, and training that aligns with the needs of the community. The College provides a seamless transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana, as well as out of state, for a more affordable route to a bachelor's degree.