Introducing three faculty members with newly-designated Service Learning Courses. Dr. Margaret Butcher, Professor Phil Jones, and Assistant Director for Faculty Development, Mindy Hunthrop. Meet Dr. Margaret Butcher (pictured below, left), […]
Introducing three faculty members with newly-designated Service Learning Courses. Dr. Margaret Butcher, Professor Phil Jones, and Assistant Director for Faculty Development, Mindy Hunthrop.
Meet Dr. Margaret Butcher (pictured below, left), assistant professor of Communication in J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences, as she sits in front of a Chinese piece that reads “Culture isn’t everything, but everything is culture.” Dr. Butcher received this piece while teaching a dual degree program in China.
Prior to coming to the University of Arkansas four years ago, Dr. Butcher worked in distance and online education for more than a decade. She has a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Dr. Butcher is teaching a newly-designated Service Learning course – Intercultural Communication (COMM 4343) – beginning next semester, Spring 2020. By adding a Service Learning component to Intercultural Communication, U of A students will have the opportunity to engage in intercultural dialogue and exploration of cultures different from their own. Partnered with the Spring International Learning Center (SILC) of Fayetteville, Dr. Butcher’s students will assist similarly-aged, second-language English learners in transitioning to the American college experience. Engaging in weekly meetings and activities, these communication students in turn, will learn about the transition process, cultural norms and expectations, and cultural adaptations of their international counterparts. By helping others transition to a new culture, Dr. Butcher’s students will also develop a new understanding of cultures unlike their own. She hopes that by the end of the course, students will develop skills that help them become culturally competent through empathy, critical thinking, and appreciation of diverse cultures.
Meet Professor Phil Jones and Assistant Director for Faculty Development, Mindy Hunthrop (pictured below, right).
Professor Jones works in the University’s Industrial Engineering Department, as a professor in the highly-regarded Operations Management graduate program. He earned his MBA from the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. Dr. Jones is teaching a newly-designated Service Learning course – Strategic Management (OMGT 5623) – giving students the opportunity to put into practice strategic management concepts for an actual client. Dr. Jones’ students will be working with the Elkins School District and the City of Elkins as real consultants to develop a strategic plan to facilitate growth and development in the community. Their plans will include sustainable strategies based on evaluations of the external environment, internal resources, and mission statement.
Special thanks to Ms. Hunthrop, from the Operations and Engineering Management Graduate Programs, for assisting in the process of designating Dr. Jones’ Strategic Management course as Service Learning!