Dr. Kyle Ryan, Associate Professor Sport and Exercise Science, Peru State College recently received the 2015 Excellence in Community-Based Teaching and Scholarship award from the Nebraska Campus Compact. The award was recently presented at the Campus Compact Heartland Conference in Kansas City, MO.

The Excellence in Community-Based Teaching and Scholarship award recognizes one faculty member from a member campus in Nebraska who has 1) successfully incorporated service-learning into at least one course with demonstrable outcomes and 2) conducted outstanding research in the field of service-learning and engaged scholarship.

The Campus Compact organization noted that Dr. Ryan “is an exemplary model to students, exhibiting above standard professional demeanor while demonstrating what can be accomplished through critical analysis and action.”

Working with local, state, and national populations, Dr. Ryan has developed countless partnerships during his tenure at Peru State College, resulting in opportunities for his students to utilize concepts learned in the classroom to serve others.

Through grant funding obtained by Dr. Ryan through the Rural Futures Institute, his latest successful endeavor aligned with academic service learning as the development of the General Education curriculum capstone course, SOC 395 – Principles of Community Engagement in Public Health: Service Learning, Community-based Participatory Research, Leadership, and Civic Engagement. Since the course was designed for online delivery, students had the opportunity to serve through learning activities in the National arena.