1

STATEMENT OF SERVICE

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I will learn." Benjamin
Franklin

In my perspective, to establish a reciprocal partnership, both the university and the

Bellingham community have to work together as a unified system because each depends on the
other to function. Service is a way of building lasting relationships by collaborating with people
through sharing ideas and resources. Service has been a part of my childhood, adolescence, and
adult years. I come from a culture in which service is a way of life, so it comes naturally to me.
To serve others is something that my single-parent mother taught my four siblings and me. She
taught me to bring a number of cultural communities to work together and celebrate their
commonalities and differences. During my teen and college years, I started an African-
Caribbean youth group to advocate for the voices and education of young people. As a practicing
journalist in Vancouver, B.C., I wrote for our local newspaper, The Afro News. I covered stories
about cultural issues facing our community and current events such as Jesse Jackson’s visit. Due
to my upbringing, I have learned how to create respectful collaborative relationships with
colleagues, students, community partners, neighbors, and friends. My goal is to continue my
family legacy of providing service to others, since it is an important cultural value. My
commitment to service is very important to my personal, professional, and educational growth.

Departmental Service
At the departmental level, service is an integral part of my day-to-day work life. I
consider my department as a family, and we help each other meet our personal and professional
goals. Over the years, I have established a close relationship with my colleagues, thus we can
depend on each other. Since we are a smaller department, it is important to be flexible with
service related tasks. My priority is to ensure that the department goals are met. For example,
when colleagues are on professional leave or sabbatical, I serve additional students. When
required classes need to be taught, I am ready to sign up because the students are our priority.
Departmental service is demonstrated at two levels, service to students and administrative
service.1

I believe that committee work is very rewarding because it allows me to have a voice and
be active in change. Early in my career, I served on a number of different committees such as the
strategic planning (i.e. 2001-2003 and 2006-2008), search, unit evaluation plan, and the student
technology grant proposal. I have served on the Scholarship Nominating Committee for the
Abigail Tandy Maye Stout Scholarship.

Since my research is in the area of scholarship of teaching and learning, I have taken an
interest in helping with curriculum development. I was an active member on the Research
Methods in Communication 398 committee and developed course revisions for Intercultural
Communication 425, Professional Communication 318, and Communication Ethics 498. For
several years (i.e. 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2010) I have represented our department at Western
Preview because I enjoy meeting parents and admitted students, and telling them about the
benefits of becoming a Communication major. This is one of my most enjoyable presentations
1
Department of Communication Evaluation Plan, 2010, p. 8.
 2

because it reminds me of when I first attended WWU as an undergraduate. I have mentored and
trained seven incoming non-tenure track faculty who teach our 200 and 300-level courses.

Currently, I continue to serve my department. I attend graduation once a year as a

representative of our department. In Survey of Communication 220, I take part in the Parade of
Faculty whereby I inform students of my research interests and the courses I teach. In the future,
I plan to continue to help with marketing efforts of our department, develop our assessment plan,
help with Scholars Week, present at Western Preview, get involved with diversity efforts to
encourage more students to major in Communication, teach required classes in our major, and
assist with upcoming events and tasks.

I serve the department at the student level by reviewing major application portfolios,
advising pre-majors and minors, and supervising practicums and independent studies. I have
worked closely with students primarily by encouraging them to further their research by
presenting at conferences, participating in Scholar’s Week, and publishing. I recently co-authored
an article in Academic Exchange Quarterly with two previous Communication undergraduate
students and Dr. Anna Eblen. The article, “Building Community Through Co-authorship”
received the Editor’s Choice Award by reviewers for its content and quality. From 2001 to 2009,
I have taken 12 undergraduate students from our department to various conferences to present
their research.

I have also co-authored presentations and workshops with some students. I took two
students to present topics of disAbility in service-learning communities at the National
Communication Association; eight students presented at regional conferences on topics of
service-learning and intercultural communication (i.e. Northwest Communication Association
and Continuums of Service conference); two students presented at the Festival of Scholarship,
Celebrating Collaborative Inquiry at Western Washington University. According to WWU’s
mission statement and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), involving
undergraduates in research is encouraged. Since I have been at WWU, the writing professional
development sessions have helped me to translate what I have learned about writing to teaching
my students about becoming effective writers. I thank the Faculty Writing Series Residency,
Backward by Design: A Reflective Workshop for WWU Faculty Teaching Writing Courses,
Writing Opportunities at Western (WOW), and The Writing Center.

To further students in research, I was an active member of the Scholar’s Week planning
committee in 2002, 2007, 2008, and 2009. I served as a co-coordinator, panel chair, and faculty
mentor of this committee. I nominated students who wrote scholarly papers in my writing
proficiency courses, I blind reviewed papers, took groups of students to the banquet, and co-
coordinated our department event. I oversaw eight independent study students in Communication
300 and 400 who researched various topics: leadership in service-learning, a narrative of
disAbility experience, and student mentorship. These students researched various topics. From
2001 to currently, I have had a total of 52 Communication 339 Practicums. These students served
as service-learning student leaders, teaching assistants, research assistants, videographers, and
office assistants. The skills and knowledge learned from the practicum have helped students to
gain jobs after graduation and gain entrance into graduate school due to their prior hands on
 3

experience. I will continue in these efforts so that our students will be able to prepare for in these
competitive times as they graduate.

College and University Service

My service extends to the university at large through serving on committees and advisory
boards. I was an advisory board member for the Academic Honesty Board, American Cultural
Studies, the Center for Service-Learning, and assisted with the new minor Diversity in Higher
Education. I was involved in the following committees: Academic Support Coordinator, Office
of Admissions Search Committee, and Service-Learning Visioning and Strategic Planning
Committee.

Due to my diversity efforts at WWU, in winter 2009, students recognized me as a faculty

ally on WWU’s campus. I am featured on a poster that is visible to all students on campus who
may be in need of an ally. I was a panelist at the Western Reads and was asked to speak about the
book “Honky” by Dalton Conley from a Communication perspective. The presentation was
delivered to incoming students. I contribute to the Compass 2 Campus Mentoring project. This
summer I was invited by the Director of Human Resources at WWU to present a professional
communication workshop emphasizing social media. The title of the workshop was Keeping it
Real in A Virtual World. The workshop was delivered to human resource directors and employees
of Washington State at the College and University Professional Association for Human Resource
(CUPA-HR). I invited Communication student, Amy Jackson to co-present with me at the
conference. Amy was delighted to present to professionals and have the opportunity to network. .
I was recently appointed by the Academic Coordinating Commission to serve on the Admissions
Committee for a two-year term.

Service to the Communication Discipline

My service links to my research in Communication, Scholarship of Teaching and
Learning, Organizational Communication, and Critical/Cultural Studies. I provided service to
various disciplinary and interdisciplinary organizations: The National Communication
Association, Northwest Communication Association, Continuums of Service Conference,
Community Advocacy and Support Center (CASCAID) Peace Conference, and the International
Globalization, Diversity, and Education Conference. I have assisted a number of divisions that
directly relate to my research agenda such as Disability Caucus, Interpersonal Communication,
Media & Cultural Studies, Organizational and Instructional, and the Scholarship of Teaching and
Learning. At the local, regional, and national level, I served as a chair, division chair, panel
organizer, respondent, and conference reviewer, and blind reviewer for journals.

Service-Learning and Community Partnership

WWU mission supports community partnerships through service. When I first arrived at
WWU, Lisa Moulds, past director of the Center for Service-Learning (CSL) at WWU,
introduced me to the Bellingham non-profit community partners. She encouraged me to provide
service-learning (SL) opportunities for my students and the Bellingham community. Since then I
have worked closely with the Center for Service-Learning, Timothy Costello and Angela
Harwood. The CSL staff has trained me, my students, and my service-learning student leaders
(SLSL). I received a number of financial grants from the CSL and the Provost to integrate
community SL into my classroom and to travel. With support from the CSL, I have also trained
 4

incoming faculty at WWU through the Service-Learning Faculty Fellows Program and presented
at workshops for community partners interested in integrating service-learning. All of these
efforts better prepared me to develop a nurturing friendship with the Bellingham community.

Each quarter, I provide training sessions that teach the community partners about how my
course content, SL pedagogy, my students, and I can all be of assistance. My five student teams
provide 100-125 hours (i.e. per team) of community SL. For example, in one class (e.g.
Professional Communication 318), I teach my students to develop a skilled-based
communication workshops (e.g. social media at work, how to prepare for an interview, job
search strategies, webpage development, Facebook causes page, etc.) for the community partners
or clients they serve. Examples of my most recent Professional Communication 318 SL projects
are: Students brought 11 Ethnic Student Club members together to build a relationship with the
local community and learn about environmental justice by working with the Nooksack Salmon
Enhancement Center. The purpose was “to foster ally building and cultural understanding. Learn
about removing non-native plant life from surrounding rivers to provide a healthier areas to live”
(318 students); raised public awareness of community causes by conducting social media
workshop for the Whatcom Volunteer Center; Students develop a workshop for Womencare to
inform women how to best prepare for a job from job searching, to resume and cover letter
development, interview skills, and professional attire; for Bikers Fighting Cancer students taught
Bikers about listening skills, how to professionally present oneself, effective delivery, and the
use of visual aids as a professional resource.

In 10 years, I have extended service-learning opportunities to over 40 community

organizations (e.g. Whatcom Volunteer Center, Bikers Fighting Cancer, Womencare, Evergreen
AIDS Foundation, Ethnic Student Center), provided more than 13,500 student SL hours, and
integrated SL into five courses. I specifically select non-profit organizations that emphasize
cultural diversity. I select organizations that help diverse populations such as low-income
families, unemployed citizens, youth at risk, people with disAbilities, women in protective
shelters, all male agency, etc. Most importantly, I have developed countless relationships with the
community partners who have taught my students and me about the true meaning of civic
responsibility. For further information regarding my integration of SL please, review the
following sections in my teaching dossier #1, Comm. 318, Comm. 339, Comm. 297, and Comm.
224, SL Instruction, and Teaching Showcase. Please visit my webpage at
http://faculty.wwu.edu/perryt/dr_perry/Home.html to view my SL participation and hear stories
that come directly from the voices of students and community partners. In addition to assisting
the community through SL, I also take part in community service. For one year, I was on the
nominating committee for the YWCA. For the last two years, I have volunteered for Make A
Difference Day (MADD) and offered credit for students interested in helping the community for
a few hours on one weekend. I plan to be involved in MADD this academic year.

Given all of my service activities, my department recognized my contributions from

2000-2009 to the extent that Dr. Anna Eblen, chair of the Department of Communication
nominated me for WWU’s Faculty Outstanding Service Award in 2009. Support letters came
from a diverse representative group: a community partner, a student, and colleagues.
Recommenders emphasized the contribution that I made to my department, students, university,
 5

my profession, and local community. My dedication to the Bellingham community through SL

over the last 10 years received recognition.

Although I did not win the award this year, I am very honored to have been nominated
for this prestigious award. All recommenders emphasized my leadership efforts in service-
learning (SL). At the department level I was noted for my willingness to serve on various
committees; represent my department as a an invited lecturer (e.g. Economics Department,
Ethnic Student Center, Discovery Days); deliver workshops on writing, leadership in SL,
teamwork and professional communication; help our student Communication Club with their
presentations; mentor adjunct faculty and students. From my beginning years at WWU, I was
able to participate in a number of faculty development SL workshops on campus and at
conferences. This led me to train faculty members within and outside my department regarding
how to integrate SL into their classroom. I have developed my own SL student leadership
program that places students and the community at the forefront.

Several time during Scholar’s Week, I represented the Center for Service-Learning and
spoke of the importance of engaging students in service-learning. My services at the university
were also mentioned. I served on a number of different committees (Fairhaven student
committee, Search Committee) and advisory boards (Diversity in Higher Education Minor,
Center for Service-Learning). They mentioned my contributions to my field at regional and
national conferences.

Below I have included some quotes from letters of recommendations. For further
readings, please see the letters in my service nomination section of my dossier:
 “Dr. Perry has been a leader in our departmental service-learning efforts (Dr. Anna
Eblen)”;
 It has been my pleasure to work with Tara for over 10 years as she has developed into
one of the finest practitioners of service-learning on Western’s campus (Dr. Angela
Harwood)”;
 “Dr. Perry did something that no other professor did; take a genuine interest in her
students’ lives. Dr. Perry gave me a plethora of opportunities from being her service-
learning student leader. I was given the chance to present in Campus Compact
Conference…my freshman year about my service-learning experience (Brian
Launius, student).”

At WWU, I practice a service philosophy that builds community within my department,

the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the field of Communication, the university, and
local and global communities. I believe that active involvement in service helps me understand
the needs of academia and the community. I look forward to my continued efforts in service. For
further description of my service, please review dossier #2, which includes the service award
nomination and support letters, evidence of service to the department, discipline, university, and
community. Given my accounts of service contribution, I believe that I have demonstrated
excellence in service at WWU. Thank you for taking the time to review my commitment to
service.