Ginsberg Center E-Newsletter

October 2009

Ginsberg Center Welcomes New Director

By Caroline Massad

Theresa Cusimano
—Courtesy Colorado Campus Compact.

On December 1, the Ginsberg Center will welcome Theresa Cusimano as its new director.

Cusimano has served since 2000 as Executive Director of Colorado Campus Compact. At CCC, she created and led a four-state service learning collective, UCAN Serve, now AmeriCorps' largest regional acceSs higher education award program.

Previously, Cusimano worked as Assistant Dean of Students at Cardinal Stritch College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and as a higher education policy analyst. She holds a J.D. from SUNY-Buffalo and a Master's in Higher Education Administration from Cardinal Stritch.

"Theresa's credentials, experience, and especially educational philosophy toward service learning and community partnerships are all excellent fits for U-M and for Ginsberg's future," Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Simone Himbeault Taylor said.

Cusimano, who describes herself as "a builder by nature," has nearly two decades of experience designing innovative service learning programs. She said she admires the University's reputation for civic engagement.

"The University of Michigan's longstanding commitment to social justice drew me in," Cusimano said.

In creating UCAN Serve with colleagues in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah in addition to Colorado, Cusimano led CCC to redesign its small, full-time AmeriCorps program to a large, part-time education award program.

Today, UCAN Serve awards $5.5 million in service scholarships to more than 4,000 students each year. CCC also engages more than 40% of faculty and boasts student community service and civic participation numbers among the highest in the country.

"[CCC], under Theresa's leadership, has been instrumental in making college more affordable for Colorado students through the UCAN Serve AmeriCorps program," Bette Matkowski, state Chair of Campus Compact and President of Johnson & Wales University, said in a CCC press release about Cusimano's transition.

At Cardinal Stritch, Cusimano created campus-wide service learning programs with communities in Mexico, Mississippi and Milwaukee; redesigned the college's freshman seminar curriculum to incorporate service learning; and created a President's Leadership Program that emphasized outstanding service.

Cusimano, said she hopes to be able to use her experience in law, advocacy, education reform and working with federal grants to support the ongoing work of U-M students, faculty and staff and the community.

This past winter, Cusimano gained notoriety when she was imprisoned for 60 days for participating in a nonviolent protest at Fort Benning, Georgia. Fort Benning houses the the training institute formerly known as the School of the Americas, whose graduates include Manuel Noriega and several other Latin American dictators known for human rights abuses. Critics say the school continues to teach torture techniques.

"During my two months in prison, my resolve to pursue justice work deepened, as did my exposure to the intricate complexities of poverty," Cusimano said. "Although I've worked in diverse urban centers of poverty, my prison experience crystallized the importance of the civic engagement work we do."

Kerin Borland, Senior Associate Director at The Career Center, has temporarily filled the position that Cusimano will assume. Margaret Dewar will stay on as the Ginsberg Center's Faculty Director.

Ginsberg Center E-Newsletter

Ginsberg Center Welcomes New Director

October 2009 Table of Contents