Nadinne Irene Cruz (born June 28, 1948) has served as an advocate and practitioner of
service-learning
Service-learning is an educational approach that combines learning objectives with community service in order to provide a pragmatic, progressive learning experience while meeting societal needs.
Service-learning involves students in service proje ...
and experiential education across institutions of higher education.
Biography
Cruz's early volunteer experiences with peasants in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and her Filipina-American heritage inspired a commitment to integrate teaching with community partnership across diverse worlds of engagement for social change. At the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA) in
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...
, Cruz led a consortium of 18 colleges and universities to develop community-based learning programs. At
Stanford University, Cruz directed the
Haas Center for Public Service where she founded and directed the Public Service Scholars Program and taught service-learning courses for the Program in Urban Studies. As Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professor at
Swarthmore College, Cruz piloted the Democratic Practice Project for the political science department.
"Service, combined with learning, adds value to each, and transforms both" (Honnet & Poulsen, 1989) is quoted in the service-learning field. It also expresses a broader vision of community engagement that integrates the core purposes of the academy with value to community and the larger public. It is a vision that challenges us with an ethical imperative: if learning requires academic "rigor," should we not also demand "rigor" in the quality of service/benefits to community as an integral part of community engagement? How can we integrate these two "rigors" in the practice of engagement in higher education? What is at stake, and what will it require of us? Cruz's work addresses the tension of competing, and sometimes conflicting, domains of the academy and of the community in the practice of
community engagement. Cruz was a 2008
Carleton College commencement speaker on the subject, ''The Urgent Need for Thinking and Imagination for "Doing Good"''.
Her Advisory Board involvement includes Center for Community Engagement at Amherst College, in Amherst, Massachusetts, and Youth United for Community Action (YUCA) at
East Palo Alto, California
East Palo Alto (abbreviated E.P.A.) is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of East Palo Alto was 30,034. It is situated on the San Francisco Peninsula, roughly halfway between the cities of ...
. Cruz has two children, David and Claire, with husband Larry.
Honors and awards
* 2001, Distinguished Citizen Scholar by the Commonwealth Honors College, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
* 2003, Experiential Education Pioneer of the Year Award,
National Youth Leadership Council
The National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) is a national nonprofit organization located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that promotes service-learning in schools and communities across the United States. Founded in 1983 by Dr. James Kielsmeier, NYL ...
* 2003, California Campus Compact's Richard Cone Award for Excellence and Leadership in Cultivating Community Partnerships in Higher Education
* 2003, Stanford Asian American Award for Outstanding Service by Staff
* 2005,
Alec Dickson Servant Leader Award
2008, Honorary Doctorate Humanis Causa, Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota
Partial works
* Cruz, Nadinne. A Challenge to the Notion of Service. Vol. 1, in Combining Service and Learning: a Resource Book for Community and Public Service, by Jane C. Kendall, edited by Jane C. Kendall, 321-323. Raleigh, NC: National Society for Internships and Experiential Learning, 1990.
* Introduction to Diversity Principles in Service-Learning:An Invitation to Reflection and Discussion -- http://www.missouriwestern.edu/appliedlearning/documents/Cruz_DiversityPrinciples-SL_revised_MWSU_Conf_2.09.pdf
* Stanton, T. K., Giles, D. E. & Cruz, N. I. (1999). Service-Learning: A Movement's Pioneers Reflect on Its Origins, Practice, and Future. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
* Cruz, Nadinne, and Dwight Giles. "Where's the Community in Service-Learning Research?" Michigan Journal for Service-Learning, November 2000: 28-34.
* Sandy, Marie, Elaine Ikeda, Nadinne Cruz, Barbara Holland, and Kathleen Rice. Community Voices: A California Campus Compact Study on Partnerships. Research, San Francisco: California Campus Compact, 1995.
* Kielsmeier, James C., Pernu, Caryn, Leeper, Thomas J., Seum, Natalie Waters, Cruz, Nadinne I.(2008). Diversity Across the Standards. The Generator. National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC).
* Cruz, Nadinne. A Challenge to the Notion of Service. Vol. 1, in Combining Service and Learning: a Resource Book for Community and Public Service, by Jane C. Kendall, edited by Jane C. Kendall, 321-323. Raleigh, NC: National Society for Internships and Experiential Learning, 1990.
[Cruz, Nadinne. A Challenge to the Notion of Service. Vol. 1, in Combining Service and Learning: a Resource Book for Community and Public Service, by Jane C. Kendall, edited by Jane C. Kendall, 321-323. Raleigh, NC: National Society for Internships and Experiential Learning, 1990]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Nadinne I
American educational theorists
Living people
1948 births
American people of Filipino descent