Consortium Member Biography
GERALDINE STIRTZ,
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
Geraldine Stirtz, MA.Ed. has served as the University of Nebraska-Kearney representative to the Midwest (formerly Nebraska) Consortium for Service-Learning in Higher Education since 1998. She has served as a faculty member of the Department of Teacher education at UN-K since 1992, adding the position of Director of the UN-K Office for Service-Learning in 2000. She currently serves as the chair of the Consortium Steering Committee.
Gerry’s responsibilities and service-learning activities include developing, implementing and managing the placement of as many as 200 teacher candidate students per semester, in a field based, one credit-hour, service-learning experience where students completed a 50 hour service requirement linked with their Developmental Behavior course as they worked with human service agencies and programs, meeting needs in the community and reflecting on the learning in their experiences. Gerry participated in a major research project on this program, co-authored and published two journal articles based on this research in addition to making presentations at National Conferences. She has co-developed and teaches a 3 credit-hour, totally web-based, graduate-level course -- "Development Training in Service-Learning" -- and has organized and implemented three day-long, Service-Learning Faculty Training Institutes, since 2000. The first state-wide Consortium Conference and a community "Story Book Fair" for underprivileged children were hosted at UN-K in 1999.
Involved in a life of service to others, Gerry has provided leadership in various capacities both at Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Minden, where she and her husband Jerry have lived for over 30 years, and in the state-wide church women's organization. Jerry & Gerry are parents of three sons and grandparents to seven children.
