Todd Crosset, an associate professor of sport management at the University of Massachusetts, received a two-year, $5,000 grant to leverage the work of his experimental learning class, Sport and Community Relations.
The 2007-09 Faculty Fellowship for Youth grant from the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Campus Compacts is intended to support the growth of faculty engaged in community-based learning, particularly involving critical issues affecting youth development.
Crosset’s Class, Sport and Community Relations, attempts to expand ties between the campus and the Springfield community.
“UMass-Amherst has an opportunity to make a significant difference in Springfield, but it must follow the lead of those communities,” said Crosset.
The course is restricted to 16 sport management majors, and only enrolls juniors and seniors, according to Crosset.
Crosset poses a main question to his class: How can the University respond to the expressed needs of the community?
The class runs the Key Players Project, a community service-learning effort that annually honors 10 Springfield men of color as Key Player Ambassadors. The Ambassadors are nominated by the young people whom they serve and are chosen by pervious ambassadors and representatives from community organizations.
They are chosen for their profound influence on the area’s children. Artists and athletes, educators and ministers, businessmen and community organizers – the ambassadors come from different walks of life, but all use their individual skills to enrich the lives of Springfield’s children and the community. The project was conceived seven years ago by Crosset and is a joint venture with community groups in Springfield, the Boston Celtics and the Isenberg School of Management.
Crosset hopes to facilitate discussions between Key Player Ambassadors and Amherst campus faculty, students and staff.
He’d also like to match community projects and efforts using the appropriate resources on campus.
Crosset knows first hand how this grant will help the Springfield community, “I live in Springfield, and this is a way to tie my work world into the world I live in.”
