Christopher CraigChristopher A. Craig, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Management, COB

From Arizona and Washington to Wyoming and Montana, Christopher Craig, Ph.D., has engaged students across the state and region in service learning projects within their communities.

Two and a half years ago, Craig began integrating service learning into his courses. The integration, as of now, has included over 300 students, 90 organizations, and has resulted in over 800 service hours.

Many students who have participated in the service learning have been pleasantly surprised with the results of their service and the impact that it has had on them. Craig incorporates a reflection component into the projects that highlights how the students have not only impacted their communities through these hours logged, but how the students have been impacted as well.

“You hear about the low income class in the news and how tough they have it,” a student who participated in “Night on the Van” with the Salvation Army and MSU Billings noted. “But until you see the living conditions and disparity they face, it doesn’t really hit home.”

Students enrolled in Craig’s courses are expected to locate a service learning opportunity with a non-profit community partner; understand and explain what they did to meet the service learning requirement and project impacts; complete at least two hours of service; be able to explain the real- world relevance to knowledge gained in the course; and reflect on their experience. “There will always be someone who notices what I am doing and an impact may be greater than I realize,” another student noted.

Craig’s service learning methodology is student driven. Because online students are involved in the projects, it is necessary for distance students to engage in service learning opportunities within their own communities. Through these students completing a student-learning contact, Craig is able to verify student service learning and build a list of regional community partners for the future. At the conclusion of the experience, students are required to provide quantitative and qualitative feedback about their service learning experience.

Craig has impacted students, our campus, and communities through his incorporation of service learning projects into his classroom curriculum.