Project by UC Professors Celebrates Good Citizens

A new project by University of Cincinnati and UC Blue Ash College professors celebrates citizenship and documents the selfless work that three ordinary people are doing to make a positive impact in their communities.

The husband and wife team of Nancy and Bill Jennings developed the Ohio American Trustees Project through a $20,000 grant from the Murray and Agnes Seasongood Good Government Foundation, which is based in Cincinnati. Nancy Jennings is an associate professor in the University of Cincinnati McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, and Bill is an assistant professor at UC Blue Ash College.

“We wanted to celebrate the people who are giving their time and talents to help others, without asking for anything in return,” said Bill Jennings. “This really is kind of a propaganda movie about citizenship and why being a good citizen is still very important to our quality of life.”

The videos are being proposed to area middle schools and high schools for use in social studies or citizenship classes. “Media works best when the lessons are extended beyond the screen. We encourage teachers and youth leaders to use the lesson plans and activities with the videos on the website to fully engage with the messages of volunteering, citizenship and community,” said Nancy Jennings. The Jennings also plan to incorporate the project into their communications classes in their respective colleges.

The video project features Jim Cotter, who created a volunteer network that is repairing and painting buildings and homes for free in his hometown of Glouster, Ohio; Roger Grein, who has lived a life of philanthropy that began when he was a child in Cincinnati and is now teaching local college students how they can be philanthropic; and Janaki Venkayya, who created a not-for-profit organization in Dayton that supports local food banks and homeless shelters.

To learn more about the Ohio American Trustee Project, email OhioAmericanTrustee@uc.edu or go online to

http://bit.ly/1dmx7EK

.

With 5,000 undergraduates, 2,000 graduates and more than 400 faculty members, the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences is the largest college on UC’s main campus. McMicken offers a variety of award-winning programs across many disciplines. Learn more at www.artsci.uc.edu.

UC Blue Ash College is a regional college within the University of Cincinnati.  It offers one of the best values in higher education with access to a nationally recognized UC education in more than 60 programs and degrees and tuition that is about half of most colleges and universities. The college is located on a scenic 135-acre wooded campus in the heart of Blue Ash, Ohio. To learn more, call (513) 745-5600, visit us online at www.ucblueash.edu, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.