Betsy Alden

"I believe that leadership is acting with boldness, humility, and strength, while bringing communities together, and supporting co-operative work, innovation, and activism. Betsy Alden exemplifies this ideal of leadership as a wife, mother, grandmother, mentor, feminist, and activist, who strongly believes in the greater service of society and adheres to a philosophy of 'learning by doing.'''
--Trisha Bailey, LEAPS '07

One of the "founding mothers" of the service-learning movement, who first began combining learning and service in Dallas, Texas in 1980, Betsy has done it all: created and taught service-learning courses; forged community partnerships; recruited, inspired, and mentored faculty and students; developed, administered, and disseminated campus service-learning programs; and championed service-learning through publications, lectures, workshops, and service on national boards.

She attended Duke University, Colorado College, Indiana University, and Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University and holds degrees in English, theology, and religious education. Betsy also was awarded the Outstanding Volunteer Award in Dallas, Texas, for her creation of The Praxis Project, a service-learning model which has been replicated at over 100 campuses across the country. In 1996, just before moving to her position at Duke, she was named Outstanding Woman of New Mexico, where she taught in community colleges and in the Honors program at the University of New Mexico, served as Continuing Education Coordinator for the NM State Conference of Churches, and initiated and managed a Learn-and-Serve America grant.

Betsy joined Duke's Kenan Institute for Ethics in 1997 as Coordinator for Service-Learning and was appointed Chair of the newly formed Dean's Advisory Committee for Service-Learning. Betsy has worked with faculty, students, community agencies, and Durham public schools to promote the academic integration of ethical reflection and service experiences into the undergraduate curriculum. She also served as advisor to the student service-learning organization LEAPS (Learning through Experience, Action, Partnership and Service) whose members recruit faculty and facilitate reflection in conjunction with service-learning classes, and helped develop a student-led "house course" on service-learning and civic engagement. In her course on Women as Leaders in the Hart Leadership Program, she developed a long-term partnership with Chewning Middle School, where her students mentored at-risk middle school girls. In 2006, Betsy received the inaugural Robert L. Sigmon award for her significant contributions toward furthering the practice of service-learning in North Carolina.

As a theologian and educator, Dr. Alden has been engaged in women's leadership as a feminist community activist, a United Methodist clergywoman since 1974, a member of commissions on the status and role of women in church, civic, and national organizations, and on several national boards, including the National Partnership for Service-Learning, Ministry to Blacks in Higher Education, the National Campus Ministry Association, and the Presbyterian Church's (international) Self-Development of People Committee. A wife and mother of three grown children, Betsy has "learned by doing" by balancing family, career, civic, and personal commitments. She will no doubt remain a powerful model for those who know her as she navigates "retirement."

At the 10-year LEAPS Reunion and Betsyfest,

Betsy was honored by returning LEAPers from every group since 1996 including LEAPS's orginal founders.

Betsy was also praised by:

Robert J. Thompson, Jr., Ph.D., Dean of Trinity College of
Arts and Sciences, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

Elizabeth Kiss, President of Agnes Scott College,
founding Director, Kenan Institute for Ethics

David Malone, Program in Education Faculty, Faculty
Director, Office of Service-Learning

Sarah Gordon, Trinity 2008, LEAPS co-director

Jennifer Ahern-Dodson and Vicki Stocking, Program
Coordinators, Office of Service-Learning

and everyone was led in a

Reflection Session Extraordinaire! by
Glenn Gutterman, 1997, co-founder of LEAPS
Dan Kessler, 1997, co-founder of LEAPS
Tara Kumar, 1998, LEAPS coordinator
Julie Norman, 2002, LEAPS coordinator

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