Billie Follensbee: Mixing work and service leads to a balanced life

A person who collects soaps, shampoos, lotions and out-of-service cellular phones may, at first mention, sound like someone overcome by clutter.  But for Dr. Billie Follensbee, associate professor of art and design, these hygienic and communication collectibles are accumulated to improve the quality of life for many Ozarkians who reside at local shelters.

For her service, Follensbee was one of two faculty members to receive the 2006 Excellence in Community Service Award.

“I find out what the shelters need and collect the items,” said the art history teacher, who specializes in non-Western art.

The items are distributed to individuals who may have little more than the clothes on their backs. The cell phones are programmed for emergency use. Follensbee said she thinks her efforts are an important way to be involved in and meet the needs of the community.

In addition to her work with local shelters, Follensbee also was recognized for the service-learning classes she has implemented.

“Service-learning gives my students the opportunity to apply their knowledge to the study of actual non-Western art and artifacts,” said the art historian. “This enriches their research experience far beyond studying the images in books.”

The service-learning art history classes benefit more than students. Such classes assist local museums, galleries and collections that do not have the means to organize and catalogue collections. As part of the service-learning art history classes, Follensbee arranges to borrow art artifacts and bring the materials to campus where students can take a hands-on approach to research. After extensive research by supervised students, the collections are catalogued and displayed at a campus location that is open to the public.

Follensbee said such research is much more than a homework assignment. The research “creates public, educational exhibits. It helps spread understanding about the sophistication of non-Western cultures, helping the community to become more globally aware, and also helping people of non-Western descent to develop a strong sense of pride in their heritage.”

Turning an ordinary art history class into a concrete research class may create additional work, but Follensbee believes that incorporating community service into her teaching has helped her maintain a balanced life. In fact, it’s a path she hopes more faculty will take with their classes.

“I hope that in the future our public affairs mission serves to promote community service even more strongly at the University,” she said.

by Erin Zoumaras, university communications graduate assistant