Cunningham Retires After 19 Years of Directing the Summer Service Project; Smith Shappell Appointed Director

CSC News & Reflections
Fall 2004

In 1986, Sue Cunningham was looking for a job after spending a number of years working with a refugee resettlement program in South Bend. Instead she found a vocation at the Center for Social Concerns.

In December, Cunningham, who is as close to the mother of the Summer Service Program as there can be, plans to retire after 19 years of nurturing students and building relationships with alumni clubs and community organizations.

In a move that will ensure the continuity and future growth of the program, Andrea Smith Shappell, who directed the program for the first three years of its existence and who teaches a follow-up course to the program, will assume the role of director beginning in January.

One look at Cunningham’s office reveals her dedication to the program. A map of the United States hangs on the wall with pins placed in clusters across the country, in all the major cities and beyond, indicating the locations of service project sites. Below the map, a chart filled in with the names of nearly two hundred students, organizes the sites by alumni club sponsors.

Stacks of student journals and papers line her bookshelves, and next to them, an even higher stack of notebooks rest on her desk. They are her own journals – saved since the day she arrived at the CSC – containing records of every single phone conversation she has ever had.

“In all honesty,” she admits, “There has never been a day when I did not want to come to work.”

Since its inception in 1980, the Summer Service Project has been an eight-week service-learning program. Since 1990, it has also been a three-credit theology course, “Theology 360: Confronting Social Issues,” that is designed to allow Notre Dame students to integrate academic reading, reflection and writing into their service experience.

In 1980 five students participated; in 2004, there were close to 200.

Over 3,000 students have participated in the program, the vast majority of whom have experienced personal growth, a refining of their vocation or career goals and a deeper, or more nuanced view on social problems.

“I think I speak for most of the students who have participated in the program when I say that the Summer Service Project has given me a profound and intimate view on the issues facing those in our country who are in need,” said student Kate Distler, who has completed two Summer Service Projects and works with the CSC’s student advisory board, VOICE. “It has helped to inform my view on poverty and injustice, focused my studies and shown me how I can contribute to the betterment of society both now and in the future.”

One of the primary goals of the program is to have alumni/ae play a significant role in students’ service placements. In this way, the Summer Service Project assists in the continuing education not only of Notre Dame students, but also of the entire Notre Dame community.

“The SSP is unequaled by any university anywhere in the country,” explains Chuck Lennon, associate vice president for University Relations.

“In large part, this is because Sue has seen the value of having alumni play a key role in the program.”

Notre Dame is one of the few institutions that can support a program of this kind because of the strong connection that has been established throughout the years with ND alumni clubs, notes Sean O’Brien, director, Alumni Community Service Program.

Other universities have copied the SSP, but the unique nature of the alumni-student interaction and the involvement of Notre Dame alumni has rendered the program difficult to duplicate at other institutions.

Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of the Summer Service Project is that every student receives a $2,000 tuition scholarship from a sponsoring alumni club and, if needed, the James F. Andrews Memorial Scholarship fund.

“We have the best alumni/ae out there who care not just about the university but the students and their community,” Sue exclaimed, “We also have the best caliber of students who are unquestionably sincere in their desire to serve.”

Another unique aspect about the SSP program is the alumni clubs themselves, which according to Cunningham are personally and financially enthusiastic about collaborating with SSP endeavors. Together with representatives of the participating 115-120 alumni clubs who select the sites, she evaluates and selects appropriate projects for the student volunteers and communicates with the sites.

“As someone who was actively involved in promoting a community service agenda when I was involved with my local alumni club, I can say that Sue has played a crucial role in making service one of the top priorities of alumni clubs around the country,” added O’Brien.

For O’Brien, the SSP provides a crucial link between students’ undergraduate work and responsible citizenship after graduation.

“The SSP tells them that there is life after graduation,” he said. “It brings them full-circle and shows students how the larger Notre Dame community embraces the values of the Catholic social mission.”

Thanks to the program, the alumni/ae form friendships with the students, and in turn the students become friends with them. With the help of the alumni/ae, the students are able to extend the Notre Dame community to organizations and agencies, to the marginalized, to the poor.

For Kathleen Andrews, whose family underwrites many of the operating and research costs of the program, Cunningham deserves no small part of the credit for its success.

“She has graciously given of her time and energy to further the growth of the SSP for 19 years,” said Andrews. “I am so grateful for her help in advancing this program. She has left her mark on all those who have participated. She will be missed.”

Since Cunningham announced her retirement in the fall, she has been working closely with Andrea Smith Shappell to ensure a smooth transition.

“Andrea understands the program so well,” said Cunningham. Then, she gives her trademark smile. “I don’t even think anyone will know I’m gone.”

When asked how she felt about leaving, “Torn. The students keep me young, the alumni keep me inspired. It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be very, very hard.”