University promotes service learning

— Service learning is an educator's term for doing something meaningful through classwork. It's a buzzword, but not an empty one. Hoping to spur more service learning in the state, the University of Alabama invited representatives from 22 campuses to share and learn about the topic... ...More colleges are adding service-learning curriculum, said Maria Monterio, spokeswoman for a Campus Compact, a nonprofit that disseminates best practices for service learning among colleges and provides some seed money to help professors start classes. "It's a movement that's growing rapidly, and it's very broad," she said.