Julia Paxton's professional interests include service-learning pedagogy in the field of Economics, poverty alleviation, effective philanthropy, food security, and local and global economic development. Through service-learning projects, her classes partner with local non-profits interested in these topics and she welcomes new partnerships and collaborative experiences.
Paxton has worked closely with the Center for Campus and Community Engagement over the years to help stimulate partnerships between Ohio University and community non-profits and have published research on service-learning. Having worked for the World Bank on poverty alleviation projects, her goal is to foster productive partnerships with local organizations dedicated to various issues such as poverty, food security, sustainability, and economic development through service-learning.
Paxton teaches three community engaged classes that address different local issues:
- The Economics of Altruism is a service-learning class where students partner with local non-profit organizations and assess effective philanthropy through metrics and volunteerism. The class creates its own mini-foundation and gives away $15,000 of real grant money to one of the community partners demonstrating excellence.
- The Economics of Poverty class is also a service-learning class that partners with local non-profits specifically addressing poverty and students volunteer for pre-determined projects that are mutually beneficial to the community partners and the students.
- Global and Local Food Economies is an experiential learning class that allows students to speak with local experts about innovative initiatives occurring in our community such as the Chesterhill Produce Auction, Farm to OHIO, and the Farmer’s Market.