BRISTOL, R.I., April 2008 – For Riverside, R.I., resident Karen Sittinger, the time to renovate her small, three-bedroom bungalow has come—the windows need replacement, the kitchen needs an overhaul, and converting the attic to a bedroom would do wonders in providing more space for her mother and two daughters.

“I call this the house that Jack built,” Ms. Sittinger said.

Finding the funds for major jobs like these, however, isn’t always simple. But next weekend, Ms. Sittinger’s wish list will begin to take shape when a group of 15 students from Roger Williams University spends two days putting the finishing touches on extensive renovations, which include the projects mentioned above.

The students are participants in a course on project management, which is taught by Gabelli School of Business Dean Maling Ebrahimpour. The course’s mission to aid less fortunate families from the local area and to instill in students the skills needed to coordinate major projects led them to initiate the home renovation effort.

“In my six years at Roger Williams, I have not seen our students so excited about and dedicated to a worthy cause,” Dean Ebrahimpour said. “This is an elective course; students are taking it not because they have to, but because they are really interested and they want to help.”

Last winter, the University reached out to local community organizations for help in identifying families in need. Susan Guadalupe, group leader for the National Guard Family Readiness Group for the 103rd Field Artillery Brigade, identified Ms. Sittinger, who volunteers with the organization, along with other potential candidates.

Throughout the semester, the students have worked in teams to handle all aspects of the project, which range from raising funds and planning the renovations to creating safety plans and publicizing events surrounding the project. The work culminates on Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4, when the teams gather at the Sittinger household for full days of work.

The course—unique among undergraduate curricula in the United States—has a mission that also fits well with the University’s core value of service to the community:

“The project management class has given me the opportunity to realize exactly what it means to give back to the community,” said senior criminal justice major Heidi Grove. “It’s also helped me apply the skills I’ve learned at RWU and allowed me to be a part of an experience that’s offered at few universities across the country.”