10/1/02, First for Service Learning - Almanac, Vol. 49, No. 6

First for Service Learning

Penn has been ranked first for service learning, according to U.S. News and World Report. Penn was tied with Berea College in Kentucky and Stanford University. The ranking was based on academic and other programs that enhance learning. This is the first time U.S. News has included this category in its annual report.

"I couldn’t be more pleased with this recognition," said Ira Harkavy, director of Penn’s Center for Community Partnerships. "It is testimony to the hard, creative work of Penn students, faculty and staff and their community and school partners."

The mission of the Center for Community Partnerships is to create effective, mutually beneficial partnerships between the University and the community. Through the center, the University participates in academically based community service and direct traditional service that support work in a variety of areas, such as health, environment, schooling, and community development.

More than 120 Penn courses from across the disciplines involve students in service-learning. "In service-learning programs, volunteering in the community is an instructional strategy– a requirement of a student’s coursework. The service informs what happens in class, and vice versa," U.S. News & World Report said in its report.

Almanac, Vol. 49, No. 6, October 1, 2002

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS:

Tuesday,
October 1, 2002
Volume 49 Number 6
www.upenn.edu/almanac/

A new Center for Africana Studies looks to the past, and the future.

Dr. Daniel Janzen, a pioneer in tropical biology, has been awarded the Einstein World Award for Science.

An endowed chair for Dr. Virginia Reef in Veterinary Medicine and for Dr. Michael Eric Dyson in SAS.

The first University Council meeting of the academic year will be held tomorrow and three year-end committee reports are scheduled for discussion.

Penn tops the list for Service Learning in the latest U.S. News rankings.

Speaking Out on a problematic parking predicament plaguing permit holders, and on the steady stream of Facilities postcards.

The University Medal for Distinguished Achievement is conferred at the SEAS Sesquicentennial Convocation

A new Involuntary Leave of Absence policy concerning students is now in effect.

The Government Affairs Update addresses the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace; the FY 03 Commonwealth Appropriation and the local student-orientated initiatives.

Of Record: Design Guidelines and Review of Campus Projects.

Now is the time to register a PennKey and password in the new authentication system; those who register before midnight on October 9 could win a prize.