Penn Expands Community Service as Part of a National Effort

September 25, 2008

Penn President Amy Gutmann spoke at the recent ServiceNation Summit in New York City, a two-day national conference that celebrated volunteerism, civic engagement, and the potential of citizens to address America's greatest social challenges.

With opening remarks by Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, the summit brought together 600 leaders from every sector of American life -- from universities and foundations, to business and politics -- including Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Michael Bloomberg, Tim Shriver, Edward Kennedy, Queen Noor of Jordan, Alicia Keys, and Jon Bon Jovi.

Their purpose was to lay out a bold blueprint to expand opportunities for volunteer and community service, and Dr. Gutmann drew applause when she pledged to fund 400 community service jobs for Penn students over the next four years, tripling Penn's current efforts.

Most of the new Penn internships will be in Philadelphia (many in the neighborhoods near Penn), and they'll include mentoring in public schools, improving nutrition, and working on public-health issues, such as lead in drinking water. But some jobs might take students around the world, including a Penn-supported effort to open the University of Botswana's first medical school.

"All engagement begins locally," Gutmann stressed, echoing Benjamin Franklin's sentiment that the "great aim and end of all learning" was "an ability to serve mankind, one's country, friends, and family."

"We will embed the ethos of civic engagement more deeply in the life of the university," Gutmann said, "And by joining forces with our community partners, we will continue to inspire more students to become active, lifelong citizens and leaders of our diverse democracy."

 

 

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