By Mark Terranova, Associate Director, The Shriver Center

"an Inclination join'd with an Ability to serve…should be the great Aim and End of all Learning."

-Benjamin Franklin*

During the first weeks of March I had the benefit of attending two conferences on campus-community partnerships, both held on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in West Philadelphia.

The first was a workshop sponsored by Penn's nationally recognized Center for Community Partnerships, founded by Ira Harkavy. The second was a conference hosted by C.O.O.L. (Campus Opportunity Outreach League) and Idealist.org organized primarily by undergraduate students dedicated to service.

In his keynote address, Harkavy spoke of his Center's connection to the surrounding West Philadelphia community. The Center for Community Partnerships is an impressive blend of research and service to the community, and the involvement of hundreds of faculty members in their initiatives is a testament to Penn's dedication to Philadelphia. Certainly, barriers remain -- faculty at Penn face the same pressures of tenure and resources that often prevent them from becoming as actively involved in the communities they research as they might like to be. However, it is encouraging that the administration of schools such as Penn and UMBC support these worthwhile initiatives by supporting the Center for Community Partnerships and the Shriver Center.

The COOL/Idealist.org conference was a spotlight on over 1500 hundred students from around the country dedicated to service and activism. The energy was certainly palpable, and the idealism of the students in attendance was undeniable. One thing that struck UMBC students attending the conference was how supportive UMBC is in promoting an ethic of service to the community, and they are grateful of the support of so many faculty here at UMBC that support their work through service-learning courses.

I believe that both conferences highlighted the desire of many students, faculty and staff to attach their day-to-day work to something larger, something that helps other in a direct way. Higher education has the unique ability to serve communities both through the creation of lasting knowledge serving generations to come, and the application of that knowledge that serves communities tonight.

What can we learn from Philadelphia? Service remains at the heart of education, running up the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art like Rocky is harder than it looks and a Pat's cheese steak is better than one from Gino's every time.

www.upenn.edu/ccp
www.cool2serve.org
www.shrivercenter.org
www.patskingofsteaks.com

*Quote appears as amended by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Community Partnership's brochure.