Social Responsibility and Service

Susan Sanning of the Center for Careers, Life, and Service mentoring students

Social Responsibility and Service

For more than 175 years, Ģ��ý has challenged students to connect learning with action in pursuit of the common good. Today, civic learning is woven throughout the Ģ��ý experience — from the classroom and research opportunities to community partnerships, dialogue, leadership, and public problem-solving. You'll graduate prepared to understand complex challenges, collaborate across differences, and contribute thoughtfully to your communities.

It's part of who we’ve been from the very beginning, and it is connected to a commitment that continues to evolve.

Ģ��ý was founded by abolitionists, and that ethos has driven our college from the ever since. We’ve long been recognized as one of the top volunteer producers for the Peace Corps. And we spawned the Social Gospel movement, trained the architects of FDR’s New Deal, educated the inventor of the microchip, and graduated critics, comedians and world leaders who are shaping society.
That commitment continues today through teaching, research, community partnerships, and civic leadership across the College.
We put learning into action — Ģ��ýians understand that our collective work is never done.

Civic learning happens throughout the Ģ��ý experience. Students examine complex public issues, engage with communities, and connect classroom learning with real-world challenges. Through these experiences, they develop the knowledge, relationships, and leadership skills needed to contribute thoughtfully and effectively to the common good.
Civic Education & Innovation (CEI) serves as one of the College's primary resources for civic learning and community engagement. CEI connects students with community-engaged learning, service opportunities, civic dialogue, social innovation, and community partnerships while collaborating with faculty, academic departments, student organizations, and community partners across the College.
Students engage with more than 80 community partners through community-engaged courses, service, internships, dialogue programs, leadership experiences, and collaborative projects. Whether working alongside local nonprofits, participating in community-based research, facilitating conversations across differences, or developing innovative responses to public challenges, students connect their academic interests with meaningful civic engagement.
Many civic learning experiences also encourage students to examine the systems that shape complex social issues. By combining disciplinary knowledge with collaboration, reflection, and community partnership, students learn to approach change thoughtfully rather than assuming every challenge has a simple solution.
How Ģ��ýians engage:
- In the Team Software Development for Community Organizations class (CSC 322), led by Sam Rebelsky, professor of computer science, students develop software packages for local nonprofits over the course of multiple semesters.
- The Ģ��ý Caucus Project class (SST 295) was designed by Barb Trish, professor of political science. Students engaged in an intensive examination of the Iowa caucuses and the campaigns leading up to them. Students attended candidate events and made site visits to campaign headquarters, party headquarters, media outlets, paid vendors, consultants, and state ethics and campaign finance boards.
- At the Blank Park Zoo, volunteers and service-learning work-study students to create innovative enrichment items for the animal enclosures.
- Ģ��ýians mapped the systems undergirding human trafficking in Assam, India, and finished third at the 2022 competition finals at Oxford University with their project.

At Ģ��ý, civic engagement is not a single program or experience — it's an approach to learning. Across the College, students are encouraged to connect knowledge with action, build authentic partnerships, and develop the skills to contribute to thriving communities throughout their lives.

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