University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is an exemplar for its outstanding commitment to leveraging university resources to solve real world problems in their local community and beyond. Penn faculty, students, and staff participated in community service through a wide variety of service and service-learning programs. One strong and long-term project, coordinated through Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships, is the development and support of community schools in the neighborhood surrounding the university.  Community schools provide an array of educational, health, athletic, cultural, and other programs to the community.  Penn support includes a citywide youth basketball league, free health and dental screenings, tutoring and mentoring programs, afterschool and summer programs, and antitruancy efforts. Penn faculty teach more than 50 courses in the community. In addition, the Agatson Urban Nutrition Initiative, a health and wellness program incubated with a grant from Learn and Serve America, continues to expand from one school community in 1995 to 22 schools and10,000 students currently. Other projects include LIFE, an independent living program run by the School of Nursing, which provides comprehensive community-based care to320 frail adults. The LIFE program has the best record of preventing unnecessary hospitalizations in the state of Pennsylvania. The Penn in Botswana program is dedicated to the development and implementation of national HIV prevention and treatment programs and has engaged faculty, staff, and students from multiple departments for over five years to build Botswana’s capacity to meet its health care needs. Penn’s Alternative Spring Break programs, sponsored through the Law School and the Business School have continued to actively support recovery from Hurricane Katrina.