Dear Friend of the Gephardt Institute:
Much has been accomplished since our founding in 2005, and we are grateful for the support and collaboration of the Institute’s campus and community partners. As the Institute expands its operations and programming, our mission remains steadfast: we promote life-long civic engagement among the University’s students and sustained community impact through service initiatives.
Within six goal areas, the Institute has made significant strides. Based on principles of partnership, sustainability, inclusion, and impact, we have begun a series of exciting new initiatives. We have identified priorities within each goal area that chart our strategic direction. The Institute is:
1) Increasing its brokering of interdisciplinary partnerships and activities to maximize internal resources and faculty expertise.
2) Supporting the standing “core” community-based courses offered in schools and departments, such as Olin Business School and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
3) Enhancing the cross-cultural training and academic knowledge necessary for successful international service trips and programs through an International Service-Learning course.
4) Removing barriers experienced by students in their desire to pursue social change through the WeCar fund and Social Change Grants.
5) Equipping students with the skills necessary for effective political action and public service careers through an advocacy course and the new Ready to Run series.
6) Developing programming with the Institute’s Alumni Service Council that will leverage alumni service leadership across the nation and the world.
Please learn more about our work through our website and publications. Please also sign up for our “Civic Catalyst,” new quarterly electronic newsletter by emailing gephardtinstitute@wustl.edu. Standing at a pivotal point in its development, the Institute is proud of its achievements and looks forward to the path ahead—working with you. We look forward to your ideas and support. Please contact us.
With best regards,
Director, Gephardt Institute for Public Service
Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Social Work, Brown School