Let's Get It Started: Leadership, Civic Engagement, and Service-Learning

In 1994, Oglethorpe University, a small, private liberal arts university located in metropolitan Atlanta, implemented a one-of-a-kind leadership program designed to connect the campus with the greater metropolitan Atlanta business, civic, and neighborhood communities. Through a balance of courses, workshops, and various on- and off-campus experiences, students in the Rich Foundation Urban Leadership Program (RFULP) are prepared to meet the challenges of responsible citizenship and civic engagement in local, national, and international arenas. RFULP provides a variety of structured experiential and service-learning opportunities to address community problems. In 2006, building on some of the momentum of the RFULP, Oglethorpe opened its Center for Civic Engagement (CCE), which coordinates the university's service and service-learning activities for students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The CCE also works closely with the RFULP and provides it with programmatic support and resources. In return, the RFULP has helped the CCE serve as the university's clearinghouse for service-learning and hands-on experiential opportunities on campus and in the community. [author]