GINSBERG CENTER

Inspired by the life and work of Edward Ginsberg (1917-1997), the Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning strives to engage students and faculty members in a process combining community service and academic learning in order to promote civic participation, build community capacity, and enhance the educational process. Based upon this mission, the goals of the center are to:

1. Build student capacity for learning and leadership through community service, civic participation, and educational efforts.
2. Build faculty capacity for research and teaching that strengthens student learning, and involves and develops communities.
3. Build the capacity of communities through partnerships with the University that improve community quality of life and enhance student learning.
4. Increase the institutional capacity of the University of Michigan for student civic and multicultural learning.
5. Build the capacity of the Center as an institutional vehicle for student civic, multicultural, and leadership training.

The Ginsberg Center provides resources and support for students and student organizations who would like to become involved in existing community service programs such as AmeriCorps and America Reads, or who would like to initiate a community service program of their own. Each semester, students can visit the Center’s website to learn about undergraduate and graduate level courses with a service-learning element. For those interested in continuing their civic service after graduation, the Center provides information about jobs and internships with non-profit and service-oriented organizations.

For faculty, the Ginsberg Center offers workshops, consultation, and financial support to those willing to teach courses with a service-learning element. In addition, the Center periodically sponsors and helps plan forums on issues related to service-learning, civic engagement, and the role of higher education in promoting civic engagement.

For further information about the Ginsberg Center and their programs, please visit http://www.umich.edu/~mserve/index.html.