Educating children about health and nutrition through an innovative partnership between a food pantry and a free clinic in Maine. Increasing accessibility of scientific information for the National Institute on Aging. Developing an online "story map" to support recovery efforts in post-earthquake Nepal. Working on labor standards as part of Apple's Supplier Responsibility program.
These are just a few of more than 300 full-time, quarter-long service projects Stanford students engaged in during the summer of 2015, working with community organizations in the Bay Area, in their hometowns and throughout the world on social, economic and environmental issues.
This year, Stanford is deepening its commitment to public service with the launch of Cardinal Service. The Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford—marking its 30th anniversary—is partnering with the offices of the vice provost for undergraduate education and the vice provost for student affairs to strengthen programming in four areas: Cardinal Quarter, Cardinal Courses, Cardinal Commitments and Cardinal Careers.
Cardinal Quarter expands on the summer-long, immersive experiences mentioned above. Within five years, students will be able to choose from among 500 quarter-long service opportunities.
Cardinal Courses are multidisciplinary, community-engaged learning courses that offer students the opportunity to apply classroom knowledge to real-world, societal problems. For example, when California Gov. Jerry Brown and the White House sought to make scientific information more accessible to policymakers and the general public, students taking Professor Elizabeth Hadly's course Geographic Impacts of Global Change developed an interactive online tool that features stories about important environmental issues. Hadly, the Paul S. and Billie Achilles Chair of Environmental Biology and senior associate vice provost for undergraduate education, is a leading scholar in environmental change and recognized for integrating academic scholarship with public service.
In addition to Cardinal Quarter and Cardinal Courses, students will be encouraged to make sustained commitments to service through Cardinal Commitments and to pursue careers in the public interest through Cardinal Careers.
Cardinal Service builds on Stanford's long tradition of public service. In establishing the university, the founders sought to provide an education to students "in the hope and trust that they will become thereby of greater service to the public." Over the years, our faculty, students and alumni have responded in myriad ways, working to make a difference. Stanford was the first research university to establish a comprehensive public service center, and for three decades the Haas Center has been a hub for service activities, preparing students to become socially responsible leaders.
Many alumni have told us their undergraduate service experiences were transformative, encouraging lifelong engagement with their communities through government service, volunteering or careers in nonprofit organizations. Recently, there has been increased interest in social entrepreneurism by students who want to improve society through new approaches, often bridging nonprofit and for-profit approaches with a deep sense of social mission. We believe that providing experiential service opportunities will improve their ability to be successful in such ventures.
When John Levin, MA '70, JD '73, accepted one of this year's Gold Spike Awards, he shared a vision in which Cardinal Service is so ubiquitous that alumni returning to campus will not only ask, "Where did you study abroad?" but also "Where did you do your Cardinal Service?"
As Stanford approaches its 125th anniversary, it is fitting that we reflect on how the university's founding values have shaped its development and guided its future. The Stanford community has long been distinguished by its desire to put knowledge to use for the public good. The university is again leading the way with Cardinal Service, which builds on that tradition.
John Hennessy was the president of Stanford University.
