Penn in the Community
Serving to Learn, Learning to Serve
While the University initiates large-scale projects to better connect with the West Philadelphia community, there are many more personal initiatives that connect Penn students, faculty, and staff with the neighborhood.
The Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships
Founded in 1992, the Center for Community Partnerships (CCP) is Penn's primary program for focusing the broad range of human knowledge needed to solve the complex, comprehensive, and interconnected problems of the modern American city. CCP helps coordinate university-wide community service programs and create new and effective partnerships between the University and the community. Efforts have been so successful that Penn's CCP has become a model and leader for other institutions of higher education that are committed to engagement with their local communities.Approximately 150 courses, from a wide range of disciplines and schools, link Penn students to work in the community. Programs involve everything from traditional education programs to a groundbreaking Urban Nutrition Initiative.
Civic House
Civic House is the University of Pennsylvania's hub for student-led community service and social advocacy work. Civic House promotes mutually beneficial collaborations between the Penn and West Philadelphia communities, and beyond. Through education, community connections, and other resources, Civic House prepares students for responsible and effective civic engagement and leadership.As the motto of the Franklin House Residential Program says, students are "Serving to Learn, Learning to Serve."
