Celebration of Service Brochure

A Celebration of Service

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A Message from the President

Dear Colleagues,

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n 2008, The University of Scranton received the Carnegie Foundation’s Community Engagement Classification, national recognition of what we have long known — that our campus is comprised of students, faculty and staff committed to service and engaged in our community. In 2014, we completed the process to seek re-classification, taking stock of the many ways in which community engagement is integral to the University and our mission as a Catholic and Jesuit institution. Through this publication, we want to share these “good works,” celebrate these important efforts, and spark even more service and community activity.

I am proud of how service is embedded in our campus community. First and foremost it can be found in so many of our students, who through experiences that run throughout their college career, become men and women of faith and of service to their communities.

We find it in key offices and personnel tasked with this work most directly, including the Leahy Community Health and Family Center, Center for Service and Social Justice, Student Life, Office of Community Relations, Small Business Development Center and the Jesuit Center.

We find it in the many faculty who make community engagement a part of their research, scholarship and teaching and have over 130 service learning courses that connect in meaningful ways with community organizations.

We find it in our staff who are actively engaged in the community — whether through the implementation of University programs or as volunteers at their child’s school, family’s church, or other civic organization.

We demonstrate it through an open campus that welcomes our neighbors—including our library and sporting events, and the more than 100 lectures, performances, exhibits and concerts that take place every year and are available to the public for free or at low cost.

We are called to this work by the life and teachings of St. Ignatius, the founder of the Society of Jesus, who challenges us to “love and serve in all things.” As you look through this brochure, I hope you will celebrate with me a campus dedicated to service and to our home here in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Sincerely, Kevin P. Quinn, S.J. P residen t

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BY THE NUMBERS: 2012-13 ACADEMIC YEAR

Institutional Commitment

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he University’s strategic plan prioritizes service and community engagement:

Cura Personalis: “We will challenge, empower, and engage our students through a community-wide commitment to offer an unparalleled learning and living experience across all years of study, preparing them to be leaders for change.”

Magis: “We will embody an interdisciplinary and civically engaged philosophy of teaching and scholarship that inspires students to apply their knowledge to the joys and hopes, the grief and aguish of the people of our time, especially those who are poor or afflicted.”

Rei Solicitudo: “We will invest resources to promote the well-being of our students, staff, and faculty, developing support services and personal growth opportunities that will help them meet their individual and collective needs, and aid them in their service of others.”

Staff positions that support service and related expense lines totaled $936,079 in the University's 2012/2013 annual budget. In addition the University provides facilities and commits a variety of fundraising efforts ($367,825 in 2012-13 through corporate and foundation relations and a special MicroGrants process) to facilitate these activities.

An Open Campus

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he University’s commitment to service is integrated into campus activities, extracurricular activities, and academic programming. Our library is a hub for community engagement, through the access it provides community members to computer usage, books and research tools. Special academic competitions, art workshops and relevant guest speakers are provided to area school groups. Community organizations have held more than 5,000 events at the University since 2004.

The Schemel Forum, an adult community educational initiative that provides University-quality speakers and faculty to Scranton area residents at a low cost or free, is a premier University outreach activity. In 2012-13 1,323 community members attended these events, up from 1,054 in 2011-12.

Neighbor Nights (pictured above) draw 40 Hill Section and downtown residents to the campus each semester, taking place at different campus buildings and giving neighbors a chance to hear about University activities and ask questions.

Service Learning Courses.................................................... 130 Number of Departments Involved.......................................... 15 Number of Faculty Teaching Service Learning Courses............ 86 Students Taking Service Learning Courses...................... 1,694 Total Number of Student Community Service Hours..... 17,500 Students engaged in 20+ hours of service...................... 1,500 Total Number of Students involved in community service........................................................... 2,800

75 student organizations completed a total of 225 service activities 1,679 patients were treated in the Leahy Clinic in 2012-13 78% of faculty reported spending 1 or more hours per week performing community service. 63% of faculty identified saw instilling a commitment to community service as a noteworthy goal.

Staff requested 1,513 hours of Mission and Community Service Leave time, to participate in 44 activities in 2013 C E L E B R AT I O N O F S E R V I C E

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CENTERS OF SERVICE

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he University supports service through several offices and centers on campus, including: The Leahy Community Health and Family Center, The Center for Service and Social Justice, The Office of Community Relations and The Jesuit Center. Following are some examples of key programs and initiatives.

Center for Service and Social Justice A Jesuit education prepares students to be men and women for others. The Center for Service and Social Justice is where those ideals are put into action. The Center gives students the structure and resources to make a difference in their community through service projects, fundraisers, educational programs and other campus activities.

Spark The camper was terrified, Jackie Bailey remembers. It was one thing to overcome a fear of water, but staring down the raging rapids that crashed before her on the white water rafting course was more than she could handle alone. Luckily she wasn’t.

Bailey, a Scranton student, and fellow Spark counselor Ryan Robeson showed the young camper the value of teamwork. They stayed with her, talked her through it, and soon enough, she was in the raft and swimming in the water later that week. It was a lesson for all three what they could accomplish when they rely on others.

Each year, 30 at-risk Scranton area teens and pre-teens like the one Ryan and Jackie helped participate in SPARK, a week-long camp focused on fostering teamwork and self-esteem through educational and outdoor activities.

This mentoring program is funded by The University of Scranton’s Center for Service and Social Justice and Scranton’s separately administered Jesuit high school, Scranton Preparatory. The camp is staffed by 10 students from each school and campers range from ages 11 to 15.

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CENTERS OF SERVICE

Christmas Day Breakfast It’s a different type of holiday tradition for the Brennan family. While many people view Christmas as a time to get away from work and service, Dr. Sean Brennan, from the History Department goes back to work. Dr. Brennan and his family have spent Christmas morning at the DeNaples center on Scranton’s campus the past few years where dozens of employees cook meals, hand out gifts, and visit with members of the Scranton community who would otherwise spend the holiday alone.

“It is an absolutely perfect way to spend Christmas morning. Their is great sense of the spirit of the Holidays with so many diverse members of the University’s family, students, faculty, staff, administrators, all working together to create a brighter Christmas so many in our community in Scranton who otherwise may have little to celebrate.”

The Christmas Breakfast started in 2009 and has grown each year since with more members of the Scranton community choosing to spend their holiday together, including more than 500 guests in recent years. The breakfast is offered free of charge by The Center for Social Justice and run by volunteers from University’s Dining Services/ARAMARK as well as staff and faculty.

Leahy Community Health and Family Center Since its visionary beginnings in 2003, the Leahy Community Health and Family Center has grown to include programs and services that enrich the academic life of the University and provide vital services to communities in northeastern Pennsylvania. Today, LCHFC comprises: The Edward R. Leahy, Jr. Center University of Success Physical Therapy Services Clinic for the Uninsured The Alice V. Leahy Food and Peacemakers Program Counseling Clinic Clothing Pantry Occupational Therapy Services Conference on disability

Leahy Clinic In a recent editorial, The Scranton Times applauded the work of the Leahy Clinic, describing it as “a triumph over the spirit.” The editorial concluded that “…the clinic represents another way in which the university has expanded its reach as a community resource.”

The Leahy Clinic provides free “non-emergency” health care to uninsured Lackawanna County residents who may otherwise forego health care due to cost or seek care in hospital emergency rooms. The clinic strives to provide high quality care in a welcoming, respectful and compassionate environment.

The clinic offers opportunities for teaching, research, learning, and service to University of Scranton faculty, students, and volunteers. This partnership promotes the Lackawanna County Medical Society’s commitment to improve access to health care for the uninsured and The University of Scranton’s Jesuit tradition of educating“ men and women for and with others.”

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CENTERS OF SERVICE

University of Success Stephanie Pacheco, a soft-spoken eighth-grade graduate of South Scranton Intermediate School, thought she might want to be a veterinarian. Then, through the University of Success program, she watched as students “saved the life” of Sim Man, a lifelike robot in the throes of a heart attack. Then she KNEW she had to have a career in health sciences. The best thing about her revelation was that it was backed up by a program that will give her a solid plan and the skills to realize her dream.

Up to 20 students like Stephanie are enrolled annually in the University of Success, a pre-college program designed to provide academic, social and cultural enrichment to high school students from economically disadvantaged families whose ethnic background is underrepresented in higher education. The program is funded entirely by corporate and foundation grants, so there is no charge to students and their families. The program’s ultimate goal is to assist students to successfully complete high school and gain entrance into a college or university. Many Success students choose to apply and continue their education at The University of Scranton.

The Jesuit Center The University of Scranton has offered a Jesuit education since 1941. However most of our employees haven’t been around quite as long. With this in mind, the Jesuit Center offers programming and service opportunities for faculty and staff aimed at educating employees of deeper tradition of Catholicism and exploring what it means to work at a Jesuit university.

St. Francis Kitchen Volunteers Each week the St. Francis of Assisi Soup Kitchen serves more than 200 meals to needy members of the Scranton community. No one is ever turned away or questioned. They simply receive a hot and healthy meal.

But more important than the sustenance provided by the food is the service that comes with it.

Too often people in need find themselves isolated from their community, disconnected from their fellow man. The staff at St. Francis of Assisi Soup Kitchen prides itself in rebuilding that connection. Volunteers treat patrons with respect, working to make them arrive feeling welcome and leave hopeful, rejuvenated by a spirit of compassion.

“The University of Scranton is blessed to be able join with the St. Francis of Assisi Soup Kitchen in answering the call to feed the hungry and welcome the stranger,” said Ryan Sheehan, assistant director of the Jesuit Center. The University’s service there springs directly from the Jesuit commitment to the service of faith and the promotion of justice.

Scranton is a university founded in service and since 1978 the St. Francis of Assisi Soup Kitchen has been a big part of that. The school strives to provide five faculty and staff volunteers two hours, once a week to work in the kitchen.

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CAMPUS COLLABORATIONS

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ne of the best natural resources of Scranton, Pennsylvania is the passion and intellect of the more than 6,000 University of Scranton students on campus every school year. Through collaborative projects like the ones listed below, Scranton students establish their roots in the community and contribute to the economic and academic life of Scranton.

Small Business Internship Initiative When Father Quinn announced the launch of the Small Business Internship Initiative in 2013, he spoke of what could be accomplished when the vibrancy and creativity of young people was joined with the dedication and innovation of Scranton businesses.

In the time since, the program has shown that nothing prepares students for careers like real world experience and nothing helps local businesses like the input and skills of young people.

The University’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) launched this program, in cooperation with the Office of Community Relations as well as Lackawanna County, the City of Scranton, Scranton Tomorrow, the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce and area colleges. The internship initiative matches students at The University of Scranton, as well as colleges and universities throughout Lackawanna County, with prominent businesses in their field. Students learn skills they can’t in the classroom and the businesses benefit from bright, enthusiastic interns.

Today, the University oversees the initiative and has developed a framework to match the right student workers with the right businesses, maximizing the experience for both groups.

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CAMPUS COLLABORATIONS

Back to School Bonanza Shannon Murphy Fennie, director of the University’s Center for Student Engagement, doesn’t believe in wasting time. As soon as first-year students step foot on campus, she wants them to know what their school is all about, and that starts with the Back to School Bonanza.

The Back to School Bonanza is a community fair for elementary and middle school students in the Scranton area.

The goal is to get students excited about the school year, while making sure they have the tools they need. The event is a collaboration across campus and together with community partners Local school-age children play educational games and win school supplies donated by various University of Scranton offices and services. The event features food, music, activities and tons of fun, attracting more than 550 children and their families to Courthouse Square in 2014.

First-year student volunteers get to experience the benefits of serving your community and learning how important serving others is to the University. Volunteers staff all the booths, building connections with their new community and inspiring a younger generation of learners.

Downtown Engagement The University’s Downtown Engagement Initiative, run by the Office of Community Relations in cooperation with Student Affairs and the Small Business Development Center, entered its fourth year in the fall of 2014.

Through more than 10 special events, including the signature “Downtown Scavenger Hunt,” the initiative draws 2,000 students, faculty, staff and parents downtown each year. According to a spring 2014 survey, the initiative has led to a marked increase in student awareness and patronage of businesses in downtown Scranton. Based on a comparison of this year’s survey and a survey conducted in 2011, more University students are going to downtown to retail shops, restaurants and entertainment activities. First Friday in particular saw significant gains of 17%+ increases from 2011 to 2014, as well as college-focused businesses, with some showing as much as 18% + increases. The data indicates a shift in the campus culture as it relates to the downtown.

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ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS

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ll three colleges within the University now encourage or require service through specialized “Passport” or co-curricular development programs. The programs guide students to a more robust involvement in service activities, University and community seminars, and other opportunities outside the traditional teaching and learning environments.

In 2012, the campus-wide freshman reading program — now called “Royal Reads” — was overhauled to provide a comprehensive learning experience, including social justice and community engagement.

It is integrated into freshman seminars and culminates in the Ignatian Values in Action Lecture, which is attended by more than 2,500 students each year. In addition the featured speaker addresses more than 100 Scranton area non-profit, business and civic leaders at a Community Breakfast.

New tracking and assessment measures are also being undertaken in the area of academic community engagement. One example can be found in PCPS. Beginning in spring 2014, PCPS piloted two different forms of assessment of service learning. All students enrolled in senior service learning courses in spring 2014 were asked to submit a 1-2 page reflection on their service experiences and describe how the Jesuit mission of social justice can be made manifest in their future profession. Submissions will be evaluated using a rubric that addresses how the student understands, applies, and plans to integrate social justice.

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ACADEMIC SERVICE

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he world is a classroom and so is the city of Scranton. Over the past decade faculty members have created classes and curriculum that take full advantage of local resources. Scranton students engage in innovative projects that not only give them valuable experience but also provide a service for those in need.

Kids Judge!

The only thing more intimidating than a renowned psychology professor with a Ph.D. is a 10-year old Girl Scout with a red pen.

Just ask students from professor Tim Cannon’s Behavioral Neuroscience course who participate in the Kids Judge! competition each year. In Kids Judge!, groups of three to five Scranton students give interactive, hands-on presentations to elementary age students on a variety of neuroscience topics including how the spinal cord sends messages to the brain, color and color blindness, and optical illusions.

The student judges rotate from group to group, evaluating presentations on creativity and content.

They then pick first, second, and third place awards and decide if the presenters get a passing grade for their assignment — one that really counts in the Behavioral Neuroscience class.

The young judges get to have fun and learn about science, and also offers the Scranton students insight on the best way to reach young learners when teaching complicated topics.

Kids Judge! continues to grow in popularity and was recognized for its creativity and impact in 2005, earning 1st place for a Regional Nonprofit Community and Assistance Center Award.

Service Learning and the Hispanic Community Students can see the frustration in a patient’s face. Pain knows no language, unfortunately medicine often does. Without being able to properly communicate, Spanish speaking patients in a medical setting know chances of a quick diagnosis and immediate relief is unlikely without intervention.

That’s why the translation services offered by students from Service Learning and the Hispanic Community at Scranton area medical facilities is so important.

“They’re the link between the doctors and the nurses,” Bob Parsons, Professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, said. “Sometimes it makes all the difference.”

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ACADEMIC SERVICE

Service Learning and the Hispanic Community is a course offered each fall, allowing students to explore the Hispanic immigrant community by working in it. Students first learn about cultural displacement in the classroom portion of the course, before completing a service project in the Scranton community.

Past projects include students reading to Spanish-speaking children, helping with employment issues in families, and even working with immigrants studying for their citizenship test.

The course requires just 40 hours of service work but Parsons believe the impact is much greater than that.

“Neither the student nor the participant want to stop when the semester is over,” Parsons says, “and that’s my aim, to make service a part of their regular life.”

Nurses-2-Newborns Caitlyn Brady ’12 was heartbroken. Training as a nursing student at Moses Taylor Hospital, Brady often saw first-time mothers leave the hospital days after giving birth with no baby clothing, food or supplies.

Children don’t come with an instruction booklet but each parent needs the basic necessities to be successful. Brady wanted to help.

Like so many people in helping professions, she took matters into her own hands. Brady and a group of fellow nursing students founded Nurses-2-Newborns, an organization designed to raise awareness of and provide baby supplies for families in need. Since its inception, the organization has raised more than $2,000 through Scranton micro grants to put clothing, diapers, formula and other life essentials into the hands of needy families.

“It makes us feel good about giving back to the community that has given us so much,” 2013 Nurses2-Newborns president Keely McClatchy said.

With the guidance of Nursing Department faculty, Nurses-2-Newborns is run entirely by students who solicit donations and organize supply drives. All donations go to Moses Taylor Hospital Family Birthing Suites located in Scranton, PA. At its third clothing drive, Nurses-2-Newborns collected enough infant care products to fill a hospital room.

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ACADEMIC SERVICE

OT Collaboration with the Lackawanna Blind Association Julie Natasi, Faculty Specialist in the Occupational Therapy Department, wants her students to understand the challenges that others face. Before any of them meet their clients at the Lackawanna Blind Association, she has them wear a pair of goggles that simulates impaired vision.

They have to live one day — walking around campus, cooking food, shopping at the mall — without being able to see.

“When they see how hard it is while knowing how independent these people are,” Natasi says, “it really strikes them.”

The job of students at the Lackawanna Blind Association is to develop arts and craft projects to help clients improve their remaining vision while honing the other senses. Knowing how precious all sensory information is helps students enter sessions more organized and capable of creating more engaging activities.

For example, a project might require clients to glue buttons onto old eyeglass cases to incorporate touch or put bells on jewelry to incorporate sound.

Natasi says the experience makes her students better occupational therapists because it magnifies why the basics — going step by step — are so important.

“The students really have to hone their skills,” she says.

Community Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Not having money can be expensive, especially when it comes to filing taxes. Low-income families in the Scranton area often have to choose between paying a professional with money they can’t afford or filing themselves and risk spending more money in the long run.

Joe Hammond, CPA and Adjunct Professor in the Accounting Department, doesn’t want anyone to have to make that tough decision again. Through the Community Volunteer Tax Assistance program he directs, student volunteers from The University of Scranton assist low-income taxpayers, people with disabilities, non-English speakers and the elderly file basic tax returns.

Dr. Hammond reports that through the VITA program, “students have a real-life opportunity to prepare returns. This is not a simulation. The learning experience is enriched by the combination of service and practice.”

VITA helps special needs tax payers from seven different regions in Pennsylvania. Student volunteers from Scranton prepared more than 1,000 returns in 2013.

Business Leadership Quality leadership isn’t about making money or finding success in a career, Rob McKeage, Associate Professor of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, says. Not at Scranton, at least. It’s a way to serve your community.

“We like to think that more than just being an average leadership program,” McKeage, the program director, says.

“Our Jesuit ideals make the person a well-rounded person and not just a business person.”

Through a series of seminars, which culminate in a nine-month service project, the Business Leadership program challenges the best and brightest at Scranton to learn more about themselves and the people around them. It puts some of the University’s best assets on the front line, improving their community.

Service projects usually consist of free consulting for local nonprofits and designing strategic plans for groups that wouldn’t have one otherwise. It’s a private business approach to public service, allowing nonprofits to operate efficiently as students learn how to do business ethically.

In the past, Business Leadership students have helped convert an old fire station in Clarks Summit, PA into a community space for artists and helped the Scranton School Board save a million dollars through cost-cutting measures.

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FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP

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aculty regularly integrate service into their research activities. Here are some example of faculty scholarship highlighted in the Carnegie Foundation application:

Mary Jane K. DiMattio, RN, PhD; Sharon Hudacek, RN, EdD, ACNS-BC; Catherine Lovecchio, RN. PhD, department of nursing. “Clinical liaison nurse model in a community hospital: a unique academic-practice partnership that strengthens clinical nursing education” in the Journal of Nursing Education, November 2012.

Drs. Ann Feeney and Pat Harringon, department of nursing. “Service Learning in Nursing Education” Presentation for Nursing Faculty at Fairfield University in April 2013.

Dr. Kathryn Shively Meier, department of history, and Kristen Yarmey of the Weinberg Memorial Library.

“The practical historian: Uniting digital history, service learning, and job shadowing in the university classroom.” Presentation at the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic Annual Conference, Baltimore, Maryland in 2012.

Lauren Godek, student and Tata Mbugua, department of education. “Integrating International ServiceLearning in an academic Graduate Course: An Instructor and Student Perspective.” Public Voices Journal, 2012.

Len Champney, department of political science, and Robert Spalletta, department of physics.

Presentation on the value of connecting STEM content to civic issues at the meeting of Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENSER) at The University of Scranton, fall 2013.

Drs. Renee Hakim and Mike Ross, department of physical therapy (with faculty from Marywood and staff at St. Joseph’s Center). Research Project: “A Community-Based Aquatic Exercise Program to Improve Endurance, Mobility, Self-Esteem and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in Community-Dwelling Adults with Mild to Moderate Intellectual Disability (ID)”. Funded by Marywood University/University of Scranton Cooperative Grant Program, 2013.

Dr. Meghan Ashlin Rich, department of sociology/criminal justice & criminology. “From Coal to Cool: The Creative Class, Social Capital, and the Revitalization of Scranton,” in Journal of Urban Affairs.

Additionally, “Elm St. Revitalization Study” and presented results at the Eastern Sociological Society (ESS) Annual Meeting in March 2013. Pictured above.

Nicholas Truncale, department of physics and electrical engineering, developed the Reflective Solar Tracker (RST), which has two patents: RST Mechanical Device and Celestial Body Digital Tracking System. Two mobile versions were manufactured and sent to Uganda to two schoolhouses to provide light and electrical capabilities. Truncale also presented “Educating and Learning through Sustainable Innovation” at the Energypath Conference at Villanova University, 2013. Pictured right.

Dr. Patricia Wright, department of nursing. “Time for comfort, concern.” in The Times Tribune.

Presentation: “From Seed to tree: Developing community support for perinatally bereaved mothers.”

Presented at The International Conference on Perinatal and Infant Death in Minneapolis in 2013.

Colleen Heckman, Wendy Manetti and Debbie Zielinski, department of nursing. Presentation on partnership for policy research achieved through the Institute for Public Policy’s. Presented at the Institutes’s annual faculty research symposium.

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staff HIGHLIGHTS

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he faculty and staff community service input form was created in 2012 and in 2014 more than 120 faculty and staff completed the form. Their top reasons for participating in service included: (1) personal interest (79%), (2) religious belief (38%) and (3) Jesuit mission (34%), indicating that the University’s Catholic and Jesuit mission are a key motivating factor in how faculty and staff engage with the community. Below are highlights of the volunteer activity being undertaken by some of our committed staff.

Supervisor of Electrical/Mechanical Trades is Longtime Steward of the Environment Timothy Barrrett has been interested in environmental issues since his teenage years. For the past 15 years, he has been a volunteer with the Lackawanna River Corridor Association. Mr. Barrett, supervisor of electrical/mechanical trades at the University, coordinates river site cleanups and serves on the LRCA board and its executive and fundraising committees. He joined the group after his retirement from a 20-year Navy career and subsequent return to Scranton. Of his early days with the LRCA, he says: “I enjoyed the work and received a feeling of great reward upon accomplishing each task.”

Over the past 25 years, the LRCA has taken the river “from what was once known as a dumping ground for industrial waste and sewage to now a cleaner, better and safer place for recreation, trophy trout fishing and casual enjoyment,” he says.

Financial Aid Staff Member Helps Within Her Community and Her Profession In her 35 years in the financial aid field, Margaret F. Hynosky has always made time for service work connected to her community and her job. As the University’s Associate Director of Financial Aid, she volunteers at high school financial aid nights to explain the process to families. She also is a senator in the Staff Senate, a member of various Senate committees and is active in state professional organizations. “Volunteering within my profession and at work helps me share what I know to help others,” she says.

Mrs. Hynosky also volunteers at the annual Christmas Day Breakfast and outside of work, with Ballet Theatre of Scranton and Mary, Mother of God Parish. “One of the reasons I volunteer is to give back to the community and help make it stronger and more welcoming,” she says. “When we help others, we get to know ourselves and others better. Hopefully this will help us in knowing God a little better and bring us closer to Him.”

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staff highlights

Associate Athletic Director Devotes Himself to Youth Sports For most of his adult life Stephen L. Klingman has given much of his time to youth sports. He has been on the Abington Youth Soccer League board for 30 years, with duties like recruiting and training coaches and maintaining fields. He is also involved with Abington Travel Soccer and Abington Youth Baseball, a commitment in which he spends several hours a week cutting grass and various baseball fields. “My motivation is simple,” says Mr. Klingman, the University’s associate athletic director.

“I love coaching various sports and working with all levels of athletes. I truly enjoy working with the young athletes to get them started in the right direction.”

He believes his service ties in with the University’s mission. “Obviously part of the mission of the University is to serve others. Our University population, whether it be students, staff or faculty, truly care about helping others.”

Academic Advisor Inspired by Mother Teresa For the past four years Philip Yevics has been a volunteer with the Prison Ministry at Lackawanna County Prison. Every week he visits inmates there, which he views as “a weekly opportunity to encounter Christ with an authenticity and intensity that I only rarely experience elsewhere.”

“Visiting the prison has become an important part of my own spiritual life,” says Mr. Yevics, an academic advisor in the College of Graduate and Continuing Education, and an adjunct instructor of theology and religious studies. His work at the prison stems from an event nearly 40 years ago, when he heard Mother Theresa speak. “She spoke of her own community’s decision to serve those who were most neglected by society,” he recalls. “She also challenged all of her audience to look for such opportunities for service in their own communities.”

Mr. Yevics is also deeply involved with the Byzantine Catholic Church, particularly as a cantor and Bible study leader. He has also made a service trip to El Salvador and is involved with the National Convocation of Jail and Prison Ministry and the Lackawanna County Task Force on Re-entry.

The University encourages its employees to live out a life of service to others and reflection as an integral part of their outreach and service activities.

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hrough our Mission and Community Service Leave policy, employees can voluntarily participate, with pay, in mission related or community service activities during their regularly scheduled work hours. In total, the University of Scranton staff requested 1,513 hours of Mission and Community Service Leave time, to participate in forty-four (44) activities in 2013, up from 1,385 hours for ninetythree (93) activities in 2011-2012.

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Beyond Northeastern Pennsylvania

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his brochure highlights much of the service being done in the Great Scranton area in which our campus is located, however activity beyond the borders of Northeastern Pennsylvania is extensive. The Center for Service & Social Justice coordinates domestic service trips over Fall break, during Intersession in January & on our Spring break for our undergraduate students. Our International Service program (ISP) ran 11 trips to 10 different countries in Central and South America in 2013, including 22 faculty and staff chaperones and 92 student participants. New immersion and service opportunities are now available through the Jesuit Center to Nicaragua, El Salvador and Mexico for our staff and faculty, with 34 participating to date.

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