The Shriver Center
The Shriver Center, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), is a national leader in promoting applied learning, civic engagement and community-based service delivery programs, and was recognized by the Templeton Foundation as a “prototype for urban education in the 21st century” for its “strong commitment to character development and the strengths of its programs.” The center addresses the pressing social needs of the Baltimore Metropolitan area, engages faculty in the discovery and application of knowledge and helps students to connect classroom theory to the realities of urban life.
Mission
The Shriver Center at UMBC promotes the integration of civic engagement, teaching, learning, and discovery on campus, regionally, and nationally so that each advances the others for the benefit of society.
The Shriver Center strives to:
Engage students and faculty in applied learning linked to academic study;
Facilitate the development of socially engaged citizens with the commitment and experience to serve responsibly in their communities, the state, and the nation;
Harness the resources of the University to strengthen our communities, and to build their capacity to meet the needs of civil society through the development and leadership of community-based service delivery programs.
Goals
Based on these initiatives, primary goals have included:
Attracting and maintaining external support/funding to sustain current projects and initiatives, and expand efforts where appropriate;
Raising internal and external awareness of the Shriver Center (through marketing/dissemination/publicity regarding what we do, who we are) to reach all stakeholders
Better integrating of research and evaluation across all Center programs and initiatives
Maintaining high quality services and improving services to stakeholder groups dependent on particular program area (e.g. increase the number of placement opportunities in internship or cooperative education for undergraduate students)
Increasing engagement of faculty in Center efforts
Increasing outreach to business, education, and nonprofit communities
Contact Information
Michele K. Wolff
Director
UMBC/The Shriver Center
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD 21250
Phone: (410) 455-2493
Fax: (410) 455-1074
Email: wolff@umbc.edu