Welcome

Our mission is to promote reciprocal connections among students, faculty, and community members through integrated academic coursework and service in the community, and to encourage the development of socially and environmentally responsible citizens.

Students in Child Development 109Z, an American Sign Language
service learning course, help children learn, communicate, and create
at the Humboldt County Public Library.
Photo by Kyana Taillon.

The HSU Service Learning Center works to realize this mission through thoughtful collaboration and partnership-building with community organizations and the university. Hand in hand, we help create opportunities for shared learning and growth for students, faculty, and community partners participating in the service learning process.

What is service learning? It is more than just community service. Service learning is a specific pedagogy that unites formal academic coursework with high quality service that answers a community-identified need. The partnerships built between community, students, and faculty are reciprocal, meaning shared responsibility and gain. This process of experiential learning and community building includes academic coursework, directed service, and guided reflection that, taken together, deepen the experience for all partners.

The Service Learning Center coordinates efforts to incorporate service learning into the curriculum at Humboldt State University. Three integrated programs help direct the center's efforts: the Service Learning Faculty Fellows program, the Service Learning Community Partners program, and the Service Learning Student Interns program. The fellows program supports faculty in the development and utilization of service learning pedagogy across disciplines. The community partners program facilitates community and campus collaboration, addresses community-identified needs, and builds community capacities. The interns program develops student leadership skills by allowing students to facilitate campus and community partnerships while promoting civic engagement.

The ultimate goal of service learning is to foster student civic engagement and promote an awareness of the possibilities for social and environmental justice in our communities. As Cesar Chavez once said, "The love for justice that is in us is not only the best part of our being, but it is also the most true to our nature."