Duke to pay for student service

$30 million fund to aid volunteers

DURHAM -- Duke University leaders believe volunteer work is an integral part of college -- and they're willing to spend millions to prove it.

Duke on Monday announced a $30 million investment in a new program called DukeEngage, which will support students who take on service projects whether they are around the corner or around the globe. The money -- $15 million each from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Charlotte-based Duke Endowment -- will be invested in a fund with the earnings used to support the program.

Community service programs are nothing new. Some high schools and colleges now require service learning, which incorporates classroom lessons and volunteerism. But the size and scope of Duke's plan created a buzz among higher education observers.

"I haven't seen anything quite this big," said John Pennypacker, a communications coordinator for Campus Compact, a Providence, R.I.-based coalition of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that promote public service. "It's very significant. It's significant on a lot of different levels."

It's unusual for a research university, he said, and even rarer for a school to devote that kind of money to it.

Any student is eligible for the program, which provides travel expenses and a stipend to cover a summer- or semester-long project. Faculty and staff who mentor the students will also be paid for participating.

Students can be part of an organized effort or devise their own plan to work on such issues as poverty, housing, education or disease. They can work in a Durham neighborhood, travel to a village in Latin America or work with nonprofit groups that address social issues. University officials estimate one-quarter of Duke's 6,250 undergraduates will take part in the program, which will begin next year.

It comes at a time when Duke's image could use some polishing after months of international media coverage about the sexual assault case involving former lacrosse team members. School officials said the program has been in the works for some time.

"We give our students superb academic training, but we also want them to become active citizens and creative problem-solvers, using their education to make a real-world difference," Duke President Richard Brodhead said in a prepared statement.

UNC, NCSU programs

Nationally and locally, community service occupies a larger share of students' time. At UNC-Chapel Hill, a public service scholars program that started in 2003 enrolls 1,000 students who perform service and assemble portfolios on their work. They will earn a notation on their transcripts when they graduate.

At N.C. State, a survey of 3,000 students last year indicated about half did some kind of volunteer work, said Mike Giancola, director of the university's Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service. National surveys have indicated that college students, while often disengaged from politics, see community service as a way to make an impact and see immediate results.

During the coming spring break, NCSU's center will dispatch 10 teams of students to the Gulf Coast, a Navajo reservation, Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere for building projects, health clinics and tutoring. Pulling off such projects isn't easy, especially for low-income students.

"One of the things we recognize is that for students who can barely afford tuition, they're not going to be able to step up and write a check for $1,000 to go on one of these trips," Giancola said.

Duke estimates that 80 percent of its students volunteer in some way. About 500 participate in some kind of service learning, and 100 create their own summer service projects. Duke Provost Peter Lange said the financial support will guarantee that anyone can join in, "gaining a real grip on the way your education interacts with the world."

Making a difference

Aneesh Kapur, 19, a sophomore from Potomac, Md., worked in a research lab at Duke, where the long-term goal was developing an AIDS vaccine. But he wants to make an immediate impact on people, so he and five other students will travel to India to do HIV/AIDS education this summer. They'll have to raise thousands of dollars to go.

"This program would allow anyone to do that, and it would take away the hurdle," Kapur said of DukeEngage.

Lynn Blanchard, director of UNC-CH's Carolina Center for Public Service, said she was excited about Duke's announcement, and also a tad jealous.

"I congratulate Duke for getting the money and putting an emphasis on this," she said. "I think it will be something that will change lives."