PrincetonUniversity
A Princeton Profile, 2004-05
Town/Gown Relations (cont.)
Service/Outreach
Student Volunteers Council (SVC). Through the SVC, University undergraduates participate each year in more than 50 student-led community service programs, assisting thousands of residents in the Trenton/Princeton area. Each week, approximately 600 students volunteer on a regular basis in programs serving different populations: youth, senior citizen, mentally handicapped, physically handicapped, and homeless. Several students volunteer as emergency medical technicians, and, in that capacity, provide an essential service to the entire population of Princeton. More than 100 incoming first-year students participate in SVC's Community Action pre-orientation program, doing service projects in Princeton, Trenton, and Philadelphia. SVC also helps facilitate summer community-service intern programs for University students.
Community House. Community House is a student volunteer service organization that is made up of a diverse group of students who are primarily, although not exclusively, interested in providing service to minority communities. The student volunteers work in the Princeton Borough and Princeton Township area on projects that include mentoring teens and tutoring and support programs for immigrant populations as well as school readiness for preschool children. Community House also organizes summer camps and one-time projects, such as Campus Volunteer Day, which, with the co-sponsorship of the SVC and the Pace Center for Community Service, brings together students, faculty, and staff to volunteer for one-time projects in the local community. In addition to its outreach activities, Community House serves as a forum for intellectual and social exchange and support for its staff and volunteers.
Graduate students. In addition to undergraduate student volunteer efforts, graduate students participate in tutoring and mentoring programs throughout the Trenton/Princeton area. For example, the graduate students living in graduate housing next to an affordable housing complex in Princeton tutor youngsters living in that housing complex. Graduate students also conduct a year-end furniture recycling drive in conjunction with the Office of Community and State Affairs.
Princeton-Blairstown Center. Known as Blairstown, the Princeton-Blairstown Center, affiliated with Princeton University for nearly a century, has a mission of helping underserved youth develop self-confidence and a sense of personal and group responsibility. This is accomplished through summer camp programs focused on adventure-based and experiential education. In addition, Blairstown serves as an experiential education facility all year long for schools, community agencies, and members of the Princeton University family. Blairstown also provides Princeton students with an outlet for community service; since the center's founding, an estimated 2,000 undergraduates and young alumni have served on the Blairstown staff.
Office of Community and State Affairs. The members of the Office of Community and State Affairs (CSA) serve as town/gown liaisons between the University and state and local governments, as well as between the University community and residents of the University's neighboring communities. The CSA team serves as the public's first point of contact, answering questions and providing links to University resources, helping achieve the University goal of remaining a responsive and responsible neighbor and citizen of the region. CSA staff members work with state, county, and municipal government officials to enhance the quality of life throughout the region. The office administers and sponsors numerous community outreach initiatives and activities enjoyed by tens of thousands of area residents.
Community Auditing Program. The Community Auditing Program (CAP), which is under the auspices of the CSA, enables members of the community to register to audit, or sit in on, lecture classes at the University for $100 per class. No credit or certification is given for CAP classes. On average, 200 classes are available each semester for auditing. Approximately 750 area residents participate in the CAP program each semester. However, certified teachers currently working in New Jersey may obtain written certification for classes they have audited at Princeton University.
Program in Continuing Education. Within the Program in Continuing Education, administered by CSA, individuals become officially registered students, pay full tuition for each course they take, and receive a transcript and credit that may be used toward a degree at another institution of higher learning. In addition, teachers who are certified to teach in New Jersey may participate in this program at a greatly reduced fee, the same one charged to Princeton University faculty and staff.
Surplus Equipment Program. Administered by the CSA office, the Surplus Equipment Program helps charitable nonprofit organizations acquire furniture and equipment the University no longer uses.
Community Use of University Facilities Program. In conjunction with the Office of Visitors and Conference Services and the staff representing the University's major facilities (the Frist Campus Center, Jadwin and Dillon Gyms, Richardson Auditorium, and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs), the CSA staff responds to requests from non-University community organizations who want to use University buildings and/or premises.
Events. Working with community groups, state and local government officials, and other University departments, the CSA office plays a role in activities such as Communiversity, the Memorial Day Parade, the Fourth of July Community Fireworks, the hospital's June Fete, the Martin Luther King Day celebration, the Symposium on New Jersey Issues, Community/Staff Day at Princeton Stadium, other lectures and programs in conjunction with PRIOR (the Princeton Research Institute for the Region), and a variety of other community service initiatives in conjunction with the University's Pace Center for Community Service.
Program in Teacher Preparation. In addition to training Princeton University students to be K-12 teachers, the program provides professional development programs for teachers in area schools. Quest is a two-week summer institute in science for teachers in upper elementary and middle schools, with follow-up sessions held during the academic year. Teachers as Scholars is a partnership between the University and area school districts that provides three-to-four-day scholarly seminars for teachers during the regular school year and a two-week institute. It sponsors the Distinguished Secondary Teacher Award in which New Jersey teachers are honored at the University commencement. In addition, the Program in Teacher Preparation manages the high school student academic enrichment program that allows students who have completed their course work and received permission from their respective high schools to take free courses in computer science, foreign languages, mathematics, and music. The staff members in the Program in Teacher Preparation also present professional development workshops to principals and administrators in New Jersey and to teachers in area schools as part of the schools' regular professional programs.
Princeton University Preparatory Program. Funded by the University and founded by members of its faculty and staff, Princeton University Preparatory Program (PUPP) is a three-year learning and enrichment program for Mercer County high school students who are educationally motivated and rich in intellectual curiosity but who are financially disadvantaged. Students are admitted to the program at the end of their first year of high school, and they attend for three summers. There is no charge for tuition, and students also receive a stipend for the successful completion of each summer's program. This year, for the first time, PUPP graduated its first class of high school seniors, all of whom were accepted to outstanding colleges and universities and received significant scholarships. Currently, 63 students are enrolled. PUPP is administered by the Program in Teacher Preparation.
Harold W. McGraw Jr. Center for Teaching and Learning. The McGraw Center, together with the Program in Teacher Preparation, sponsors ''Scholars in the Schools,'' a program that enables graduate students to prepare and present in local K-12 classrooms lessons drawn from their research areas.
Office of Information Technology (OIT). OIT provides free Internet access to Princeton schools, municipal offices, the Princeton Public Library, and the Senior Resource Center.
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. As a service to area schools, PPPL provides materials and equipment, and scientists give lectures and demonstrations as well as help with science fairs. In addition, PPPL offers tours of the lab for school groups. Each winter the lab hosts an eight-week ''Science on Saturday'' series at no charge for local high school students, teachers, and the general public. It also provides a speakers bureau for local organizations and educational institutions, in-service and teacher-enhancement programs for educators, summer workshops for elementary and middle school teachers, and many research opportunities for high school teachers.
Princeton Materials Institute/Princeton Center for Complex Materials/Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PMI/PCCM/PRISM). In an innovative approach to science outreach, PMI/PCCM/PRISM faculty work in collaboration with area school districts, Princeton's Quest program, and E=mc2, a local nonprofit teacher training organization, to develop inquiry-based science curricula for New Jersey high schools. PMI/PCCM/PRISM also hosts a summer high school science program for students from Trenton and other local areas in partnership with the Trenton Mercer County Community College Upward Bound Program. In previous summers, the institute has hosted a summer research program for students participating in the New Jersey Environmentors Program and the Princeton University Preparatory Program.
Molecular Biology. The Molecular Biology Outreach Programs for secondary school science teachers consist of a two-week summer workshop focusing on hands-on experimental work in the laboratory. During the school year, regional alumni teachers can bring laboratory exploration to their students by borrowing videos, equipment, and materials to do experiments. Teacher alumni are brought back to campus each spring for a day-long reunion to share ideas and hear presentations on cutting-edge science. New to the program is TIGER (Topics in Genetic Engineering Research) Talks, with an on-campus seminar series that immerses secondary school students in the excitement of cutting-edge research.
The Art Museum. The Princeton University Art Museum attracted more than 80,000 visitors last year for a variety of programs for adults and children. Thanks to an assortment of foundation gifts, the museum staff and volunteers reached out to local and regional communities, schools, hospitals, and retirement homes with a variety of initiatives.
Department of Athletics. Athletics provided free admission to its events to local youth groups and other community-based organizations that normally do not attend University programs. The department was heavily involved in educational outreach, including school assemblies featuring student-athletes and a special summer reading program, ''Reading With the Tigers.'' In exchange for reading 10 books, more than 1,100 area children received free admission to select athletic programs. Student-athletes hosted Girls and Women in Sports Day and a spring sports festival for local youth.
Community Based Learning Initiative (CBLI). A collaborative effort of students, faculty, administrators, and community experts, the CBLI facilitates community-driven research projects. The program enables students to apply the knowledge and analytic tools gained in the classroom to pressing issues affecting local communities. Working with faculty members and community leaders, students develop research projects, collect and analyze data and share the results and conclusions not only with their professors, but also with the organizations that requested the project. These initiatives are done as term papers in courses throughout the curriculum, or as senior theses.
Pace Center for Community Service. The mission of the Pace Center is to give concrete expression to the value that the University assigns to community service as a component of the educational mission. The center serves as an umbrella agency, coordinating outreach initiatives that emanate from a wide range of University sources, for instance, from students, alumni, faculty, and staff. In this coordinating role, the center functions as a centralized repository for information concerning Princeton University's service initiatives. The Pace Center provides opportunities for community-based learning. The 1,700 University students participating in community service in the 2003-04 academic year accounted for 67,000 hours of service. In addition, a few hundred students did service internships and yearlong fellowships that accounted for hundreds of thousands of service hours. Thus, the estimated total number of service hours from undergraduate and graduate students was 325,000. The Alumni Council reported more than 1,000 alumni involved in community service. There is no accurate figure available for faculty and staff, although it is estimated that hundreds of staff and faculty members participate in community service initiatives, such as mentoring programs and emergency services.
Princeton Environmental Reform Committee (PERC). In 1995, PERC, a student, faculty, and staff collaboration, began doing ''environmental audits'' that provided the inspiration and impetus for the University's many ''green'' environmentally conscious initiatives that have benefited faculty, staff, students, and society in general. As a result, recycling is now standard throughout campus, the Department of Food Services has significantly reduced the amount of food waste brought to landfills, the University is committed to the sustainable growth of the campus, and our indoor air quality has been improved with increased air circulation and air changes. Particularly notable ''green'' initiatives have included the genomics building's heat recovery system, and the installation of variable fume hoods and variable speed motor controllers. In addition, the new Lawrence Apartments graduate housing has a geothermal heating and cooling system; the newly completed Ellipse Dorm has bamboo floors, a white material roof, a heat recovery system, triple-glazed windows, and exterior sun shading that protects against summer heat. In addition, the University generates most of its electrical energy from a highly efficient cogeneration plant and operates a district heating and cooling system that minimizes its energy use.
Tours and information. Student representatives from the Orange Key Guide Service offer tours of the historic main campus seven days a week throughout the year (foreign-language tours are also available). Tours of the Engineering Quadrangle, or E-Quad, are conducted by the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) weekdays during the academic year and by appointment in the summer. The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) also offers tours by special arrangement. The Daily Princetonian, a student newspaper published weekdays when the University is in session, is a good source of events information. The Princeton Weekly Bulletin, the faculty/staff newspaper published by the Office of Communications for the University community, features a weekly events calendar. Also, the calendar, employment opportunities, virtual campus tour, and a wide range of up-to-date information about the University is available on the Web at www.princeton.edu.
Facilities
The University's Office of Community and State Affairs, in conjunction with the University's Center for Visitors and Conference Services, facilitates the use of University facilities by community, charitable, and governmental organizations.
• The University's Center for Visitors and Conference Services coordinates visits to campus by outside organizations for meetings, workshops, and educational institutes as well as sports camps and other athletic activities, each year hosting more than 10,000 people to campus.
• 185 Nassau Street houses the programs in creative writing, theater and dance, and visual arts, which host art shows, theatrical productions, and poetry and fiction readings.
• The Princeton University Art Museum offers a variety of programs for adults and children, both at the museum and in area schools, hospitals, and retirement homes. The Docent Association gives guided tours for groups of six or more. It also gives tours for children by appointment. There is no tour charge for school groups. The museum is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on Mondays and holidays when it is closed.
• Princeton athletic events are open to the public, some at no charge. Season tickets provide access to basketball, football, and ice hockey at a reduced per-game charge. Athletic facilities are often available to residents of the community. A single fee provides access to Dillon Gymnasium basketball and squash courts and the fitness center, both DeNunzio and Dillon pools, the Jadwin Gymnasium track, and Baker Rink. There is an additional fee charged for using the indoor and outdoor tennis courts.
• Lake Carnegie, which is owned by Princeton University and serves as its intercollegiate rowing facility, is a popular community recreation area, providing a site for rowing, fishing, canoeing, and ice skating.
• The Princeton University Chapel, which seats nearly 2,000 people, offers services, musical performances, and other special events that are open to the public.
• Firestone Library offers access privileges to the public for modest fees. Special accommodation regarding fees is made in cases of financial need. The public is welcome, without charge, to visit the Cotsen Children's Library, at the main entrance to the library. Open seven days a week, Cotsen features a permanent interactive exhibit on children's literature and provides outreach activities, storytelling, tours, and conferences throughout the year. Also open to the public are the exhibition gallery on the first floor and the second-floor gallery. The Rare Book Room and the Theater Arts Collection may be seen after signing in at the door.
• FitzRandolph Observatory sponsors open houses with evening viewing through the 36-inch reflecting telescope. The Princeton Weekly Bulletin lists the dates, which vary from year to year depending on astronomical conditions.
• The Frist Campus Center is a world-class facility where Princeton undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni come together and build campus community. The center offers opportunities for social and academic interactions, events, and programs in addition to providing numerous services and facilities for members of the general public, such as the Welcome Desk, Orange Key campus tours, meeting and conference space, the Food Gallery, Café Vivian, the Beverage Laboratory, and a branch of the Princeton University Store (U-Store).
• McCarter Theatre offers drama, music, dance, film, and other events ranging from acrobatics to mime. The theater also hosts the annual show presented by student members of the Triangle Club. Through its outreach program, McCarter Theatre programming reached more than 20,000 high school students in New Jersey. Special efforts (discounted Tiger Tickets) to connect with Princeton University students yielded more than 4,000 student attendees at McCarter programming.
• Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall hosts musical, dramatic, and other performances, most of them open to the public and most for a fee.
• Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall hosts campus musical groups throughout the year, which are sponsored by the Friends of Princeton Music.
• Theatre Intime, a student-run facility, schedules dramatic productions throughout the year at Murray-Dodge Hall.
• The Department of Music sponsors free student concerts, Music-at-Noon, in the Woolworth Center.