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Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service

The Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service supports Brown students and faculty who are interested in community participation, activism, and action as key components of a liberal education. Students are central to the planning, coordination, and implementation of Swearer Center services, which include 40 community-based partnerships. Among the center’s initiatives are language and literacy programs, youth development programs in Providence schools, housing and hunger programs, oral history projects, and community health programs.

First-year students have a unique opportunity to work with the Swearer Center through the UCAAP advising program, which brings together first-year students and academic advisors interested in public service and social and political issues. Students participate in a pre-Orientation program that introduces them to opportunities to engage in community-based learning and research while at Brown. During the first year, they take part in a series of events connecting their academic studies with community issues. Interested students can access UCAAP application materials at the Swearer Center’s Web site.