Staff Editorial: The virtues of service

The University may have to settle for being among the top schools in the nation, but as far as academic community service is concerned, there's no one better.

U.S. News and World Report's naming of Penn as the No. 1 university in its first ever "service learning" rankings -- defined by the magazine as classes that use "volunteering in the community" as "an instructional strategy" -- is a much-deserved honor for a school that has been a pioneer in community outreach initiatives.

The ranking is a credit to the Center for Community Partnerships, whose Academically-based Community Service program has, over the years, created more than 100 innovative courses that require students to go into the Philadelphia community in an admirable effort to improve our neighbors' lives.

Congratulations go to Ira Harkavy, the Center's director, not only for his work to make the ABCS program a success from an administrative standpoint, but also for his "Urban University-Community Relationships" course, which forces students to develop practical and applicable curricular ideas.

Cheers are also due Robert Giegengack of the Earth and Environmental Studies Department, for his long-running class that brings Penn students into West Philadelphia schools to study the problem of lead poisoning in an urban environment and to teach the area's children about the dangers of lead poisoning.

And kudos to Ralph Rosen for his Classical Studies class "Teaching Plato's Republic," which seeks to do just that through student tutors in Philadelphia classrooms.

It is impossible to recognize the efforts of all those who have been a part of ABCS, but they too share in this honor. Their commitment has done more than just earn Penn another accolade -- they have pushed the University's students out of the ivory tower and into the city's streets, where their talents can be used to help others.

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