College presidents frequently field remarks about this generation of college students. If there is a common lament, it is that students seem to lack civility or a traditional work ethic. Some say our young adults are too self-absorbed and have lost sight of the greater good. But I don’t believe it. At Towson University, our students, like hundreds of thousands of young adults across the country, are very much engaged with their communities. Towson University students are out there making a positive difference every single day.

This week of September is Learn and Serve Challenge Week. Educational institutions nationwide are actively raising awareness of the benefits of service learning. Service learning is a specific teaching method that incorporates community work into the curriculum. It gives students real-world experience in their field of study while meeting pressing community needs. Service learning courses are taught by qualified, community-oriented faculty members who provide the methodology for students to reflect on and integrate their community experiences into a broader academic context. Students discover how political, economical, and social influences affect people and programs in real communities. They begin to think about creative strategies that are tied to their academic curriculum but not bound by it. They begin to think about their roles in the community and their responsibilities as community members.

The Family Studies major at Towson University is an exemplary model of integrating community service with teaching concepts. Each year 50 percent of students in this major are actively involved in service-learning projects. One hundred percent of Family Studies seniors graduate with a minimum of 160 hours of field work in the community. Their involvement requires a minimum number of service hours per semester as well as research papers, journals and reports. Since civic engagement is a priority in our strategic plan, each semester finds more faculty incorporating service learning into a wider variety of courses. That’s a positive trend because the impact of service learning is enormous. Campus Compact, a coalition of more than 1,000 college and university presidents dedicated to serving the public good, reports that students at Campus Compact member schools contributed $7.1 billion in service through campus-organized programs in 2006.

Of course, service learning is not the only option for students who wish to make positive contributions to the community. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, approximately 30 percent of all college students volunteer while in school. In the Baltimore region, where there are more than 100,000 college students, this means over 30,000 young adults serve our communities! And there’s more … students are engaged on campus too.

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They organize events such as Constitution Day and voter registration that provide our nation with long term political and social benefits. Student interns contribute their talents to internships with regional non-profit and government agencies. The opportunities are limitless.

At Towson University, more than 6,000 students participated in service projects in 2006, and the University was proud to be named to the 2006 President’s Honor Roll for Higher Education Community Service. At commencement, many members of Towson University’s class of 2007 voluntarily pledged to take into account the social and environmental consequences of potential jobs and to work to improve their communities and the environment once employed. This graduation pledge was not unique to Towson. College graduates across the country committed to similar pledges at their commencements. To me, this speaks volumes about the intent of this generation to contribute to a world where the “greater good” is still valued and actionable.

Service learning is one way for higher education, especially metropolitan universities such as Towson, to make a real difference in the community. I am proud of our contributions, grateful to our community partners, and excited about a future that values student know-how in the community as well as the classroom. Take some time during this special Learn and Service Challenge Week to learn more about how service learning is transforming students and the communities in which they live and serve.

Robert L. Caret is president of Towson University. For more information on service-learning and the Learn and Serve Challenge, visit these Web sites: compact.org; servicelearning.org