Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good

Growing Community Connections

In the McCarthy Center’s publication Profiles in Community-Engaged Learning, the work of faculty and community partners are highlighted. Community-Engaged Learning fulfils the public purpose of higher education. At the University of San Francisco, we offer approximately 70 undergrad and at least a dozen grad community engaged courses each year. In other words, USF faculty are…

Our New Community Empowerment Activists

This fall semester, the McCarthy Center launched a new leadership program for students interested in advocacy and community organizing work toward social change for a just and equitable society. The Community Empowerment Activist (CEA) program develops critically engaged students through a part-time paid internship placement with community-based organizations throughout San Francisco. We are excited to…

First Reflections on The Success Center

Zorrae Bowie, AmeriCorps VISTA and Campus-Community Liaison for Engage San Francisco My name is Zorrae Bowie. I am the third in a legacy of AmeriCorps VISTA’s working with both the Success Center San Francisco and the University of San Francisco (USF). I traveled here from Lawrence, Kansas. Indeed, I feel like I traveled here by way…

#USFVotes – Leading up to the Midterms

USFVotes, our initiative to make every USF student a registered voter, will hold five (5) weeks of voter information workshops and talks ahead of the 2018 Midterm elections. Students, the USF community, and the general public are welcome to come out and get informed of the issues both on and off the ballot! Mark your calendars for…

Project Amplify: Mixing arts, hip-hop and poetry

by Reyna Brown, Performing Arts & Social Justice, Peace and Justice Studies, ’19, and Ebony Azumah, Politics, African American History, ’19 Throughout our last 3 years at the University of San Francisco, we learned an immense amount about the ills of our country, specifically in relation to our Black community. We delved into the history of African Americans, critically…

Introducing Our Fall 2018 USF in DC Fellows

Congratulations to our USF in DC Fall 2018 cohort! They are getting ready for an upcoming semester in Washington, D.C. in various parts of the Beltway–think tanks, law firms, non-profit organizations, in Congress, and policy advocacy shops. Please join us in welcoming our newest group of students. The USF in DC program combines a public…

Discovering My Passion For Public Health

This summer I interned with Planned Parenthood, one of the most liberal organizations in the country. They are known for their outspoken progressive messaging and advocacy for reproductive rights. I worked in the California Affiliates office, where they are in charge of seven local affiliates and make sure legislation is passed to ensure reproductive rights…

Student Companion to Community-Engaged Learning

I am thrilled to share the outcome of a collaborative project between myself and McCarthy Center Director, Dave Donahue, that has been years in the making! The Student Companion to Community-Engaged Learning: What You Need to Know for Transformative Learning and Real Social Change is a book designed for students to read in the first…