Feb 11, 2018 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – With a $850,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Waynesburg University is hoping to expand its service learning options and community outreach efforts.

The money will support community development efforts for two years, enhancing service learning, expanding certain graduate programs and increasing regional outreach with both undergraduate and graduate programs. Money will also be used for technology for online courses and marketing to bolster enrollment.

Stacey Brodak, vice president for institutional advancement and university relations, said details on which specific programs will see that funding is still being determined. The announcement of the award came at the end of January. One of the main focuses of the grant money, though, will be strategic service learning opportunities.

Brodak said a needs assessment of how the funds can best be used was not done ahead of time because it was unclear whether the university would receive the grant. That process is currently in the early stages. Currently, there is no breakdown of how the funds planned to be used over the two-year period, or which departments will see grant money.

“Even though we don’t have a solid plan or line-item schedule, we’ll be going through a process,” Brodak explained.

She added it’s an exciting time for this “economic engine for the region.”

However, Brodak said this grant is unique in that it will impact multiple departments, which is not typical but makes the process of determining how the money will be used more complex.

It also helps that Waynesburg University had an existing relationship with the Pittsburgh-based foundation, receiving at least one other grant in the past. Brodak, who started with the university in July, said she was not involved in the grant application process.

The new grant will allow the university to reach out to their community partners and evaluate how students give their time back to the area, and even look at opportunities beyond donating hours. That means new or different projects, she said. The grant has a two-year window, and Brodak said she is currently working with the service learning department to evaluate needs in the community.

Students, faculty and staff put 50,000 volunteer hours of service into the community annually, with an economic impact estimated at $1.2 million. The goal is to use grant money to find ways to involve the university with more projects that will have a lasting impact.

Also from the grant money comes an opportunity to retool graduate programs to meet industry needs, although, like the service learning opportunities, those exact needs are still being evaluated, Brodak said.

Waynesburg University is now looking for a chair to the new entrepreneurship program, which will foster community development and cross disciplines in the schools. Those classes will be open to any major, and there will be opportunities in the future for community training. Though the development of this new program has already been in the works and is not a result of the most recent grant, Brodak said the timing is fitting and there will be synergy between those goals.

In evaluating the needs of the community and how Waynesburg University can help, Brodak said they are interested in hearing ideas.

Any community members with projects in mind are asked to contact Kelley Hardie, assistant dean of student services, by calling 724-852-3461 or emailing khardie@waynesburg.edu. People may also contact Brodak at sbrodak@waynesburg.edu or 724-852-3258.