• Home
• About Us
• History
• Timeline
• Howard Swearer Biography
• Mission, Principles, and Strategies
• Staff
• News
• News
• What We Do
• Community Partnerships and Programs
• Programs
• Community Action Resource Night
• Advising
• Courses and Research
• Fellowships, Awards, and Other Funding
• Fellowships
  • Liman
  • Starr
  • Royce
  • Sport & Society
  • Swearer
• Awards
  • Barker
  • Tow
• Other Funding Sources
  • Scholarships for Service
• Jobs and Careers
  • Work Study
  • Other Jobs
• Social Entrepreneurship
• What Can I Do?
• Students
• Faculty
• Alumni
• Community
• Resources
• Jobs and Careers
• Publications, Listservs, and Directories
• Tools and Other Resources
• Contact
• Contact
• A to Z
• A to Z

Timeline

2006

Swearer Center and Alumni Relations present the John Hope Public Service Award to two journalists from the Times Picayune Newspaper in New Orleans for their work in response to Hurricane Katrina. Goldman Sachs and Kauffman Foundations fund the launch of social entrepreneurship programs. The Center hosts Charlie Kolb, President of the Committee for Economic Development, and Sarah Meyer '83, former Director of Community Affairs at Microsoft. The Center works with the John Hay Library to establish a community organizer archive, and co-sponsors an activist-in-residence series and course with the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America and the Urban Studies Department. The Community Fellows program engages seven community leaders in the work of the Center, and the UCAAP Seminar series and the lunchtime community forum series, "Community Works," begin.

2005

Roger Nozaki is named Director of the Swearer Center. The Center redefines its mission, principles, and strategies in order to better focus its work and increase the opportunities for community impact and student learning. A Community Organizer Forum convenes alumni, faculty and students to examine the research and practice of organizing. A Spring Break Project supports Katrina recovery efforts in New Orleans. The Center collaborates with The Providence Plan and Annenberg Institute on a summer seminar series for Brown students. SPACE receives the Dixon Award for Outstanding Volunteer Program from the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institution.

2004

The Girls' Math and Science Initiative is started to address the need for more intensive science education with urban, middle school girls, and The Write Project begins with students from Sophia Academy and the MET School. Providence Allied CPR Education is launched to provide low cost CPR education in collaboration with volunteer instructors and community organizations in Providence while Renegade BP, a blood pressure awareness program, offers blood pressure screenings at public locations in Rhode Island.

2003

The Girls Outdoor Recreation Program is started and works with students and teachers at Bridgham Middle School to create open dialogue about the role of individuals in the formation and maintenance of community. Fast Food Facts is initiated to promote healthier eating behaviors among Providence youth. Volunteers for Animals is begun as a partnership with the Providence Animal Rescue League.

2002

The first Youth Opportunities Guide is published and a number of new programs begin, including CityBrothers, No Small Parts, Teen Talk, and the Let’s Get Ready! SAT preparation program. The Student Housing and Hunger Coalition is formed at the Center as a partnership between a number of student groups involved in similar issues.

2001

The Rhode Island Community Jobs website and listserv begins to connect non-profit and community organizations with job seekers. The Swearer Center collaborates with City Year to support two GED programs. The Center launches Music in Hospitals, the Providence Youth Speaks Poetry Project, the MET Literacy Program, and CityGirls, a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Providence. In partnership with Yale Law School, the Arthur Liman Public Interest Fellowship is first awarded.

2000

UCAAP, the University-Community Academic Advising Program, is established as a formal university first-year advising program. The Center partners with the RISD museum for the series, What is Community Art? The Center begins offering incoming Brown students "An Introduction to the City of Providence" with walking tours through the city. The Center partners with the Providence Community Mediation Center to start Providence Mediation in Schools.

1999

RI Urban Debate League is established. The Well Being Newsletter is published jointly by students and community members, and All About Art begins, a program for female cancer patients at Women and Infants to use creative expression in healing.

1998

The Center inaugurates a visiting scholars program. Finding the Words is launched, a partnership with Hospice Care of RI, where students work with patients to create oral histories chronicling individual and collective experiences. EHAP, the Environmental Health Action Project begins as a collaboration with Environmental Studies and Providence Community Health Centers. The Center helps launch New Urban Arts, designed through a Royce Fellowship.

1997

The Swearer Center partners with the RISD Office of Student Life to be a resource for RISD students, faculty and staff. The Center helps to establish Community Music Works.

1996

The Royce Fellowship is launched to support student initiated research. Brown Community Outreach becomes part of the Swearer Center and the Pre-College Enrichment Program (PCEP) is launched. Community Outreach through the Performing Arts (COPA) uses the arts to build community through after-school classes at Providence Housing Authority sites. With a grant from the RI Department of Education, Literacy Resources/Rhode Island builds a professional development consortium for the adult education community in RI.

1995

The Rhode Island Campus Compact is housed at the Swearer Center (1995-1999). Chamber of Commerce Academy works with the Center to create STAND, Students Taking Action in New Directions. The Disability Awareness Project is created with the Meeting Street Center.

1994

The Martin Luther King Jr. Public Service Lecture is created with Yolanda King as the first speaker. The Center collaborates with Environmental Studies to establish the Community Environmental Service program, (CEServe) through a Learn and Serve Grant. Work begins with the Brown Medical School to create the Community Health Advocacy Program (CHAP) and the MD2000 curriculum.

1993

The Derek Canfield Barker Prize is established to recognize students who have demonstrated leadership, overcome adversity and engaged in service. The Center is reorganized into three teams: Adult Education, Youth Education, and Community Development. The Community Development Group takes on a Domestic Abuse Advocacy initiative, and builds partnerships with Sarah Doyle and the Third World Center.

1992

Peter Hocking is named Director of the Swearer Center. The John Hope Mentoring Program is created, as well as the Southeast Asian Mentoring Program. The Community Leadership Initiative results from a grant to explore creating leadership programs for potential local urban leaders. The Theresa Sidoropoulos Award is created to honor student staff, who now number 28. Community Jobs for Students focuses on providing jobs for students on financial aid.

1991

The Brown Program in leadership is initiated including an agenda of speakers, a course, and interns. The Center develops two programs with the Sarah Doyle Women's Center - The Women's Prison Project and PHASE. The Center partners with the Elmwood Community Center to start the Elmwood Youth Enrichment Program to establish after-school and summer programming for kids. The Center is dedicated in memory of President Howard Swearer on April 10, 1992 and the Howard Swearer Public Service Fellowship is created to fund international service for graduates and leave takers.

1990

Bishop Desmond Tutu visits the Center. Adult Academy housed at Center, including Literacy, Writing and Tutoring programs. Awareness Act presents theater pieces on social issues to high schools and colleges. Deaf Literacy Program begins. The Broad Street Mentoring Program is formed. Public Service Development Grants and Student Public Service Grants are established. The Yat K. Tow Prize is established to recognize great promise in public service and building international understanding.

1989

The Center moves to 25 George Street with 7 full-time and 19 student staff. The Winter Break Project happens, the first alternative break program. The Cross Cultural Community Workshop partners the Center with the Office of International Programs to engage students returning from study abroad. Camp Steppingstones is created as part of the Brown Program in Leadership. The Center hosts a field hearing for the National Service Act of 1990.

1988

Brown ESL Tutoring Program (BEST) begins, involving 76 volunteers at 5 different sites. Brown Program in Leadership is created, including BOLT, Brown Adventure Program, speakers and summer internships. The Life and Learning report on service and faculty at Brown is published by the Center. The Center sponsors a Group Independent Study Project (GISP) on approaches to ESL education.

1987

ESL Program begins at Perry Middle School. The South Bronx Project grows, with the Center’s support, to include 125 students. The Center receives a Rhode Island Foundation grant to support high school teachers. 120 students attend Public Service Career Day and the first Taste of Service event happens with 100 students on 5 different projects. The Mayor's A Team program mentors Providence 7th, 8th and 9th graders.

1986

In fall 1986, the Center for Public Service opens in four rooms in Rhode Island Hall, and is inaugurated March 12-14, 1987. Susan Stroud is the Center’s first director. The Coalition for Community Involvement is formed, a Community Service Fellowship is launched, and the Center assumes responsibility for the CV Starr National Service Fellowship. The South Bronx Summer Project begins.