The project, an outreach program of Penn State, is a unique servicelearning course that has generated more than 60 student-run projectsaddressing critical needs in areas as diverse as credit cooperatives,transportation and nutrition.

Since 1998, Penn State students involved in the Rethinking Urban Povertyproject lived and worked in a low-income neighborhood of Philadelphia. Byengaging in dialogue and creating partnerships with local communityorganizations, students identified the links between poverty and communitydevelopment, and, through their research, became a resource for the community.Students moved away from the standard poverty discourse and focused instead onquality of life by employing the three community-identified needs health,dignity and community. Through the project, they undertook research activitiesto improve health though diet, nutrition, exercise, urban gardens, communitysupported agriculture and education for preventive health care, targetingspecific challenges such as Type II diabetes, atherosclerosis andhypertension.

Robert Bruininks, chair of the NASULGC Board of Directors and president ofthe University of Minnesota, said the Philadelphia Field Project could serveas an outreach model for other universities.

"Penn State Professor Lakshman Yapa's program in the City of Philadelphiashould serve as a model of engagement and outreach for public institutions,"said Bruininks. "Public universities, like Penn State and the other fourregional winners, exemplify the spirit and vision of university engagementchampioned by Peter Magrath and we salute their fine work."

Yapa said the project represents a new way universities can work with thecommunities and students they serve.

"According to my understanding the C. Peter Magrath University CommunityEngagement Award was given to the Rethinking Urban Poverty: Philadelphia FieldProject this year to recognize the proposition that effective communityengagement requires a 'rethinking of the university' and a simultaneoustransformation of the university itself as a place of teaching and research,"Yapa said.

Engaging communities and improving the lives of the citizens of theCommonwealth are key components of Penn State's mission.

"I congratulate Professor Yapa, the students and community partners whomade the Philadelphia Field Project such a great example of the transformativepower a university can have within a community," said Penn State PresidentGraham B. Spanier. "This project represents the University's legacy ofengagement."

"This is a wonderful recognition for the great work of Dr. Yapa and hisstudents," added Craig Weidemann, vice president of Outreach. "HisPhiladelphia Field Project is a great example of the impact of engagedscholarship and the power of universities in working with communities toaddress critical societal issues and learning from each other in the process."

Visit http://www.philadelphiafieldproject.com for more information on thePhiladelphia Field Project. To see a video of Yapa and his students in action,visit http://x02.ur.psu.edu/video/in_motion/yapa.html online.

Established in 2006, the Magrath Award recognizes the outreach andengagement partnerships of four-year public universities. The award programseeks to identify colleges and universities that have redesigned theirlearning, discovery, and engagement functions to become "even moresympathetically and productively" involved with their communities. The awardis named for C. Peter Magrath, who served as president of NASULGC from 1992-2005.

SOURCE Penn State University