Northern Kentucky University (USA)

Northern Kentucky University (NKU) is a public, co-educational university located in Highland Heights, Kentucky. Beginning as an extension campus for the University of Kentucky in 1943, it became an independent college in 1968 and a university in 1976. NKU now enrolls over 15,000 students. NKU is committed to educating students who will “be informed, contributing members of their communities – regionally, nationally and internationally.” Northern Kentucky University’s website>>

Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement

NKU’s commitment to connecting the campus and the community is embodied in the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement, which seeks to foster citizenship and stewardship through its programming. The center supports the incorporation of service learning into over 100 courses a year across the university, connects students to volunteering opportunities with nonprofits, and hosts forums and events open to the community. Learn more>>

Service Learning at NKU

NKU offers a range of service learning courses across a variety of academic disciplines. Among the leading examples of service learning at NKU is the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project, in which students learn philanthropy by doing it. Classes receive a sum of money (typically $2,000 to $4,000) to invest in nonprofits they select. Service learning principles guide the structure of these classes. About a half million dollars has been invested in nonprofits by NKU students since the program’s inception, and NKU has become a national model for student philanthropy classes. In addition to the philanthropy classes, NKU professors and students routinely partner with nonprofits. Public history classes design community museum exhibits. Photography classes take pictures at nonprofits that the agencies can in turn use for their brochures and websites. Biologoy classes evaluate water quality in streams, rivers and lakes. In each instance, the nonprofit receives a product or service while the students get the opportunity to learn by doing. Learn more>>

Northern Kentucky Forum

The Northern Kentucky Forum is a partnership of the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement, Vision 2015 and Legacy — three nonpartisan groups in Northern Kentucky dedicated to public engagement. The Forum conducts several “public square” events each year around current events and public policy. Forum events are free, and intended for both the NKU campus community and the Northern Kentucky community as a whole. The forum aims to assure a continuing public dialogue around important and sometimes difficult public issues. Learn more>>