The National Center for Science and Civic Engagement was established in affiliation with Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, an accredited, science and technology focused comprehensive institution.
NCSCE develops, implements, and evaluates activities and projects that: encourage and strengthen the efforts of colleges and universities to reform undergraduate education, especially in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics; enhance student learning at all educational levels and settings; engage students and campus communities with the pressing civic and social questions; and address important issues of our common health.
The Center supports two programs that embody the mission outlined above. Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) is a faculty development and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education reform project funded by the National Science Foundation to promote greater engagement of undergraduates with the sciences in institutions of higher education in the US and selected other countries. The Center works to continue and expand SENCER’s curricular, pedagogical, and scholarly work while seeking new opportunities in other areas of focus and interest, such as: health, the environment, linking education with democratic ideas and practices, integrating post-secondary education with the needs and practices of our K-12 schools, improving the quality of undergraduate education, and effective assessment. Learn more about SENCER.
The Great Lakes Innovative Stewardship through Education Network (GLISTEN), is a three-year project that will harness the expertise and innovation of college faculty and undergraduate students in 8 states and 2 Canadian provinces to promote stewardship of the Great Lakes, an ecosystem containing 20% of the world’s fresh water. GLISTEN, funded in 2009 by the Learn and Serve America Higher Education program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, will support clusters of faculty and students in both two- and four-year schools, members of community-based organizations, and representatives from other types of agencies. Learn more about GLISTEN.