About the Colin L. Powell Center for Leadership and Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Mission
The Colin L. Powell Center for Leadership and Service (formerly the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies) at the City College of New York (CCNY) is a nonpartisan educational, training and research center named for one of CCNY’s most distinguished graduates. Established in 1997, the Center's mission is to prepare new generations of publicly engaged leaders from populations previously underrepresented in public service and policy circles, to
build a strong culture of civic engagement at City College, and to mobilize campus resources to meet pressing community needs and serve the public good. The Center focuses its efforts in areas of community and economic development, education, health care, environmental concerns, international development, and global security issues.
Our programs and initiatives
I. Fellowships and Scholarships for Students
The Center’s oversees four scholarship and fellowship programs for students. The Center's namesake Colin Powell Program in Leadership and Service prepares a diverse group of outstanding CCNY students for lives of public service and active citizenship. These students, drawn from the full range of CCNY majors, participate in an intensive, two-year experience (one year for graduate students) that builds their leadership skills and, in partnership with faculty and community leaders, involves them in service and research projects. Students learn to analyze major policy debates effectively and to develop a deeper and more grounded awareness of community needs and public concerns. They also gain exposure to the public and nonprofit sectors, participate in service-learning experiences, develop career and advocacy trajectories within those sectors, and learn from influential leaders and experts in public service and policy making. More
The Center's two other fellowship programs support initiatives and efforts that are led by students. These are the Center's Community Engagement Fellowship program and its Edward I. Koch Scholarship Program in Public Service. Community Engagement fellowships support students' as they design, implement, and lead campus-based projects that meet community needs, and they work to sustain their projects over time. Past Community Engagement projects have focused on youth development, homelessness and hunger, disaster relief, international infrastructure, public health, environmental sustainability, and human rights. Edward I. Koch scholars focus on volunteering within an established organization. Edward I. Koch scholars devote at least 200 hours a year to such efforts. Since 2005, CCNY students have provided more than 3,665 hours of community service to organizations based locally in Harlem and in the greater New York City region.
II. Service-Learning
The Center serves as the hub for service-learning at CCNY. Service-learning is a course-based, credit-bearing educational approach that connects academic theory to concrete action and that encourages a synergy between classroom and community-based learning. Faculty taking up service-learning incorporate this practice as an essential part of the curriculum. Students apply classroom lessons in practical settings while analyzing community challenges and providing critical services to partner organizations. Through service-learning, the Center seeks to build a culture of civic engagement at CCNY and among institutions of higher education throughout New York City. More
III. Research
Through its research initiatives and Public Scholarship grants program for faculty, the Colin Powell Center seeks to address pressing community needs and policy concerns through the exchange of ideas and expertise between CCNY-affiliated individuals and a wide range of public audiences and communities. Research initiatives are selected based on their fit within the Center's mission and their impact on one or more of the Center's focus areas. They also are designed to complement the academic programming of our scholarship fellows.
In particular, the Center supports community-based research projects that involve faculty, community organizations, and students jointly addressing a specific community problem or policy dilemma. Center resources also enable CCNY faculty to develop the policy implications of their research and contribute to public policy debates. The Center also provides affiliation to leading researchers and specialists working in policy-relevant areas consistent with the Center's mission and focus areas. More
