Service is an integral part of the student experience at Rockhurst University.  Rockhurst students give over 25,000 hours annually in service to others.  Service at Rockhurst is voluntary, but more than 80 percent of students participate in service projects during their Rockhurst education.

Service to others provides an opportunity to reflect on the broader issues that shape our world.  Through service, Rockhurst students come to ask important questions about the injustices found in our society.  Reflecting on these issues helps students learn that their decisions have economic and moral implications for others and future generations.  Service is at the heart of Jesuit education because through service we use the gifts we have developed and put them into action to transform the world, making it a better place for us all.

The Jesuit Challenge
"You are called by the Society of Jesus to be men and women who reflect upon the reality of the world around you with all its ambiguities, opportunities, and challenges, to discern what is really happening in your life and in the lives of others, to find God there and to discover where God is calling you, to employ criteria for significant choices that reflect Godly values rather than narrow, exclusive self-interest, to make decisions in the light of what is truly for the greater glory of God and the service of those in need, and then to act accordingly."

Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S/U.

Superior General of the Society of Jesus, 1997

What We Do

The Center for Service Learning at Rockhurst University was formally established in 1994 to promote and organize community service projects and course-based service learning at Rockhurst.

Who We Are
Julia Vargas, director

Office: Van Ackeren 208

Telephone: 816.501.4545

Email: julia.vargas@rockhurst.edu

Davis Parker , VISTA Volunteer, coordinates service-learning projects and RU College Bound. 

Office: Van Ackeren 210

Email: davis.parker@rockhurst.edu

Telephone: 816.501.4642

Student Assistants

Student assistants produce Of Service, the on-line newsletter of service opportunities, assist with the Service Transcript Program and campus wide projects.

Beth Craig

Email: craige@rockhurst.edu

Jessica Lloyd

Email: lloydj@rockhurst.edu

Meaghan Whalen

Email: whalenm@rockhurst.edu

Community Service
The Center for Service Learning also works closely with Community Relations and Outreach.  Alicia Douglas, Director of Community Relations and Outreach, oversees RU College Bound, Community Work Study and campus-wide service projects.

Office: Community Center (5401 Troost)

Email: alicia.douglas@rockhurst.edu

Telephone: 816.501.4306