The center, to be dedicated September 24 in an afternoon-long celebration, will increase the University's capacity to respond to the state's public service needs and provide a gateway for inquiries about public service available from the University.

"Right now we are in the middle of recruiting a director for the center," said Donna Warner, acting director. "We're just really excited about getting that person on board and getting things rolling. The sky's the limit once we do."

Through the center, faculty, staff and student organizations will be able to find out where their expertise is most needed. At the same time, citizens, community leaders, legislators and government officials will be able to identify and access those resources.

The idea for the center was first put forward four years ago by the University's Public Service Roundtable, a group of faculty and staff who came together to investigate how to increase Carolina's capability to respond to the state's public service needs.

Two years ago, the Chancellor's Intellectual Climate Task Force released a report on improving the intellectual climate on campus. Two of the recommendations were to increase community service and offer students more opportunities for applying what they learned in the classroom to real world settings.

From the combined efforts of these two committees, the concept of the Carolina Center for Public Service emerged.

But it was a gift of $1 million from an anonymous out-of-state Carolina graduate that made the center a reality.

The $1 million gift will fund the start-up and operating expenses of the center for its first three years, after which time additional funding will be required if the center is to continue its activities. In addition, Walter Davis approved the transfer of $500,000 from the Walter Davis Public Service Endowment (currently used for the Public Service Roundtable) to the center. Income from the endowment will be used to support the salary of the center's director.

See "A University for the people" in the fall 1998 Carolina Connections for more on the Center for Public Service and the University's longstanding commitment to service.