Dr. Jennifer Hirsch serves as the Director for the Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain.  She is an applied cultural anthropologist specializing in community sustainability, cultural diversity, experiential education, and network building.

Serve-Learn-Sustain officially launched in January 2016, but the Center began operating in Fall 2015. My first day was August 17, 2015—the same day as the students. It has been a rollercoaster of a year—reaching out to faculty, students, and staff across campus and meeting new community, industry, and municipal partners, developing and rolling out new programs, launching and supporting courses, honing our mission and vision, and hiring new staff to make this all happen.

Thank you to all of our partners for your collaboration during our first year. Some of the most exciting things we’ve accomplished together during Year 1 include:

• Launching and supporting SLS and Public Service Pathway courses—and affiliating with over 70 courses for the 2016-17 academic year
• Developing the first iteration of Georgia Tech’s Sustainable Communities “BIG IDEAS”
• Hosting the Integrated Network for Social Sustainability conference, with over 100 participants from Georgia Tech and beyond
• Establishing SLS Fellows Programs aligned with NSF and linked to faculty research and teaching interests
• Partnering with student organizations and developing outreach campaigns to reach a broad student audience

Take a look through the report and find yourself in it! Everything we’ve achieved this year depended on your partnership. As always, we welcome comments and suggestions for next time (or for this time—I have quickly become known as the queen of revisions).

We are now excitedly jumping into year two! We look forward to new discoveries and accomplishments along the way.

With gratitude,