Sharpe Programs for Community Engagement and Scholarship


Welcome Sharpe Class of 2013!
(click here to see list of selected participants)

Through the Sharpe Programs, students participate in service-learning and community-based research life experiences that inform their other academic studies and help to shape their career goals. Our programs concentrate on three modes of civic engagement: direct service, policy analysis, and participation in democratic forums. Our overall goal is to help students become thoughtfully involved citizens, capable of analyzing and discussing the strengths and limitations of each of these modes.

Each year about 75 entering freshman students are accepted as Sharpe Community Scholars, living together on campus in Spotswood Hall and working with faculty members to propose, develop, and execute a community based project. Living and learning together, "Sharpies" develop close ties with each other and with participating faculty members. The following summer, they are eligible to apply for a summer grant to fund a self-designed community research project. 

Upper-level students can participate in community scholarship through the Community Scholars House a "special interest housing" option located in Jamestown Hall. Students conduct an Independent Study guided by a sponsoring faculty member. Upper-level students can also apply to become Sharpe Teaching Fellows and help to coordinate among students, program faculty, and our community partners. In recognition of their substantial contributions, Teaching Fellows receive a $500 honorarium each semester.

Our Sharpe Ambassadors Council continues to involve interested students, as they help to represent and publicize Sharpe programs.

Central to the Sharpe programs' success is the creative energy, initiative, and concern for others that characterizes the William & Mary community. Students integrate their service-learning experiences back into the classroom, and Sharpe's resources for faculty members help to weave community engagement into class curricula. We also work closely with the Office of Student Volunteer Services. Taken together, the Sharpe Programs for Community Engagement and Scholarship represent a unique and powerfully effective contribution to W&M's tradition of service.