Leading By Example
Ben Bankston ’25 is finding opportunities at W&L to challenge himself in and out of the classroom.
Community-Based Learning Archive (49 Stories)
CBL Faculty Collaborative Generates New Community Connections
The 2023-2024 academic year at W&L saw the proliferation of several new course offerings for students through a new faculty development initiative offered by the Office of Community-Based Learning (CBL).
VITA Program Returns
Washington and Lee students are applying their accounting skills in the community as part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
Washington and Lee University Receives National Designation for Commitment to Community Engagement
W&L is one of 15 private colleges and universities to receive the 2024 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.
Goluboff Announced as Interim Executive Director of the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium
The professor of cultural anthropology will serve a dual role leading Community-Based Learning and the SHECP Consortium.
W&L Student Consulting Group Makes Connections on Campus and in the Community
Students in the Williams School consulted on a number of projects including marketing, research and social media strategy for businesses and organizations.
W&L’s Fran Elrod Quoted in NPR Segment on the Blue Ridge Mile Clinic
Elrod serves as the university advisor to the program that supports clients in navigating the required steps toward obtaining or reinstating a driver’s license.
Lending a Helping Hand
Washington and Lee students gain new perspectives after internships through the Shepherd Program.
Opening Minds Through Art
W&L neuroscience students recently partnered with an innovative art-making program offered at Kendal at Lexington.
CBL’s Faculty Collaborative Creates Connection Across Campus
CBL’s new initiative is an opportunity for faculty development, student collaboration and deepening partnerships with the surrounding community.
W&L Presents “Blacks and Jews in America: An Invitation to Dialogue”
Terrence Johnson, professor of African American religious studies at Harvard University, will discuss his latest book on March 1.
Leslie Wingard Cunningham Named W&L’s Associate Provost for Faculty Development
Wingard Cunningham joins W&L from College of Wooster, where she is the Mildred Foss Thompson Professor of English and dean for faculty development.
Community-Based Learning’s Fall Term Collaborations
Community-Based Learning’s collaborations this fall offered students an opportunity to deepen community connections.
Helping a Local Business Bloom
This fall, Washington and Lee Student Consulting tackled a new project for a local business with a sustainability focus.
Electric Mondays
Students in Jon Erickson's Electrical Circuits course are learning through teaching local elementary school students.
W&L’s Bonner Program Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Alumni and friends of the Bonner Program are invited to a reception in Mattingly House during Young Alumni Weekend.
Summer in the City
Margaret Witkofsky '24 is researching grants for the city of Lexington, Virginia through her internship with the Office of Community-Based Learning.
Community Cupboards Collaboration Addresses Food Insecurity
The recent Community Cupboards collaboration with the Virginia Cooperative Extension offered students the opportunity to tackle food insecurity from a cross-disciplinary perspective.
Students Create Positive Sexual Culture Workshop
As part of a community-based learning class in the Sociology and Anthropology Department, students worked with community partners to create a workshop about positive sexual culture for first-year students.
Meet the Professor: Jayne Reino
Jayne Reino is a visiting assistant professor of Spanish at Washington and Lee University.
W&L’s Stephanie Sandberg Named Community-Based Learning Senior Fellow
The Community-Based Learning Fellows Program intends to deepen the high-impact practice and pedagogy of community-based learning at W&L.
Program Spotlight: Office of Community-Based Learning
Community-based learning is an educational approach that integrates learning and mentorship with community engagement.
Mapping the Past
As part of a community-based learning course in collaboration with Rockbridge Regional Tourism and the Rockbridge Historical Society, Washington and Lee University students researched and mapped Black-owned businesses that thrived in Lexington during the Jim Crow era.
Community-Based Learning Thrives Amid COVID-19
The pandemic has presented challenges to working and learning within the community, but virtual and distanced projects have allowed those partnerships to continue to bear fruit this year.
‘A Sense of Meaning’
At W&L, Lorena Terroba Urruchua ’21 found her purpose — helping people with disabilities — at the intersection of psychology, Romance languages and poverty studies.
W&L Students Partner with Project Horizon to Make Life Skills Book
Students in Professor Dayo Abah’s Principles of Public Relations class worked with a Lexington nonprofit to make a life skills book for clients who are trying to get back on their feet.
Facilitating Community-Driven Communication
The ESOL program at W&L, founded in 2001 to facilitate communication in the local community, now serves dozens of non-native English speakers each year with teaching, tutoring, translation and interpretation services.
Stepping Up to Help Out
During the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Washington and Lee University community are finding ways to lend a hand with community relief efforts.
Sascha Goluboff Named Director of Community-Based Learning at Washington and Lee
Sascha L. Goluboff, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Washington and Lee University, has been named the university’s next director of community-based learning. W&L Provost Marc Conner announced the three-year appointment, which will begin on July 1.
Community Projects a Win-Win for Lexington and W&L
Washington and Lee University's Office of Community-Based Learning has partnered with Lexington on projects that provide real-world learning experiences for students while also advancing the city's goals.
Quick Hit: Creative Writing at Boxerwood
Students in Leah Green's Intro to Creative Writing course took inspiration from the environment at Boxerwood Nature Center and Woodland Garden.
Conductors of Knowledge
Students in Washington and Lee University's Electrical Circuits class sparked interest in local elementary students through a Community-Based Learning project that partnered with the Rockbridge Area YMCA after-school program.
Community-Based Learning Tackles Food Insecurity
W&L courses in economics and biology used community-based learning to engage in partnerships and make an impact on food insecurity at a local level.
Tax Prep Course Helps Students and Community
Through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, W&L students used their knowledge to prepare taxes for local low-income and elderly residents.
VIDEO: From Seed to Table
At W&L, sustainability starts with a seed and blossoms into sea change. Take a peek inside our gardening and composting effort to see how it's impacting our community — and the future.
W&L Students Provide Income Tax Assistance
The students will provide basic preparation of state and federal income tax returns to qualified residents.
The Interaction Between Health and Poverty
James Ricks '21 interviews Dr. Jonathan Wortham '04 about his work with the Centers for Disease Control.
‘College is More Than Earning a Degree’
Whether she's leading the Student Association for Black Unity, acting in a play or volunteering in the community as a Bonner Scholar, Sasha Edwards '20 is ever mindful that education can happen anywhere.
Walking in Sunshine
Blue Ridge Autism and Achievement Center’s Lexington branch recently held a grand opening celebration for a nature trail built by Washington and Lee University engineering students through a community partnership.
Destined for Public Service
Balen Essak '20 interviews Maisie Osteen '14L about her experiences with the Shepherd Program and as an assistant public defender.
Finding Beauty Behind Bars
After taking a course at Augusta Correctional Center, two W&L juniors helped to organize an exhibition at the university featuring artwork by artists who are incarcerated. The exhibit is entitled “Unfreedom of Expression.”
Where Math Meets Art
Xinxian Wang '21 was able to marry two interests in an internship with The Visual Arts Center in Richmond.
The Bigger Picture
Washington and Lee students partnered with Eagle’s Nest Clubhouse members to create a 32-foot community mural around the theme of recovery.
W&L’s Community Based Learning Program Receives Grant to Expand Community Relations
The grant will help train faculty and community partners to implement new partnerships and courses.
The Path to Learning
A team of Washington and Lee engineering majors is designing and building a walking trail for children served by Blue Ridge Autism and Achievement Center’s Lexington location.
Art in the Open
Students in Meg Griffith’s Spring Term art class created public works of art to draw attention to important causes in the community.
Ingredients for Social Change
A multi-disciplinary Community-Based Research project gave Washington and Lee University students a chance to help local organizations take a closer look at access to affordable healthy food.
Packing a Nutritious Punch
Sejal Mistry ’17, a biology major and poverty studies minor, has completed a service project that aims to improve the nutritional value of foods in the Campus Kitchen at Washington and Lee’s Backpack Program.
Engineering Opportunity
Angel Vela de la Garza Evia '18 and Walker Brand '18 built assistive technology to help the employees at Rockbridge Area Occupational Center do the jobs they love.
