(Photo courtesy of Alverno College)

Alverno College’s Girls’ Academy of Science & Mathematics is being recognized by Wisconsin Campus Compact (WiCC) with the Esther Letvin Community-Campus Partnership Award. The award recognizes outstanding partnerships between colleges and universities and the communities they serve that produce measurable community impact as well as student growth and learning. WiCC will present the awards at the Annual Civic Engagement Institute Awards Banquet, which will be held on April 6 at 6:00 p.m. at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay. Edgewood College’s partnership with the Society of St. Vincent De Paul will also be recognized.

The Alverno College Girls’ Academy of Science & Mathematics is an after-school program designed to encourage first generation minority high school girls to pursue a college degree in the sciences. The Girls’ Academy was founded in 2011 and has served over 250 high school students from more than 15 area high schools. The Girls’ Academy establishes partnerships with local high schools who recommend junior and senior level girls for the applied science program. On Friday afternoons, students are transported to Alverno where they experience theme-based science courses and college readiness sessions that focus on everything from choosing a major and applying for financial aid to study skills. The students eat dinner in the cafeteria and are given free time to use the library and other resources open to students at the college. At the end of each evening, the students are transported to their homes by the Girls’ Academy. The program runs for 22 weeks and is free to students.

“Students who attend the Girls’ Academy have the opportunity to expand their horizons and see the possibilities that a career in the sciences can bring,” said Justin LaManna, associate professor of biology and co-director of the Girls’ Academy. “The great thing about it is once they believe they can be successful, not only in the sciences but in college and beyond, there is no stopping them. I’m proud to be able to help them reach their goals.”

About Campus Compact

Campus Compact is a national coalition of over 1,000 colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. In 2002, Wisconsin joined National Campus Compact’s movement toward an institutionalized commitment of civic engagement and service-learning. Learn more about the Wisconsin Campus Compact at http://www.wicampuscompact.org/.

About Alverno College

Alverno College, a four-year independent, Catholic, liberal arts college for women, exists to promote the personal and professional development of its students. The college has earned accolades and respect internationally for its highly effective ability-based, assessment-as-learning approach to education, and has consulted with three U.S. presidential administrations on accountability and outcomes in higher education. For the last seven years, Alverno College has been ranked one of the top five schools in the Midwest doing “the best job of educating undergrads” by U.S. News & World Report. Educators from throughout the world visit Alverno to learn about its proven, student-centered teaching methods.

Alverno offers more than 60 major areas of study, including graduate programs in education, nursing, community psychology and business that are open to women and men. For more information about Alverno, visit www.alverno.edu or call 414-382-6100.