Alverno College's Girls' Academy of Science & Mathematics is being recognized by Wisconsin
Campus Compact (WiCC) with the Esther Letven 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/.
