Centers of Etown
At Elizabethtown College, we care deeply about making positive impact. As our motto states, we Educate for Service, which we define as using our talents, empathy, intellect, and energy to contribute to the world beyond ourselves. The centers at Elizabethtown College each aspire to do just that, Educate for Service to Educate for Impact.
Education for Service. Education for Impact.
The centers at Elizabethtown College serve as the modern manifestation of Educate for Service by strengthening the College’s values of peace, service, nonviolence, social justice, and human dignity; creating positive social and economic transformation, and empowering students to be a force for good in their education, their community, and their career.
Explore the Centers
Each of the areas that make up up our centers are grounded in the values and principles that make Elizabethtown College the unique and special place that it is. Discover more about each focused area.
The Bowers Writers House strives to connect community leaders to our campus through creative curiosity. Whether it’s bringing award winning authors to speak to students, partnering with Community Action Partnership of Lancaster County to bring Harvard Education expert Dr. Ron Ferguson to speak with secondary education teachers for a day-long seminar, or coordinating faculty presentations at places like Masonic Village and Mt. Gretna Chautauqua, we weave together expression, study, presentation and performance to offer a sense of excitement and enthusiasm for intellectual diversity.
Learn more about the Bowers Writers House.
The Career Development Center supports students through the process of cultivating a professional identity, establishing a networking system, and developing leadership skills. The center helps
prepare our students to be high-performing professionals but also works to establish relationships with employers in the community to showcase the talents of Etown graduates. On-campus career fairs, internship and job placements, virtual career networking programs, job search coaching and interview training, and career pathway courses are some of the ways the center is preparing the next generation of Blue Jays to take their knowledge and talents into the world.
Learn more about the Career Development Center.
The Center for Community and Civic Engagement provides opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to engage and deepen their involvement in service at local, national, and international levels.
Home to the Bonner Leader program, Blue Jay Pantry, and the Blue Jay Clothing Closet, the center also supports our students in pursuit of their life and career goals.
The center provides opportunities to weave community-based learning into academic programming and offers monthly service projects, annual service days, and alternative break trips for the Etown community to participate in meaningful service that is socially and civically minded.
Learn more about the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE).
The Center for Global Understanding and Peacebuilding strives to empower individuals to advocate for action and engagement in ways that embrace diversity and global connectedness; challenge oppressive and violent practices, systems and paradigms; and promote domestic and international conflict transformation and respect for human dignity.
The center offers programs where the community can participate in meaningful conversations, and also supports students through the Peace and Global Scholars Program which helps them to engage as global citizens and peacemakers, empowering them to enact change and influence their communities.
Learn more about the Center for Global Understanding and Peacebuilding (CGUP).
The Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies fosters the study of groups stemming from these traditions, such as the Amish and the Brethren. The center engages staff, students and scholars in research and interpretation through public events, book series, online journal, and student internship opportunities.
The Young Center also serves the community, offering expert opinion in the area of Anabaptist & Pietist Studies. Each year, the center fields hundreds of questions from journalists, government agencies, and researchers from around the world. Recently, the center provided several multi-day training events for U.S. Department of Agriculture employees who work with Amish farmers. The center frequently consults with medical researchers as well.
Learn more about the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies.