dickinson and carlisle: working together for a better community
DESCRIPTION
Just because Dickinson College is a not-for profit higher education institution doesn’t mean that Carlisle and Cumberland County don’t profit from being its community partners.TRANSCRIPT
and Carlisle
Working Together for a Better Community
Dickinson makes cents*Just because Dickinson College is a not-for-profit higher education
institution doesn’t mean that Carlisle and Cumberland County
don’t profit from being its community partners.
Dickinson College
increases economic
resources for all
residents of the
Carlisle/Cumberland
County region.
• College employees
earn living wages.
• When the college and its
employees make local
purchases, income is
provided to businesses
and their employees.
Contributions by the college and its employees to the economic
vitality of the community include:
• More than $150 million annually pumped into
the economy of Cumberland County, including
$92.9 million in the Carlisle area
• 68.9 percent of employees’ income spent in and
around the Carlisle borough
• $50,000 in annual payments made voluntarily by
the college to Carlisle to offset costs for providing
infrastructure and safety services
• Nearly $350,000 paid annually in real-estate taxes for
property (nonacademic related) owned by the college but
kept on the tax rolls—a college commitment since 1986
• An additional $50,000 per year provided to support
new downtown improvement initiatives
• More than 36,000 hours of community service given
annually by students in the Carlisle area
• More than $18 million per year spent (based on a
three-year period) on local construction.
* Based in part on the study “The Economic Impact of Dickinson College on Carlisle and Cumberland County 2010.”
Sustaining the community Dickinson is a national leader in academia for its sustainability
efforts and green practices. With an entire department dedicated
to sustainability, the college manages a USDA-certified organic
farm, houses a biodiesel-production facility and features several
LEED gold-certified buildings.
Produce from the Dickinson College Farm in Boiling Springs, Pa.,
nourishes students but also:
• Feeds more than 120 families through the College Farm’s
Community Supported Agriculture program
• Is sold at Carlisle’s farmers’ market (Farmers on the Square)
• Is donated along with thousands of pounds of fresh
food annually to Project S.H.A.R.E., a local food bank,
founded and led by a Dickinson graduate.
The college’s biodiesel operation recycles waste oil from local
restaurants. Annually, students organize U-Turn, a huge yard
sale that raises money for the United Way of Carlisle and
Cumberland County by selling unwanted items collected
from student residence halls.
Other green initiatives include investing in renewable energy,
composting, recycling, a bike-borrowing program for students,
hybrid vehicles in the college fleet and the planting of native
meadows.
Athletics and Fitness
Biddle Field Complex*
• Outdoor track is available for walking and running.
• Tennis courts are available to the community.
Dickinson Park
• The walking/jogging trail is open to the public.
Please note: No dogs are permitted on the trail.
Sporting Events
• All sporting events are free and open to the
community. Please note: There is a nominal fee
for football games.
For a schedule of athletic events, visit
www.dickinson.edu/athletics.
Open invitation
Dickinson College encourages community members to join in
a wide array of educational, cultural and recreational activities
on campus. While not all resources are open to the public, we
invite you to explore the following options:
* When intercollegiate athletes or gym-class participants are using the complex, we ask that the public refrain from using those parts of the facility.
Campus Lectures, Arts Events, Performances
Many of Dickinson’s cultural events are free and open
to the public, including gallery exhibitions, musical
and theatrical performances, lectures and panel
discussions. Visit www.dickinson.edu to learn about
current cultural and educational events.
Continuing Education
Dickinson offers continuing-education opportunities
for nontraditional students wishing to pursue college
courses for personal enrichment. To apply for
permission to take a course, contact the Registrar’s
Office at [email protected] or 717-245-1315.
Waidner-Spahr Library
To borrow books from the library, community
members must either purchase a library card ($40
per year) or donate to the Friends of the Library.
Please note: Community members may not borrow
DVDs, videocassette recordings or CDs.
Partners with the community• The Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM), a project of the environmental-
studies department, partners with Pennsylvania communities, including Carlisle, to preserve
clean water.
• Through the Dickinson Community Garden program, community members may lease a
plot in an organic garden on three-quarters acre of land in Carlisle.
• Named for the I-shape formed by High Street, West Street and Hanover Street, the High I
project is a large-scale initiative to revitalize the sector between the college campus and the
town’s center square.
• A Dickinson student is a nonvoting member of Carlisle’s Borough Council, acting as a
liaison between the two communities.
Students’ community engagement
• The Service Learning/Community-Based Research
Program develops courses that align with the needs
of community organizations. Students gain real-
world perspectives from their community-based
work.
• Local internship sites recruit exceptional students
who are pursuing meaningful career-related
experiences.
• Montgomery Service Leaders is an intensive
leadership-development program that integrates
academic work with local service placements.
• Community-service groups are supported and run
by students to meet local needs through teaching,
tutoring, mentoring, preparing and packing meals,
cleaning, organizing, construction and language
assistance.
Dickinson students
gain valuable
experience and
contribute to the
local community
through community-
based research,
coursework,
volunteerism and
internships.
P. O. Box 1773
Carlisle, PA 17013
www.dickinson.edu
300PC 8/12