University of San Diego

DEVELOPING WORLD’S PROBLEM SOLVERS WITH PUBLIC PURPOSE
Changemaker Campus since Fall 2011

As a Roman Catholic institution, the University of San Diego grows out of a long tradition and commitment to social change, with a consistent vision of preparing leaders dedicated to ethical conduct and compassionate service. USD’s public purpose and collaborative approach has always been articulated concretely through service, in which every person on campus is challenged to reach out with talent and time to work in partnership with the community.

“Providing students with the tools to solve the world’s problems is something USD has been committed to since our founding”, “What we’re trying to do here at USD is support the efforts of entrepreneurial students and faculty from all around campus; distill their research, strategies and practices into functional problem-solving solutions, and share those solutions with the wider global network that Ashoka connects us with.” says respectively Chris Navye and Patricia Marquez, co-chairs of USD’s Changemaker Hub and change leaders at USD.

As a Changemaker Campus, USD seeks to develop an ecosystem to produce knowledge for the good of society and to educate the next generation of competent change agents.

To create that ecosystem, USD created innovative, multidisciplinary, socially minded curriculum and programs that develops students as “change listeners”, focusing on their reflection and integration in order to achieve a high degree of cultural competence and a life-long commitment to be change agents.

USD also provides students with an integrated campus experience that further prepares them through multiple services and broad academic opportunities for engaging in solving social problems. Furthermore, these opportunities give students learning experiences not only in their local community, but also abroad, through various partnerships with universities and community centers in Jamaica, Mexico and other countries.

To connect all these impressive changemaking initiatives, USD is also launching its Social Change Hub, a campus-wide effort to enhance their impact in the community. “Social Change Hub is to develop a strong system of support for enriching and aligning our efforts to take social change to a new level of creativity. It will also allow us to increase collaborations and synergies between individuals and schools.” says Chris Navye and Patricia Marquez.