History of INVST Community Studies

In 1987, Scott Myers-Lipton and Cindy Mahrer worked as the co-coordinators of the College Project for Beyond War. One day, a newspaper article came across Myers-Lipton's desk that discussed Father Ted Hesburgh's call for higher education to develop programs that integrated academic concepts with community service. Inspired by Hesburgh's message, Myers-Lipton and Mahrer began working to develop such a learning experience. They envisioned a program that would immerse students in a variety of social settings and sub-cultures, with the hope that these experiences would make them more willing and open to examine themselves, how they operate, how groups function, and how the social world is constructed.

In the summer of 1989, Myers-Lipton began pursuing a doctorate in Sociology at CU-Boulder where he met Dr. Jim Downton and Dr. Jim Scarritt, then the Director of Peace and Conflict Studies. The three began working with Dr. Elizabeth Moen, Dr. Gaia Mika, and a representative from the CU Outdoor Program to discuss how to implement this project. After developing the basic framework, the group decided to move forward. In the fall of 1990, with no money in the bank but a lot of energy and dedication to draw from, they set out to raise $60,000 and attract students to what was then called the “International and National Voluntary Service Training (INVST) Program.”

In 1994, Seana Lowe Steffen became the Assistant Director of the INVST Program. As a scholar and practitioner of transformational education, she evolved and expanded the program while she worked with INVST through 2006.

In the winter of 2001, Lowe Steffen became inspired by the idea of growing INVST into a department that might one day grant majors to engaged citizens and leaders working for the benefit of humanity and the environment. She was working with The Honorable Dorothy Rupert and several INVST students to explore how best to bridge concerns for young people with public policy efforts. Together, they conceptualized a university-based youth council. In the winter of 2001, Downton received an invitation from the Compton Foundation to submit a grant proposal. Compelled by the possibility of a community studies department, Lowe Steffen and Downton sought the support of Randy Compton and the Compton Foundation. In May 2001, INVST received $315,000 to establish “INVST Community Studies.”

During her term as director, Lowe Steffen expanded educational outreach to include continuing education, professional development and PSEO opportunities, increased the number of participants in the program nearly tenfold, established ten new courses and raised approximately $750,000. During 13 years of service, she cultivated extraordinary community leadership with over 200 INVST CLP students.

Since its first year, INVST has been co-constructed by all of these community members. For example, in 1994, when Myers-Lipton left his role as Assistant Director, the mission was "to develop well-informed citizens who are trained as leaders to analyze and solve community problems as a lifetime commitment." In 2000, a community-wide process resulted in the declaration of the two-year INVST Community Leadership Program's current mission statement:

We believe in the possibility of a just and sustainable world. We develop community leaders who engage in compassionate action as a lifetime commitment.