A New Vision For Thayne Center

Creating a Service Center at Salt Lake Community College started in 1993 as several people assembled to make the idea a reality. In 1994 the Service Center was founded as part of the Alumni Association. In the Fall of 1995, the center separated from the Alumni Association, becoming the Thayne Community Service Center, named writer and poet Emma Lou Thayne, where students, staff, and faculty could obtain community engagement opportunities.  In its initial form, the Thayne Center focused on promoting student civic engagement and service-learning opportunities and providing staff and faculty with volunteer opportunities.

The Thayne Center has played an integral part in connecting members of Salt Lake Community College to the community. However, in recent years, the center has undergone some changes to better serve SLCC’s student population.

In 2020, Thayne Center for Service & Learning and Student Life & Leadership combined resources, unifying under the title “Thayne Center.” As a result, the Thayne Center has updated its vision to connect students to the community, resources and programs that cultivate empowerment, leadership and social change.

As a community college, we prepare students to become leaders for the community–and the Thayne Center is well-equipped with numerous co-curricular opportunities for students. Thayne Center’s programs and resources are divided into three pillars, which correlates with this new vision: 

Community engagement: Through a variety of co-curricular programs such as community work-study, civically engaged scholars and alternative breaks, students learn new tactics for social change. These programs also prepare SLCC students as future community leaders and to become advocates for a better world. 

Student leadership: Students can take on a variety of leadership roles at SLCC, such as participating in student clubs, the Student Association and planning Arts & Cultural Events. Through leadership, students can gain a myriad of experiences and learn valuable lessons in making a difference.

Basic needs: No matter how great or small the need, SLCC students can find stability through programs like the Bruin Pantry network or connecting with the Coordinator for Basic Needs. Additionally, students can take on roles within the basic needs area, also gaining valuable leadership skills while making real-time changes.

Over the next few weeks, SLCC will provide a spotlight on the Thayne Center, its new vision and introduce a few members of the team leading the change.

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