Franklin & Marshall has been selected to join Project Pericles, an honor that underscores the College’s commitment to fostering meaningful impact in its home city of Lancaster.

Project Pericles is a national consortium of colleges and universities that places community-engaged civic learning at the heart of higher education. As a member, F&M unlocks resources to amplify community-based initiatives, including expert guidance on civic engagement strategies, new grant opportunities, and a collaborative network of peer institutions.

“Joining the consortium is just the beginning, and we’re enthusiastic about future opportunities to continue to catalyze this work,” said Eve Bratman, associate professor of environmental studies and faculty director of F&M’s Ware Institute for Civic Engagement.

As the central hub for community-engaged learning, the Ware Institute connects students, faculty, and staff with hands-on opportunities to apply academic concepts to local real-world challenges. Membership in the Project Pericles consortium elevates these initiatives, equipping F&M with proven strategies to cultivate reciprocal partnerships.

“Our goal is to expand opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to engage meaningfully in our community,” said Matt Thomas ’10, executive director of the Ware Institute. “We want to be doing that in a way that is aligned with national best practices and in a way that has the most meaningful impact.”

Key to that vision is Lancaster itself. Thomas and Bratman emphasized the city’s essential role as an educational partner and extension of the F&M classroom.

“Lancaster is in many ways a perfectly sized city for being able to do effective community-based work,” Bratman said.

Lancaster encompasses a mix of downtown businesses, social service organizations, riverfronts, farmland, and a growing international community, giving the region a distinctive blend of urban and rural character. F&M students benefit from that accessibility to align their passions with real-world needs and create a visible, lasting impact.

“We have this rich diversity in our people, our background, and our geography that makes for a really incredible community to practice, learn, and collaborate in,” said Thomas.

Bratman and Thomas will serve as the primary liaisons for faculty, staff, and students looking to leverage Pericles offerings to develop new courses, expand civic dialogue, and explore the intersection of ethics, democracy, and citizenship. Bratman also serves as a Pericles Fellow, an opportunity she pursued while advocating for F&M’s entry into the consortium. In this role, she collaborates with peers nationwide to evaluate and integrate community-based learning courses across campus, aligning hands-on experiences with career preparation and broader curricular goals.