History of PSSP
In 1994, the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University launched the Public Service Scholars Program (PSSP). The program focused on a dual challenge:- how to provide access to the vast knowledge base of the university for the benefit of community groups and organizations, including local governments, who would not otherwise have access to such resources,
- and how to recognize and learn from the vast knowledge base of these communities to which the university might not otherwise have access.
The Public Service Scholars program was established by the Haas Center for Public Service and the School of Humanities and Sciences in 1994 as a way to give recognition and support to seniors from all departments interested in writing a senior honors thesis as a form of public service. Committed to achieving a high standard for the integration of academically rigorous research and service, these seniors take on the challenge of writing honors theses that not only meet the standards of their academic departments, but also provide something of value to the community or public interest. The program is an effort to address the problem common to most research universities: how to provide access to the vast knowledge base of the university on behalf of organizations working for the public benefit at the community level.
What began as an experiment with a few pioneering students under the leadership of former Haas Center Director, Nadinne Cruz, is now a proven model for integrating research, service and teaching. Serving as co-director since 1999-2000, Jackie Schmidt Posner, Haas Center Associate Director for Public Service Education , took the helm of the program beginning with the 2002-03 academic year. Each year approximately ten scholars are selected for the program. Following scholar selection in the spring of their junior year, the program begins with a retreat and continues throughout the academic year as a weekly three-hour seminar. The Public Service Scholars share a deep need to connect what they have learned at Stanford with real, challenging problems to meet actual needs in today's society.
A Sampling of Public Service Scholars over the Last 10 Years.
| SCHOLAR NAME | YEAR | MAJOR | ADVISOR | TOPIC |
| Ritesh Shah | 1998 | Earth Systems | Buzz Thompson | Issues, Trends, and Suggestions for Environmental Education in the Ravenswood School District |
| Michael Putnam | 1997 | Science, Technology, and Society | Robert Mcginn | Computerization, Human Rights Advocacy and Organizational Change: a case study of the Czech Helsinki Committee |
| Molly Parker | 1995 | Latin American Studies | Kathleen Morrison | Understanding Cultural Appropriateness: The Case of Family Planning Classes for Latinas |
| Henry M. Epino | 1996 | Biology and African-American Studies | Dr. R. Schimke | The Effects of an Uncharacterized Estrogen Receptor Protein on Breast Cancer and its Implications for Women |
| Genevieve Aguilar | 2000 | Chicana/o Studies & Urban Studies | Guadalupe Valdes, Luis Fraga | Brain Drain Along the US-Mexico Border Region: a case study of El Paso, Texas |
| Melissa Moore | 1998 | Psychology & Feminist Studies | Miyako Inoue | Exploring the Complicated Relationship that Battered Women Have with Their Bodies |
| Alison Post | 1997 | History | David M. Kennedy, Karen Sawislak | From Community Control to Community Participation: the War on Poverty in East Palo Alto, CA |
| Alexis Kaminsky | 2001 | Urban Studies | J. Gregory Dees, Cari Pang | Engaged Corporate Philanthropy: New Models in Silicon Valley |
| Michelle Watts | 2000 | Asian American Studies | Anthony Antonio, Luis Fraga | Pilipino/a American Student Experiences at Stanford University |
| Cody Muhly | 2002 | Public Policy | Jose Gonzales | Measuring the Opportunity Cost of the U.S.- Cuban Embargo in Terms of Lost Agricultural Trade |
| Maura Marino | 2002 | American Studies | Tim Stanton | Balancing Personality and Pedagogy: A Work Plan for Service-Learning at East Palo Alto High School |
| Dennis Tyler | 2002 | English | Arnold Rampersad | Transcending Racial Compositions: An Analysis of Character Identity in Jean Toomer's Cane |
| Susan Bobulsky | 2003 | Science, Technology & Society | Terry Blaschke (Medicine), Peter Carpenter | Health in the Safety Net: Information Technology and Pharmaceuticals for the Medically Indigent |
| Valarie Kaur Brar | 2003 | International Relations/ Religious Studies | Linda Hess, Rob Reich | Sikhs after September 11th: Hate Crimes, Civil Liberties, and Community |
| Katie Buchanan |
2004 |
Interdisciplinary English | Andrea Lunsford | This is America Reconstructed: Tradition, Turmoil, and Eleventh-Grade American Literature Textbooks Since 1985 |
| Fernando Galeana |
2004 |
Economics/Latin American Studies | David McKenzie | Explaining the Demand for Land Titling in Mexico: Credit and Urbanization in the Ejido Sector |
| Hanna Chiou |
2005 |
Human Biology | Donald Barr | Student Speech Advocacy and Service: Decreasing Barriers to Adolescent Health Insurance Access through Peer-to-Peer Communication |
| Abby Hall |
2005 |
Anthropological Sciences | Dominique Irvine | Homogeneity and Common-Pool Resource Management: A Case Study of the Portland Community Garden Program |