What is Called to Serve?

The Partnership for Public Service has joined with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to develop a national initiative, "A Call to Serve: Leaders in Education Allied for Public Service," which is designed to educate a new generation about the importance of a strong civil service, help re-establish links between federal agencies and campuses, and provide students with information about federal jobs. A Call to Serve was unveiled in April 2002, at a launch event on the campus of George Washington University with Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, Office of Personnel Management Director Kay Coles James, U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman, and college and university presidents.

To date, more than 550 college and university presidents and 60 federal agencies have joined together to form the Call to Serve network. Participating schools have signed a "Statement of Purpose" that commits them to educating their students about opportunities in the federal civil service.

Participating agencies will work to effectively facilitate recruitment and retention of younger members of the federal workforce, and they will communicate with the campus coordinators in our network to provide guidance on how students can find information about and pursue jobs in federal service.

For the 2005-2006 academic year, the Partnership is working intensely with six Call to Serve schools to identify best practices that can be replicated throughout the Call to Serve network, which will help improve federal agencies' outreach to campuses. Ultimately, the project's goals are to determine cost-effective and sustainable ways to attract college students to federal public service. To reflect diversity of the Call to Serve network, the pilot schools vary by geography, size, and student demographics. The pilot schools include Clark Atlanta University, George Washington University, Louisiana State University, University of New Mexico, Ohio State University, and Stanford University. Clark Atlanta is the only historically black university participating in the pilot project.

CAU's Launch of the Partnership for Public Service