News & Events

Five years ago, the Widener chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) set out on a mission to bring electricity to a small village in Panama. This March, the students completed that mission – as they were finally able to flip a switch and see light in Ella Drua for the first time.

Campus Compact has honored 181 students from 36 states as 2013 Newman Civic Fellows. Among the honorees is Widener University junior Melvin Holmes of Yeadon, Pa. The Newman Civic Fellow Awards recognize inspiring college student leaders who have worked to find solutions for challenges facing their communities.

Founders Hall at Widener University is now certified “green” by the U.S. Green Building Council and becomes the first building at Widener, and the first in the city of Chester, to receive that official recognition.

Look out Starbucks, Widener University is brewing up a bold plan to support sustainable agricultural practices with the launch its very own earth-friendly coffee, WU Brew, on Earth Day, April 22.

As part of Student Lobby Day, Widener University students met with nine state senators and four representatives to discuss PA Senate Bill 420 "The Middle Income Student Debt Reduction Act." The Association for Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP) in Harrisburg, PA organized the April meetings.

The Widener Partnership Charter School, Pennsylvania’s first university-based charter school, on Tuesday announced Darlene G. Davis as the new principal and chief executive officer. Davis will lead the groundbreaking school based at Widener University as it completes its middle school expansion through eighth grade this fall.

Widener University has been selected as a Presidential Award Finalist for the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement. Widener, which has been named to the honor roll every year since its inception in 2006, was one of only 14 institutions nationwide to be named a Presidential Award Finalist, and one of only 113 institutions to make the honor roll “With Distinction.”

Former President Bill Clinton has invited Widener University to join the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI University) Network, a growing consortium of colleges and universities that support, mentor, and provide seed funding to student leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs to develop solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Widener becomes one of only 24 colleges and universities nationwide to join the network, and the only institution in the five-county Philadelphia region.

What do Dr. Wes Leckrone of Widener’s political science faculty and media personality Stephen Colbert have in common? Aside from the easy answer of quick wit and the ability to captivate an audience, they both started a Super PAC as somewhat of an educational experiment.

Earlier this year, the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement pronounced that we are in a "crucible moment" in our nation's democratic history.