Springfield, Ohio - Wittenberg University Provost Kenneth W. Bladh has appointed Kristen Collier as the new Director of Community Service, effective July 1, 2002.

Collier joins Wittenberg after four years at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) in Highland Heights, Ky. At NKU she served as an academic adviser for two years and most recently as senior academic adviser. Prior to that she was the coordinator of community service at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio and a graduate adviser at James Madison University's Center for Service-Learning in Harrisburg, Va.

In her role at Wittenberg, Collier will administer and manage the daily operations of the Community Service Office, advise students and coordinate their service placement throughout the Springfield community, provide leadership for the vision and direction of the Community Service program, work collaboratively with faculty, students and community service site administrators, maintain partnerships with existing community sites, and organize and participate in on-campus programs such as Service Orientation, Celebrate Service, an all-campus service event and faculty workshops on service learning.

Each Wittenberg student must complete 27 hours of community service and three hours of reflection before graduating. Serving at one of many local agencies for children, the elderly, the environment, literacy, youth mentoring, or the physically disabled satisfies this requirement. The community service office helps students select their service sites and helps guide them throughout the service period.

Involvement in this unique and innovative program can both benefit the Springfield community and enrich students' lives for years to come.

A long time resident of Springfield, Ohio, Collier earned her B.A. in English from Wittenberg University in 1992, and her master of education from James Madison University. Collier and her husband, Matthew, who is a visiting instructor in biology at Wittenberg, recently moved to Springfield from Cincinnati.

Wittenberg University, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, promotes a style of education that emphasizes high academic achievement, personal attention, and a faculty that is dedicated to teaching excellence. With more than 40 academic majors, over 100 campus organizations and 22 intercollegiate sports, students enjoy a dynamic learning environment dedicated to intellectual, spiritual, aesthetic, social and physical development.