A BRIEF HISTORY

The Coal Region Field Station (CRFS) was established in spring 2015 in partnership with the Mother Maria Kaupas Center in Mount Carmel. Working with partners throughout the Lower Anthracite Coal Region, the CRFS seeks to provide a structure for faculty, students, and staff to collaborate with community partners on a variety of initiatives connected with community revitalization, local histories and heritage, and future directions. This engagement ranges from community-based research or service learning through courses, short- and long- term research projects, internships, and volunteering, with an objective to link projects together over time and different types of engagement for more robust experiences and outcomes for both students and community partners. The CRFS is housed in Bucknell’s Center for Sustainability and the Environment as part of the broader work related to sustainable communities through the Place Studies program.

VISION

By engaging in collaborative, real-world projects addressing community-identified needs, students will become engaged and responsible leaders who respect and value the knowledge and experience of diverse groups, while partner organizations are empowered to enact their visions for thriving, prosperous communities.

MISSION

This evolving university-community collaboration engages Bucknell students, faculty, and staff with communities in the anthracite coal region by linking together and building upon collaborative projects in community-identified needs for revitalization, explorations of local histories and heritage, and envisioning future possibilities in the common goal of developing sustainable communities.

COLLECTIONS

Items in the Coal Region Field Station collections are drawn from series and galleries across the Digital Commons. Student projects are posted with appropriate permission. Digital projects include a record with a hyperlink to the current online project.

CONTACT

For more information, please contact Place Studies Program Director Shaunna Barnhart at shaunna.barnhart@bucknell.edu.