Brown’s Center for Public Service was founded in 1986 to support the integration of public service into the educational experience at Brown. One of the first centers of its kind in the nation, it connected students to community partners in support of the University’s mission “to serve the community, the nation, and the world.” In 1991, the center was named the Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service, in recognition of the late Brown president’s advocacy of public service for undergraduates.