To ensure leadership for a future in which the pursuit of social justice is the norm, we launched the pioneering Ozanam Scholars Program last year. Named for Frederic Ozanam, co-founder of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, it is a four-year academic service-learning program designed for students with outstanding high school academic and community service records. This dynamic educational experience aims to combine academics with hands-on community involvement on local, national and global levels in order to teach students to develop resultsbased solutions to problems. For example, first-year Scholars meet weekly with faculty to explore the social causes of poverty, using their 60-hour-per-semester volunteer experience as the foundation for relevant discussion. This past year, first-year Scholars performed additional service by traveling to New Orleans to help Katrina victims rebuild their homes. During the second and third years of the program, Scholars continue their community-based work while studying appropriate research skills to allow them to analyze social issues and propose workable solutions. In their final year, Scholars create portfolios documenting their learning and experience as active participants in addressing social justice and poverty issues. Ozanam Scholars this year expanded their scope through a two-week trip to Paris and Rome designed to communicate the origins of the Vincentian charism. Among the activities was a visit to the Sant’ Egidio lay service community in Rome where they saw firsthand the work of others who dedicate themselves to lifetime service to the poor while pursuing professional careers. Developing a sense of community is an essential element of the Ozanam Scholar experience. On campus, all Scholars reside on one floor of the renovated St. Vincent Hall residence and attend classes together. This supportive bonded peer network fosters a dedication to lifelong service. The program’s initial success has led the University to establish The Poverty Institute. We expect the Institute to become the centerpiece of the University’s evolution into a global social development research center. “By building on the findings and reflections of the Ozanam fieldwork,” explains Institute Executive Director Rev. James Maher, C.M., “St. John’s will evolve into an expert resource for solution-based approaches to eradicating global poverty on local, national and international levels.”