About

In the spirit of its namesake, Adlai E. Stevenson II, Illinois State University’s Stevenson Center is dedicated to public service and global understanding. The Center serves communities and organizations around the world, students as they seek the tools for careers in community and economic development, the related fields of study, and Illinois State University.

Beginning in 1994 as a Peace Corps Fellows Program, the Stevenson Center continues to administer an interdisciplinary graduate sequence for students pursuing careers in community and economic development. We facilitate the curriculum, including the required, year-long internship experience and off-campus graduate assistantships.

Additionally, the Center provides direct service to communities in the form of economic impact analyses and forecasting, grant-writing training, and geographic information systems analysis. Affiliated faculty are active in the scholarship of community and economic development (e.g., local economic development policy, community supported agriculture, and rural school closure). Faculty research projects make their way into the classroom, reinforcing the quality of the educational experience.

Our mission and goals, adopted in 2018 through a strategic planning process with stakeholders, accurately reflect an enlarged spirit of service and attention to scholarship brought on by a new staff.

• Our Mission

  The Stevenson Center at Illinois State University promotes community and economic development in the U.S. and abroad. The Center cultivates leaders in public service through a unique combination of interdisciplinary coursework, research, professional practice, and community collaboration.

• • Our Vision

    Setting the pace for service and understanding, locally and globally.

  • Our Values

    Service • Education • Drive • Community • Diversity • Collaboration • Integrity

The Stevenson Center helps the university meet the goals of: Excellence by Design: 2024-2029 Illinois State University’s Strategic Plan.