The Philadelphia Center

Alumni

Brooks Memorial Fund

We hope you’ll join us in celebrating the life and legacy of former TPC executive director, Stevens E. Brooks. Steve was personally committed to students and their experiences; he also loved Philadelphia and wanted participants to be able to experience it fully while here for the semester. Therefore, The Philadelphia Center is proud to introduce The Stevens E. Brooks Memorial Fund, which has been established to help students participate in the program who might not otherwise be able to do so and to help them enjoy a rich experience of Philadelphia while they are here.  Those interested in contributing to this fund may do so via check to The Philadelphia Center or on-line here.

In June 2010, Stevens E. Brooks, who served The Philadelphia Center from 1968 until 2007, passed away after a brief illness. He was 68.

Steve joined The Philadelphia Center in 1968, only one year after the program was founded by the Great Lakes Colleges Association. He held the position of Director of Education until 1973, when he was appointed Executive Director. Steve retired in 2007.

The program flourished during Steve’s tenure. In an interview conducted in 2007, Steve said that The Philadelphia Center originally appealed to politically engaged students interested in acting as “agents of change” and to those who wanted to “affect society in positive ways.” His dedication to the program and his passion for experiential education, teaching, and the city of Philadelphia made a tremendous impact on the thousands of students who have attended the program throughout the years.

In 2005, Steve was honored by the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) with their Pioneer of the Year award. The award recognized Steve’s life-long commitment and his significant contributions to the field. He also received the Distinguished Service Award from Hope College (The Philadelphia Center’s managing institution), The Philadelphia Center Alumni Appreciation Award, and the NSEE Board Service Award. He received his Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Additionally, Steve was a founding member of Council for Adult Experiential Learning, the Society for Field Experience Education (which later became the NSEE), and the Council of University Institutes for Urban Affairs. Widely considered an expert in experiential education, he presented numerous papers on the topic and was a consultant for Learning from Experience Trust, a London-based organization. He also edited the book, Enriching the Liberal Arts Through Experiential Education, which was published in 1979. He also volunteered and taught classes at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.