Hofstra University

Community Outreach

THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY

Hofstra University offers a wide range of programs that engage the surrounding community and benefit students, faculty and our neighbors.

  • The Hofstra Cultural Center offers a full calendar of conferences, musicals, theatrical performances and lectures each year.
  • The Hofstra University Museum of Art and the Hofstra arboretum (comprising Hofstra's entire 240-acre campus) offer exhibits, programs and tours year-round. The arboretum, which includes a bird sanctuary, provides a tranquil outdoor space for the surrounding community.
  • The Student Press Day, Long Island Press Journalism Awards and other programs offered through local middle and high schools provide enrichment for students.
  • Continuing Education offers a broad range of workshops, seminars, conferences, lectures, events and courses to the surrounding communities.
  • Art Travelers Through Time: Literacy and History Through Art, launched in 2008, allows third graders in local school districts to connect their education in the classroom with art in the Museum. The Hofstra University Museum of Art offers a number of educational programs for the community. These programs partner the University Museum education staff with families as they utilize current exhibits to create creative learning opportunities for children, families and other community members.| more |
  • Hofstra University Summer Science Research Program - Gives selected high school students the opportunity to work with Hofstra science faculty.
  • The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication offers a FREE summer journalism workshop for high school students, as part of the High School Community Journalism Program.
  • Stars on Sunday Series - Hosted by the Department of Physics and Astronomy, this program invites the public to the Hofstra Observatory for stargazing and learning about the universe from our astronomy faculty.
  • School of Education Programs
    • Liberty Partnerships - Offered in collaboration with the New York State Education Department, this program provides 9th-12th grade at-risk students with a broad range of services.
    • STEP and C-STEP - Hofstra participates in the New York State Education Department's Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) and Collegiate Science & Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), which are designed to prepare disadvantaged students to enter and complete college.
    • Teacher education programs - The School of Education annually sponsors or co-sponsors approximately 50 professional development conferences.
  • Wilbur F. Breslin Center for Real Estate Studies - The Breslin Center for Real Estate Studies offers a Training Program for Planning and Zoning Officials. The goal of the annual training program is to help planning and zoning officials better address land use decisions that have become increasing complex. The free program is intended to fulfill the new NYS requirement for four hours of continuing education for zoning and planning officials. Lawyers attending will also receive CLE credits.
  • NYS Commission on Local Government public hearings
  • Public hearings on New York City congestion mitigation and affordable housing initiatives
  • New York State Senator Kemp Hannon's Health and Awareness Day
  • Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy's seminars on Medicare and Financial Aid
  • Nassau County Youth Board's Annual Holiday Party for the youth in surrounding communities
  • Scott Skodnek Business Development Center - Offers free and low-cost programs such as lectures, workshops and management training for local business people.
  • Wilbur F. Breslin Center for Real Estate Studies - Focusing on the complex issues facing the real estate industry, this center provides information, analysis and a forum for discussion for real estate professionals, municipal officials, developers and the public.
  • Institute of Real Estate - Promotes professionalism and serves as a trusted source for real estate education, mentoring and networking for the real estate industry through conferences, educational programs and publications.
  • National Center for Suburban Studies - Hosts public meetings and conferences on key issues related to suburban life, such as emergency preparedness, transportation and the need for affordable housing.
  • # Long Island Latino Media Conference - Hofstra University hosts a free Long Island Latino Media Conference to discuss the challenges facing Latino media on Long Island. Leaders of local Latino newspaper and news websites will join public officials, Hofstra School of Communication faculty, and community members in a wide range of workshops.
  • Programs sponsored by Hofstra students include:
    • Hofstra Celebrates the Holidays - At this annual festival, held in December, student organizations build an interactive holiday village to benefit Hempstead Boys and Girls Club through hands-on-activities, holiday gifts and a pizza party.
    • The Inter-Fraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council each coordinate community service events throughout the year, including, The Veteran’s Day Memorial Service, Night of a Thousand Stars, Annual Benefit Show, Greek Week Can Castle Contest (to benefit the INN) and Songs of Love.
    • Domestic Violence Awareness- In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, student organizations and Student Leadership and Activities coordinate a series of educational programs, including a Silent Walk for Domestic Violence and "This is not a wife-beater."
    • The Accounting Society and Tax Society- Local senior citizens complete their tax returns with the help of Hofstra Students.
    • Alternative Spring Break(s)– Student Leadership and Activities, Hillel and the Campus Catholic Parish each coordinate alternative spring break trips all over the globe, including, New Orleans, Seattle, Philadelphia, Nicaragua, Belize, and many more! Students fundraiser for each trip and have the opportunity to serve and learn about diverse communities.
    • SERVICEday Series- Each month, Student Leadership and Activities sponsors one or more outreach programs to provide students with volunteer opportunities. The SERVICEday program is one way for Hofstra Students to serve their community. Recent community partners include, Hempstead park Nursing Home, Habitat for Humanity, Hempstead Boys and Girls Club, Mary Brennan Inn, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, California Ave. Elementary School, Mayor’s Office for Veteran Affairs, Kamina Beautiful, Step-up Women’s Network and Hempstead Hispanic Civic Association.
    • Big Brother/Big Sisters of Long Island- Mentoring on Hofstra’s campus provides the additional guidance and support needed to keep a child on the right path toward promise and possibility. Each year, a dozen Hofstra students commit to volunteer each Wednesday to provide children with the tools to grow and succeed in a consistent, positive environment.
    • Hofstra for the Homeless- Each Friday, students travel to Jamaica, Queens to volunteer at an after-school program with Homes for the Homeless. Children also have the opportunity to visit Hofstra’s campus each semester to participate in activities.
    • Interfaith Nutrition Network-Students from the Hofstra University Honors College volunteer each Friday at Mary Brennan Inn, a local soup kitchen.
    • Relay for Life- Each April, over 600 students participate in this relay to raise funds and walk for the American Cancer Society. Since 2008, students have raised over $125,000! Student organizations, academic departments, classmates, residential halls, and student affairs administrators form over 60 teams and to fight cancer.
    • The Blue and Gold Leadership Program (Office of Student Leadership and Activities)- Student Leaders coordinate outreach projects in the local community each semester. Previous programs include, the first "WALKinn to Fight Hunger," a campus walk to raise funds for the Interfaith Nutrition Network and a Field Day extravaganza at the California Ave Elementary School.
  • Programs sponsored by Hofstra Pride Athletics include:
    • Career Day - This event combines education about careers with a trip to a college basketball game for elementary school children.
    • Think Pink Day - Hofstra Pride Women's Basketball program joins in a national effort to raise awareness of breast cancer.
    • Learn more about the SAAC's outreach efforts
  • Food services programs include:
    • Feeding the hungry - Hofstra's food services works with Island Harvest, a local charitable organization, to rescue the University's surplus food and use it to provide for the hungry on Long Island.
  • Habitat for Humanity
    • About 20 Hofstra female employees recently teamed up to work on a Habitat for Humanity home in Bellport.
  • Scott Skodnek Business Development Center
    • Art Expressions Exhibit - Hofstra University co-hosts, with the Nassau County Department of Mental Health, an Art Expressions Exhibit. The event displays the work of artists who are being assisted by the county with chemical dependency and developmental disabilities. Hofstra has been proud to support this exhibit since 1997. This year, the exhibit has been expanded to include the work of children suffering with mental illness who attend programs throughout Nassau County.
  • Hofstra for Hempstead/Hempstead for Hofstra scholarship program - Through this program scholarship funds are raised for deserving students from the Village of Hempstead.
  • The Institute of Real Estate at Hofstra University
    • Institute of Real Estate Scholarship Program - The Institute of Real Estate holds an annual scholarship luncheon and funds for the scholarship are also received from members of the Institute including the Association for a Better Long Island, the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island and the Long Island Board of Realtors.
  • Joan and Arnold Saltzman Community Services Center - Provides high-quality clinical services and early childhood education for Hofstra University employees and the surrounding community. It includes four clinics and a fully licensed early childhood program.
  • Hofstra Law School clinics - Provide high-quality legal representation to clients in need.
  • WRHU, Long Island's largest not-for-profit, community-based radio broadcast provides local and world news and a diverse array of programs to the surrounding community.
  • Center for Civic Engagement - Sponsors events designed to encourage students to participate in the democratic process and to engage with their campus, local, state, national and global communities.
  • Center for the Study of Labor & Democracy - The Center for the Study of Labor and Democracy (CLD) researches important economic issues facing working people in New York. Youth unemployment, wage and benefits trends, government jobs and safety-net programs, immigration, and labor management relations are among the subjects on which the Center communicates its findings to a broad audience by organizing free workshops, conferences, and briefings with community groups, unions and policymakers, as well as by publishing its magazine, Regional Labor Review. The Center’s faculty members also teach low-cost adult education courses that lead to a Hofstra Certificate in Labor Studies. All the Center’s work aims to contribute to public education and debate about policy alternatives that promote sustainable improvements in workers’ living standards, fairness in economic opportunities, and democratic decision-making processes.