Hartman Center for Civic Education and Leadership

The Grover L. Hartman Center for Civic Education and Leadership was the vision of DePauw University student Chad Mayer ‘95. The purpose of the Hartman Center is to provide resources for volunteer programs and facilitate the education of civic responsibility and leadership.The center is named in memory of Grover L. Hartman, a United Methodist lay person who devoted more than 40 years of interfaith leadership to Indiana and the country prior to his death in 1988. A tireless advocated for a multitude of social, political and economic causes, Hartman was an organizing board member of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union. He took leadership roles in a long list of causes and organizations, both church related and community oriented. Hartman was perhaps best known as executive director of the Indiana Council of Churches from 1959 to 1979. He was also known nationally as an ecumenical leader, and he served more than 21 years on the governing board of the National Association of Ecumenical Staff.Funds to create the Hartman Center were given by a fellow DePauw classmate and friend, John W. Alford, chairman of executive committee of The Park National Bank based in Newark, Ohio. Hartman and Alford both attended DePauw with prestigious Rector Scholarships and graduated in 1935. “Grover Hartman exemplified the kind of person and the kid of life that represents DePauw University at its best. He was a man of the highest integrity,” Alford said. “He is an outstanding symbol for the way the center is intended to help prepare DePauw students to become moral and responsible citizens of the future.” Alford is a founding trustee of the Methodist Theological School. He is a member and past president of the Ohio Bankers Association, former member of the executive council of the American Bankers Association, and chairman of the Thomas J. Evans Foundation. He is also involved in many community organizations. Features of the Hartman Center include volunteer activities such as Winter Term in Service, DePauw Community Service, Saturday Work Projects, Bonner Scholars Program, Alternative Spring Break, and other leadership initiatives; integration of service learning into existing volunteer programs; volunteer management training and reflection; grants for faculty to develop new courses that integrate service learning and conflict resolution studies into the curriculum; faculty workshops on the design of service learning courses; and civic education symposia. The center will also sponsor leadership development seminars and non credit courses on leadership training.