St. Joseph’s tells council it funds $100,000 annual community grants and coordinates 87,000 service hours

St. Joseph’s University told Philadelphia’s education committee on May 9 that its recent campus mergers and longstanding neighborhood partnerships have expanded the university’s community presence in West and Southwest Philadelphia.

Waddell Ridley Jr., assistant vice president for government and community relations at St. Joseph’s, told the committee — which was hearing resolution 240842 on institutions’ community engagement — that the university follows a research‑grounded community‑engagement framework and that those activities are built on reciprocity, reflection and sustainable partnership.

Ridley described several concrete efforts. He said St. Joseph’s annual economic impact is approximately $575 million and that combined grant aid to Pennsylvania students and related spending include $44.5 million in grant aid and roughly $2 million in payments to minority‑ and women‑owned vendors. The university coordinates about 87,000 hours of community service per year, Ridley said, and funds a resource to supervise student volunteers at the nearby Gompers program. Under a recently negotiated community benefit agreement the university will maintain at least $100,000 annually to award small grants to neighborhood businesses and organizations; Ridley said the university has already funded about a dozen $5,000 awards.

Ridley also said the university has extended clinical and professional programs into West Philadelphia through the legacy of the University of the Sciences merger, bringing pharmacy, occupational therapy and physician assistant clinical experiences to neighborhood sites. He described plans to expand dual‑enrollment opportunities with neighborhood schools such as Science Leadership Academy and direct student support at Gompers.

Council members praised St. Joseph’s for showing up and for longstanding civic partnerships. Councilmember Curtis Jones — who represents neighborhoods near the university and who has worked with St. Joseph’s on public‑safety and community initiatives — singled out the institution’s role in youth sports, workforce development and collaboration on city policy documents.

The university’s testimony was the only live campus representative presentation among the larger set of universities that submitted written statements; the clerk noted Temple, Penn and Drexel had submitted written testimony but did not all appear in person. Council members said they would continue follow‑up with institutions and invited St. Joseph’s to expand partnerships and share details that can be used to quantify local impact.

The committee recessed the hearing to the call of the chair after public comment; resolution 240842’s hearing did not produce a formal vote at this session.