Meet the CCE Team
Professional Staff
Jeffrey Rathlef
Director for the Center for Community Engagement
jeffrey.rathlef@sru.edu
724.738.4764
Jeffrey Rathlef is the Director of the Center for Community Engagement at SRU. He earned a B.S. in Horticulture, a B.A. in History from Kansas State University; and an M.A. in International Affairs (Latin American Studies), and M.A. in Cultural Studies in Education from Ohio University. Jeffrey’s prior experiences include serving as a rural community development volunteer in Ecuador with the U.S. Peace Corps, Assistant Director for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at World Learning's division of study abroad (SIT), and the Director for Community-Based Service and Learning at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. Under his leadership, Gustavus Adolphus College earned the 2015 recognition by the Carnegie Foundation as a classified community engaged campus. In his current role at SRU, Jeffrey's achievements include assisting the university with a successful 2020 Carnegie community Engagement Classification, the stewardship of faculty learning communities, the development and execution of student service and leadership programs, and the institutionalization of diverse community engagement practices in support of university-community partnerships and engagement.
josette.dau@sru.edu
724.738.4912
As associate director of community impact and partnerships, Josette brings a plethora of experience with academic community engagement, academic early alert programs, community development initiatives and student affairs programs in higher education. Josette also served on the Common Reader Selection Committee at Kent State University, convened the Best Practices Subgroup with the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown’s (UPJ) President’s Diversity Working Group and collaborated with Kent’s LGBTQ Center and Women’s Center with data collection and web content development.
As an educational leader, Josette held adjunct instructor roles with UMASS – Amherst, UPJ, Josette instructed leadership development and first year experience courses. At UPJ, Josette developed FYE diversity learning outcomes with 13 sections of FYE courses. Fostering learning through connecting community organizations with SRU courses, Josette is a recipient of the 2024 Butler Collaborative for Families Spirit of Collaboration Award and the 2024 SRU Bridgebuilder of the Year Award.
Melissa Swauger, Ph.D. is the Academic Community Engagement (ACE) Fellow for Slippery Rock University’s Center for Community Engagement and a Professor in the Department of Social Sciences within the College of Liberal Arts. She brings 16 years of experience as a faculty member in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), including the past three years at SRU.
Dr. Swauger has extensive experience working with nonprofit organizations, serving as a board member, consultant, and leader of numerous community engagement and service-learning initiatives. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the SRU Strategic Plan Workgroup for Pillar #3: Commitment to Community Impact and Collaboration and as Co-Director of the Gender Studies Program.
As the ACE Fellow, Dr. Swauger supports faculty in integrating community engagement into academic courses through the ACE Pathway. This role includes assisting faculty in developing high-impact academic-community partnerships, offering training and professional development, and supporting best practices in engaged teaching. She also helps guide the use of assessment tools that measure student civic learning and the outcomes of university-community collaborations. Faculty participating in the ACE
Pathway benefit from built-in funding, outcome reports, and professional recognition through ACE Faculty designation and certification.
Through her leadership, Dr. Swauger advances the university’s mission to connect academic excellence with meaningful community impact.
Student Staff
Liberty Anderson
RockServe Graduate Assistant
rockserve@sru.edu
I am a first-time student at Slippery Rock University pursuing a Master of Education. I have recently relocated to Pennsylvania from Oregon, and I am greatly excited about getting to know and be involved in the Slippery Rock community. As I aim to become a social studies teacher for grades 7-12, I feel it would make my future much more beneficial to be involved in the community through the Center for Community Engagement at SRU.
Ray Eschenbach (He/Him/His)
Civic Engagement Coordinator
Ray Eschenbach is a senior Nonprofit Management and Public Policy major serving as the Civic Engagement Coordinator at the CCE. In this role, he promotes RockServe to students to encourage participation in service opportunities, leads the Civic Scholars through mentorship and guidance in their community service and leadership, and oversees operations of the Civic Action Scorecard. This includes the implementation of the scorecard in SRU courses, creation of civic actions, and promotion of the scorecard to students and student-run organizations. Driven by his desires to invigorate social connectedness and inspire community engagement, Ray is eager to fulfill his roles in the CCE and watch SRU come together through celebrating diversity, performing civic duties, and empowering others through their passions to make a difference.
Claire Topper (She/her/hers)
Strategic Communications Coordinator
clt1212@sru.edu
Claire Topper is the Strategic Communications Coordinator Intern. She is a senior Marketing Communications major. She coordinates the CCE’s communications efforts, streamlining its information delivery with a creative edge for easy access and visual appeal. Claire is excited about showcasing the efforts of SRU students and the CCE in the community.
Kelly Gress (She/her/hers)
ACE Assessment Coordinator
kng1017@sru.edu
Kelly Gress is a junior Mathematics major with a concentration in Statistics. She is an ACE Assessment Coordinator. In this role, she will be working with RockServe to create surveys for community engagement courses and will organize and analyze the data, while using her communication skills to work with others. Kelly is excited to learn more about analyzing data in a professional environment and to broaden her communication skills with the SRU Community and beyond.