Duke University received $30 million in grants this month to fund its DukeEngage program, which will allow students to participate in civic engagement service learning projects.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Duke Endowment, a philanthropic organization not associated with the university, each donated $15 million to the program.

"[The money] will allow Duke undergrads to spend a long period of time doing civic engagement locally, nationally and internationally," said Eric Myln, the new director of the Duke Center for Civic Engagement.

Myln and the DCCE will begin organizing DukeEngage this summer and the program will officially begin in summer 2008.

"We're very excited about this," Mlyn said. "The campus is really buzzing with this news."

Mlyn said he hopes to start programs in Durham, N.C., as well as a program in New Orleans. The university currently runs a similar program in Kenya, Mlyn said, and he would like to expand the existing plan.

According to Mlyn, civic engagement is not a new concept for Duke University, but he said the DukeEngage program takes the idea to a "whole new level."

The university hopes to get all types of students involved in the program, especially those who receive financial aid.

Currently, students that attend Duke with a financial-aid package are required to work and earn a certain amount of money over the summer to contribute to their tuition costs. But according to Duke director of media relations Keith Lawrence, students who participate in DukeEngage will have their summer earning requirement waived.

"This [money] removes the financial burden that might prevent some students from engaging in this type of program," Lawrence said.

University officials estimate the cost of the program at $2.6 million per year. By 2012, Lawrence said Duke would like 25 percent of all undergraduates to participate in the program.

The school will use institutional funding to supplement the new grants, and they will also fundraise to earn additional money for the program.

"The goal is that this will last forever," Mlyn said "DukeEngage will be part of Duke undergraduate education from now forward."

At the University of Wisconsin, civic engagement and service learning are run by the Morgridge Center for Public Service. The center was established in 1994 with an endowment from John and Tashia Morgridge.

Anne Whistner, community services coordinator at the Morgridge Center, said UW's programs are an integral and incredible part of the campus.

Whistner said UW does not have the same amount of funding, but is looking at expanding service learning outside of classroom experiences.

The Morgridge Center currently runs several programs, including the Wisconsin Idea Undergraduate Fellowships program.

The center also gives grants to students who look at serving the community and runs Alternative Breaks, a program that sponsors service trips when school is not in session, and Community Service Committees, which coordinates other service learning on campus.