Partnering to Build Capacity in the Region

Since 1978, the Office of Community Services has helped Fort Lewis College fulfill its mission as a land grant school and to provide outreach as a regional education provider. OCS assists local communities, students, and faculty to improve academic, social, economic, and ecological well-being of the Four Corners region.

The Office of Community Services is a multipurpose community development program supported by Fort Lewis College and by grants and cost-share partnerships with federal, state and local governments, and communities and citizens. We involve community members in diverse local efforts to sustain the region's social, economic and ecological well-being and quality of life.

OCS programs are founded on social, cultural and economic inclusiveness, participatory democracy, community ownership, and capacity building. OCS encourages creative public- and community-sector entrepreneurship that is responsive to new social needs, strengthens human communities, and increases landscape stewardship within the cultural, historic and ethnic traditions of the Southwest.