Meet the OCE Staff

Professional Staff

Jeffrey Rathlef
Director for the Office for Community Engagement
jeffrey.rathlef@sru.edu
724.738.4764

Jeffrey Rathlef is the Director of the Office 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.

Graduate Assistants

Nadine Rice (she/her/hers)
RockServe Graduate Assistant
Graduate Social Work
rockserve@sru.edu

Nadine Rice is the RockServe graduate assistant who manages and oversees SRU’s digital community engagement platform that hosts and onboards community service opportunities for Slippery Rock students. She is a first-year graduate student earning her master’s degree in social work. She received her undergraduate degree at SRU with a major in social work. Being a Butler native, Nadine has a passion for civic engagement in the community.

Ray Eschenbach (He/Him/His)
Slippery Rock University
RockServe Specialist

Ray Eschenbach is a junior Nonprofit Management and Public Policy major and serves as the RockServe Specialist. In this role, he promotes RockServe to students to encourage participation in service opportunities, and he oversees operations of the Civic Action Scorecard. This includes the implementation of the scorecard in SRU courses, creation and revision of civic actions, and promotion of the scorecard to students and student-run organizations. Driven by the desire to help others and inspire community engagement, Ray is eager to fulfill his role in RockServe and watch the world come together through celebrating diversity, embracing creative expression, and performing civic duties.

Student Staff

Gabriella Palmer (She/her/hers)
Senior Strategic Communications Coordinator
ggp1002@sru.edu

Gabriella Palmer is the Strategic Communication Coordinator. She is a senior Integrated Marketing Communications major. In this role, she will implement strategic marketing and communication strategies for specific program area targets and goals within the OCEs communications agenda. Gabriella is excited to highlight the many service opportunities and events available to students through RockServe and OCE in accordance with their mission of life, citizenship, and cultivating civic identity.

Office for Community Engagement

Meet the OCE Staff

Professional Staff

Graduate Assistants

Student Staff

Office for Community Engagement

Contact Information