Luke Terra

Luke serves as the Deputy Director of the Haas Center for Public Service, providing leadership for Haas Center programs and direction for the center’s campus and community partnerships. He leads strategic initiatives at the center and convenes the Haas Center’s Faculty Steering Committee, which provides guidance and direction to Haas leadership. From 2014 to 2024, Luke directed the center’s Community Engaged Learning and Research unit.

Luke also serves as the Resident Fellow in Stanford’s Public Service and Civic Engagement Theme House. The house welcomes 78 undergraduate students each year who share an interest in public service. The theme house offers four tracks of engagement to meet students’ needs and interests, and includes an academic course each quarter (UAR 82: Pathways of Public Service) to provide space for residents to deepen their understanding of and engagement with public service.  

Luke received his doctorate in history of education and international comparative education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. His research focuses on teaching and learning in secondary history and civics classrooms. Luke’s dissertation explored the development of a common history curriculum in Northern Ireland, and the challenges of teaching history and civics in a post-conflict context. Prior to his doctoral work, Luke managed international partnerships for the Center for Civic Education, supporting civic educators in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Malawi, India, and Indonesia. He previously served as assistant director of the Center for Service and Learning at Colorado College, where he worked with student service organizations, community organizations, and faculty interested in community engagement.

Luke serves on the board of the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE) where he co-chairs the Awards and Recognitions Committee.