Scouting University
Scouting University, founded during the spring of 2001, is a merit badge program that Alpha Phi Omega hosts every spring for over 100 boy scouts of the local Circle Ten Boy Scout troops. Through this program, these scouts are able to earn up to 2-3 merit badges towards their Eagle Scout Awards.
Scouting University has a lasting effect on the scouts because they become a step closer towards their Eagle Scout Awards while learning about college life by visiting The University of Texas at Dallas. This event also benefits the fraternity because these local scouts learn about Alpha Phi Omega and its affiliation with the Boy Scouts of America.
In previous years, the boy scouts that attended Scouting University were very successful, having earned 2 merit badges individually and over 40 merit badges in total.
Founded as an extension of Scouting principles at the college level, Alpha Phi Omega is a co-ed service fraternity dedicated to providing service, developing leadership, and fostering friendship wherever possible. At The University of Texas at Dallas, APO has been an active part of the campus community since its chartering in 1998. We hold annual service projects like Trick or Treat for Canned Goods, in which the chapter goes door to door collecting canned goods for the North Texas Food Bank; Math and Science Camp, a one-day program for Richardson elementary school students that utilizes fun methods to introduce children to concepts like basic engineering, probability, biology, chemistry; and Scouting University, a merit badge college for Scouts with professors or graduate students (with the necessary qualifications for the particular badge) as instructors.