Karl Barkley '15 of the men's basketball team is among 251 student-athletes who have been nominated for the 2015 Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams, as announced by the national organizations in December. The prestigious community service award recognizes a distinguished group of student-athletes who have demonstrated a commitment to enriching the lives of others and contributing to the greater good in their communities.

Barkley, a four-year letterwinner and team captain from Davidson, N.C., has spent his career at Swarthmore working to improve the local community through his sustainability efforts and helping those in need. He assisted the Chester Community Improvement Project (CCIP) in its effort to start a retrofitting and solar installation subsidiary by researching and creating an intelligible business plan for the organization’s director. 

On campus, Barkley, a political science major with minors in art history and public policy, worked with the College’s sustainability committee and organized the athletic department's first ever “Zero Waste Game.” He also helped direct other sustainability initiatives, such as installing automatic lights, placing recycling bins throughout the community, and sharing the athletic department's sustainability initiatives with the University of Pennsylvania as part of the Pennsylvania Collegiate Green Sports Consortium (PACGSC).

Off campus, Barkley regularly volunteers at Arch Street United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, preparing and serving food to the homeless community. He also teaches the fundamentals of basketball and preaches the importance of exercise to fourth and fifth graders at local elementary schools and has inspired other members of the Swarthmore men’s basketball program to help with his volunteering efforts.

This season, Barkley is averaging 10.5 points per game for the surging Garnet (6-5, 2-2), which has won three straight games and recently captured first place at the Roanoke Cregger Classic.