Mirror File Photo
Fairfield University’s aim to educate the mind, body and spirit of a person through service has just received tangible support.’ The Center for Faith and Public Life recently accepted a grant from the Teagle Foundation, which supports its leadership role in the Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network (JUHAN).
The grant, totaling $296,105, will help to better engage students, faculty, administrators and staff to understand and respond to humanitarian crises.’ The Center for Faith and Public Life currently coordinates the University’s JUHAN efforts.’
Both Fordham and Georgetown Universities, co-founders of JUHAN with Fairfield, also received grant money.’
‘In the current global environment, humanitarian studies should be an integral part of a Jesuit liberal arts education,’ said Rev. Richard Ryscavage, S.J., director of the Center for Faith and Public Life, in a recent press release.’ ‘Through pioneering work of Fairfield, Georgetown and Fordham we hope that all Jesuit schools will develop a signature reputation for preparing undergraduates to understand and respond to complex humanitarian crises. The generous grant from Teagle will allow us to assess student learning as well as measure the institutional impact of this initiative at our three schools.”
‘
The JUHAN project aims to create a better understanding of humanitarian crises at the 28 Jesuit universities nationwide.’ The project mission statement says that it ‘was created on the premise that in addressing the needs of those that are suffering, our academic institutions can be more effective when working together rather than independently.’
The Fairfield chapter of JUHAN is already active on campus.’ Kristin Villanueva ’09, a member of JUHAN, said the grant will help boost the group’s already impressive efforts.
‘Last year, JUHAN held a fundraiser for a school in Tennessee that was affected by the tornados down there,’ she said.’ ‘This year, JUHAN has teamed up with the EMS club so that if a disaster should occur in the Fairfield area, JUHAN has first emergency responders ready.’ The club also hopes to raise more student awareness of humanitarian issues.’
Fairfield University plans to implement the new funds for the project through student leadership development, academic courses on humanitarian issues and extra-curricular activity opportunities.’
Simply put, ‘The project trains students to respond, and raises awareness of the humanitarian crises right now around the world through coursework and workshops,’ said Jocelyn Collen from the Center for Faith and Public Life.’
The three founding universities also created a comprehensive assessment to monitor progress of the project.’ Evidence from the assessments will help strengthen the Jesuit university community’s ability to respond to and to understand national and global crises.
‘The Center is glad to have received this generous grant because we do not always get the opportunity to analyze the effectiveness of a project,’ added Collen.’
‘
Due to the increasing prevalence of national and international crises such as Hurricane Katrina, Sudan, Somalia and Rwanda, to name a few, the need for humanitarian expertise is urgent. JUHAN aims to respond to this need by producing students who are trained in the field. Eventually, Fairfield plans to deepen the core curriculum to involve JUHAN as well.
‘The JUHAN project is so important today because unfortunately there are humanitarian crises happening globally and we want to be sure that students who participate in the JUHAN project are effectively educated on how to best respond to a crisis so that real assistance can be provided to those in need as soon as possible,’ said Collen.
Villanueva agrees.
‘This grant will be able to provide more resources for students and faculty involved in JUHAN to not only learn more about humanitarian crises but also for action plans on what to do should a humanitarian crisis occur,’ she said.’
The Teagle Foundation provides grantees the educational and financial resources to underwrite an enriching college education.’ Their Web site says that their ‘programs generally encourage collaboration among institutions, seeking to generate new knowledge on issues of importance to higher education.’
The Foundation’s Outcomes and Assessment initiative provided funding for the JUHAN grant.’ The initiative aims at strengthening education through continuous assessment of the students and the faculty, which correlates with JUHAN’s mission.’
The grant lasts for three years, and the founding universities along with the other 25 member schools plan to utilize the new financial resources to achieve the goals of the project.’ ‘
Leave a Reply