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committee press room proposal for the institute civic engagement center
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Press Releases
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Press Room March 15, 2006 CONTACT: Doug Stone or Barbara K. Laskin Statement from Macalester President Brian C. Rosenberg It is with great pleasure and excitement that I announce the launch of an important new initiative at Macalester College: the Institute for Global Citizenship, which will be inaugurated through a series of noteworthy events during this spring and will more formally begin its work in the fall of 2006. The aim of this initiative is to embody, advance, and publicize the distinctive mission of Macalester-a commitment to internationalism, multiculturalism, and service within a context of academic excellence-and to serve as a catalyst for innovative programs in teaching, scholarship, and service. The Institute is the result of more than two years of planning and discussion involving many individuals drawn from across our campus and beyond. Special thanks are due to the faculty, staff, students, and administrators who for many months worked as a planning committee to develop a proposal for this project. Their statement of the mission of the Institute* reads as follows: To encourage, promote and support rigorous learning that prepares students for lives as effective and ethical "global citizen-leaders"; innovative scholarship that enriches the public and academic discourse on important issues of global significance; and meaningful service that enhances such learning and/or scholarship while enriching the communities within which Macalester is embedded. The Institute's programs and purpose will evolve as we engage the community in discussions and generate the resources to support our work. Its underlying premise is that education is preparation for citizenship and social responsibility within local, national, and global communities and that changes in those communities should be reflected in the education we provide. Thomas Jefferson's famous observation that "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be," remains as true today as it was in 1816; what has changed-dramatically-are the particulars of both nation and civilization, and what must evolve therefore is the education provided to the women and men who will be our future leaders. Leadership for this effort will be provided by Professor Ahmed Samatar, who will assume the position of Dean of the Institute for Global Citizenship, and by Karin Trail-Johnson and Professor Andrew Latham, who will assume the positions of Associate Deans of the Institute. Their work will be supported by a Steering Committee that includes the Provost, the Dean of Students, the Dean for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, the Dean of Multicultural Life, the Director of the Center for Scholarship and Teaching, the Chaplain, the Chair of EPAG, and at least two students, as well as by a Student Advisory Committee and an external Advisory Board comprised of distinguished alumni and other scholars, public officials, and community leaders with demonstrated records of responsible citizenship and leadership. In addition to extant activities such as the Macalester International Roundtable, other plans for the initial efforts of the Institute are still being formed. These are likely to include a series of distinguished speakers on the local, national, and trans-national dimensions of global citizenship; an annual spring conference focusing on students' work in the area of civic engagement; a visiting scholar for 2006-2007; new study-abroad ventures for students; new opportunities for students and faculty to partner with community organizations; new courses; and other, related endeavors. Through all of these initiatives, we will be trying both to strengthen our commitment to preparing students for engaged citizenship and socially responsible leadership and to forge our own work on internationalism, multiculturalism, and service into a more compelling, integrated, and intellectually powerful whole. I look forward to working with many in the community as we write
this challenging and important new chapter in Macalester's history. |
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