In 2017, the University launched a Strategic Initiatives Funding process to identify and support innovative projects that will advance the goals of the University’s Engaged, Integrated, Global Strategic Plan, in particular, those that will have substantial, positive impact on the student experience. The Strategic Initiatives Funding pool was made possible by cost savings and revenue generation realized through the Comprehensive Resource Review process, spearheaded by the Office of Finance & Administration. An additional pool of funding was made available for 2018-2019.
You can read about the Community-Based Learning projects and the Humanities Initiative made possible by this funding, here. A few others are highlighted below.
Strategic Initiatives Projects Gain Traction
Projects supported through the University’s Strategic Initiatives Funding have brought students into the Scranton community and into communities across the globe.
The Strategic Initiatives Funding, which was made possible by cost savings and revenue generation realized through the Comprehensive Resource Review process, spearheaded by the Office of Finance and Administration, supports innovative projects – particularly those that that will have a substantial, positive impact on the student experience – that advance the goals of the Strategic Plan: an Engaged, Integrated and Global Student Experience.
“The diversity of programs funded through the Strategic Initiatives process was impressive, but even more compelling is the breadth of their impact to our campus community and indeed to so many others in the local region and beyond. These projects truly exemplify the spirit of our University’s Strategic Plan,” said Kate Yerkes, assistant vice provost for planning and institutional effectiveness.
STEAM (Science, Technology, Art, Engineering and Math) Activities for School/Community Groups was among the 14 projects that received support during the 2017-18 academic year. Through the project, University faculty, staff
Students facilitate group discussions at libraries throughout Lackawanna County about the book Pulitzer Prize-winning book Gilead as part of the city’s Scranton Reads program. The project was part of the first-year seminar course “Latest and Greatest. Prize-winning Fiction, Poetry and Theatre” taught by English and theatre professor Rebecca Beal, Ph.D.
Through another project, students facilitated group discussions at libraries throughout Lackawanna County about the book Pulitzer Prize-winning book Gilead as part of the city’s Scranton Reads program. The project was part of the first-year seminar course “Latest and Greatest. Prize-winning Fiction, Poetry and Theatre” taught by English and theatre professor Rebecca Beal, Ph.D.
Uganda Conference and Intersession Courses, an international and interdisciplinary initiative, was another project that received support during the 2017-18 academic year. The project included a visit to Uganda by 17 students and faculty at which several faculty members in the sciences and healthcare lectured at Bwindi Community Hospital, which has a Memorandum of Understanding with the University. The project also supported site visits by faculty to develop international internships and a cross-disciplinary conference on campus that featured speakers from Uganda, who addressed topics such as counseling, nursing and health care. Charles Pinches, Ph.D., professor of theology/religious studies, Dr. Lovecchio and Cyrus Olsen, Ph.D., associate professor of theology/religious studies, collaborated for this initiative.
Clinical Liaison Nurse Partnership at Regional Hospital
The Clinical Liaison Nurse Model, a community-based, academic-practice partnership the University began in 2009, pairs expert staff nurses with academic faculty to create an improved learning environment for undergraduate student nurses and an added level of safety for patients.
According to Sharon Hudacek, Ed.D., professor of nursing at the University, documented research indicates the clinical environment created by the model fosters the development of high-level critical thinking skills, moving the student nurses from novice to expert. With the assistance of highly qualified expert staff nurses, the clinical faculty members enhance the ability to challenge student nurses and to offer insight from additional clinical experience.
The University’s ongoing Clinical Liaison Nurse Model partners include Regional Hospital of Scranton, as well as Moses Taylor Hospital and Geisinger Community Medical Center. Read on, here.
JUHAN Conference Funded
The University of Scranton is hosting the Sixth Biennial Student Leadership Conference of the Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network (JUHAN) from June 14-16, 2019. JUHAN’s principal focus is undergraduate education that seeks to advance the humanitarian study and professional practice in the field of humanitarian action. Across the Jesuit network, we hope to expose students to these areas through academic courses, student leadership workshops, and lectures in areas related to social justice, human security, and international human rights.
At the June conference, we will have plenary and keynote speakers for all in attendance, as well as more specialized breakout sessions from which participants can select one or another. Breakout sessions are typically very diverse. Some involve unique campus programs. For example, three University of Scranton students presented our campus programming surrounding the Refugee Solidarity Initiative at Holy Cross 2017. Other presentations were based upon undergraduate and graduate student research projects, often connected to theses, Community-Based Learning projects in their university towns, or mission-based initiatives overseas. Finally, faculty and staff have delivered sessions (with and without students) on their research, teaching, and service around humanitarian issues broadly understood. You can read more about options and submit proposals, including poster presentations, on our website (scranton.edu/juhan).
Read more, here.
