5 CENTERS OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

A primary strategy to add to the quality and expand the potential of educational programs at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s is to establish Centers of Academic Excellence.

Grounded in Benedictine values and rooted in our 1,500-year Benedictine heritage, academic centers enhance student learning by engaging students, faculty, staff and the broader community in interdisciplinary collaborations. A well-run and designed center can stimulate new intellectual and creative connections, address the pressing needs and challenges of our day and create new insights and opportunities to further the common good.

“Academic centers are broad-based and interdisciplinary. They transcend all the departments and disciplines,” says Ice. “It’s about educating the whole person. We’re trying to break down walls of learning inside and outside of the classroom, to think more broadly about the whole student experience because people don’t compartmentalize their lives.”

There are already a number of wellestablished Centers of Academic Excellence at CSB and SJU:

• Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement fosters dialogue and involvement regarding politics, values and public policy. The McCarthy Center facilitates opportunities for creative and integrated learning through programming and experiential learning on and off campus. Through events, conferences, lectures and social gatherings, the McCarthy Center gives students unique learning experiences.