DePaul’s Egan Urban Center Building Sustainable Communities through Local Partnerships

DePaul University is working through the John J. Egan Urban Center to partner with the local community to address critical problems within the surrounding urban area. The center was founded in 1994 through the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust. The goal of the center according to their website is to “channel community and economic development assistance to minority and underprivileged neighborhoods in a direct and concentrated way drawing upon faculty, student, and neighborhood resources.” The center is named after Father Egan for his work in bringing focus to people in distressed circumstances and communities on the west side of the greater Chicago area.

The center has also taken an active role in the Black-Latino Working Groups Initiative. The Egan Center’s Office of Neighborhood and Community Partnerships helps to foster a dialogue between Black and Latino leaders in the Humboldt Park, Chicago Lawn, and North South Lawndale for collaborative community projects. The overall goal is to develop a joint undertaking to benefit these communities through development projects, affordable housing, food co-ops, and credit unions. The center participated in 2006 Conference of Urban Ministries’ panel discussion on realizing the use of church assets to identify commonalities. They also are partnering with the Center for Latino Research to produce five events focused on the existing dialogue that has been built through efforts of the Black-Latino working Group Initiative.Photo Sources:http://euc.depaul.edu/About/index.html

One of the programs that the Egan Urban Center worked on was the West Humboldt Park Community Technology Centers (WHPCTC) through the West Humboldt Park Development Project. This project worked on the issue of “digital divide” which is a common topic in the sustainable development community. The Egan Center was awarded a 1.4 million dollar US Department of Education grant for the WHPCTC. The project was able to expand the already existing technology to create opportunities for the community to share information and expand computer access. The program also offers training in computer applications, systems support, and maintenance to expand the job opportunities for those in the community to provide longer term assistance. By training those in the community the WHPCTC establishes a program that can be sustained by those it has trained who can then continue to train others.

The Egan Center has taken their community involvement to education through a certificate program. This program shares the Egan Center’s approach to “creating sustainable institutional community partnerships by working in close collaboration with community leaders and residents to design and implement programs and initiatives,” according to the Egan Urban Center’s website. It is a program for those working in the communities to gain valuable skills in sustainability and effective responses will understanding the responsibilities to the local community. The Egan Center through the certificate program hopes to develop community leaders who can mobilize assets and resources, develop meaningful relationships with important actors, while also understanding their full potential and position within the community.

If you would like to volunteer with the Egan Center Click Here

Through the Egan Center, DePaul has a great asset in moving forward with sustainable community projects. By fostering important community relationships and providing critical need through neighborhood involvement the Egan Center is creating long term community partnerships. It is also educating those within the community to pay it forward.

Posted by Kristina Vitali

Image: Egan Center

DePaul Aims for Healthy Society

A healthy economy leads to a healthy society. Or so has been the traditional school of thought in the sustainable development community. Recently, however, there has been a shift in thinking. DePaul faculty member Michael Diamond, M.A. has suggested the phrase be reversed—a healthy society would in turn lead to a healthy economy. At first glance, the link between a population’s health and wellness and sustainability may not be immediately visible. According to Diamond, illness can impact an economy in many ways. When a person becomes ill and has to miss time from work or school, on average, another person is removed from the workforce or from their studies to care for the sick person. Resources and money that could be spent in the pursuit of other societal goals must then be used to care for the sick. With the potential drain both on capital and the labor force, it is in the best interest of any society to have as healthy of a population as possible.

Ultimately the choice to live and eat in a healthy manner remains with the individual. Institutions do have the ability, however, to provide incentives and push those affiliated down the path to wellness. DePaul has made great progress to encourage living and maintaining a healthy lifestyle by making small changes. One such program is the Green Steps walking program that was put in place in the Spring 2010. This program encouraged daily exercise and the use of alternate methods of transportation by connecting members of the DePaul community. Participants engaged in healthy competition and were held accountable by others to walk as much as possible during the 10-week program. Not only did the Green Steps walking program reward daily exercise, it helped to reduce the carbon footprint of those involved. The addition of bicycle storage spaces in the Clifton parking garage is another way DePaul is encouraging exercise and a healthy lifestyle.

Exercise is only half the equation when concerning a healthy lifestyle; a nutritious, balanced diet is also necessary. DePaul is helping to provide robust snacks in campus vending machines by labeling ‘balanced choice’ healthy snack options with a green symbol. By providing members of the DePaul community with nutritious options during breaks, the goal of a healthy diet is easier to attain.

It can be said that an investment in a healthy lifestyle is also an investment in sustainable development. Walking or riding a bike not only provides the individual with necessary exercise, it provides an alternative method of ‘green’ transportation, thus reducing the greenhouse gases that would have otherwise been emitted. Competitions such as the Green Step walking program are appearing across the country. When exercise is combined with a properly balanced diet the foundation is laid for a fit society. The goals of healthy living and sustainable development do not preclude each other. It is refreshing to see DePaul recognize this and implement steps to make this a reality.

Posted by: Nicholas Stratton
Photo Credit: http://www.brocktonpublicschools.com/page.cfm?p=106

Collaborate for Sustainability

Collaboration is one of the key ingredients for creating a sustainable future. This can be interpreted at every level – countries, organizations, groups, people, thoughts, and even missions and goals. The concept of needing to ‘collaborate’ can also be used within the setting of a university’s sustainable development efforts. DePaul University is one of the most revered private universities in the U.S., and has taken great steps towards promoting sustainable development. One of the steps which must be strengthened is the concept of collaboration, specifically among various departments at the university. Each department brings with it unique goals, people, and ideas, and it also brings resources. Finding ways to combine resources is a smart way to maximize the use of current strengths and assets. Many times sustainability is not prioritized due to lack of time, man power, and resources. Being more creative with what is already within our reach will help move DePaul move forward towards creating a more sustainable future.

Efforts to collaborate, however, are difficult and require great communication skills and proper management. This is true for all levels of collaboration, as is shown in this video by Josh Powell, which concentrates on the various sectors and the complexities they face to work together. It also discusses the need and importance of collaboration to achieve goals. This concept of collaborative governance is also used with other topics and can be implemented for sustainable development.

I recommend the Yale University approach of sustainability where inter-departmental collaboration is vital to the successful attainment of goals. Yale creates networks of both members of the university community as well as local community to become involved in sustainability goal-setting and creating visions for future development.

Another example of collaborative governance is explained in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory Advance Access in the article “Collaborative Governance in Theory and Practice” by Chris Ansell and Alison Gash. They discuss how making various groups come together for decision-making will be successful if a number of factors are aligned. Some mentioned are “face-to-face dialog, trust building, and the development of commitment and shared understanding.” These factors can be applied to the departments within DePaul, and can be noted to include as more efforts in inter-departmental collaboration become common. The full article can be read here.

Another type of collaboration can be through DePaul’s students. Creating more public forums about sustainability, or starting student-initiatives in sustainability (and making them public) will help promote better understanding of the topic, and interest. This approach allows students to be in-charge and govern a part of DePaul’s sustainable development. The grass-roots level ‘buzz’ among students should begin in various departments, and not only in one. This way, the collaboration is starting at the ground-level, and will be able to elevate as the development initiatives begin to grow. The Sustainable DePaul Blog is a great example of a way for students to collaborate for sustainability.

Adding onto DePaul’s current inter-departmental collaboration practices will allow the university’s sustainable development efforts to expand to a larger stakeholder audience, and also create a stronger sustainable footprint.

Posted by Nidhi Singhal
Photo Credit: University of Calgary, Leadership in Learning http://www.ucalgary.ca/iejll/files/iejll/images/fauske.gif

Sustainable Servant Leaders

While DePaul University takes great pride in its role as an urban university, providing a vital educational and social service to Chicago, more can and should be done by DePaul in creating a future cadre of servant leaders. One way that DePaul can be at the forefront of servant leadership is through creating a service requirement for all undergraduate and graduate students before they may earn their degree.

Currently DePaul undergraduates majoring in liberal studies are required to engage in at least four credit hours of “experiential learning,” whereby they combine classroom knowledge with a learning experience that exists outside the classroom. There are courses in many departments that fit this requirement. Some are internships or externships, while others are a hybrid between a classroom-based learning environment and selected learning experiences outside the classroom. While this is a good start, more must be done to create DePaul students that are tomorrow’s future servant leaders. The way to do this is to establish a servant leadership program, required of all undergraduates and graduate students before they may earn their appropriate degree. All students must become engaged members of the Chicago community to ensure Chicago remains a sustainable community. Requiring a service component to graduation takes experiential learning a step further, as students will no longer have the opportunity to be passive observers when completing an experience outside the classroom. There are other colleges and universities that currently lead the way in requiring a service component as a core component for obtaining an undergraduate degree. Students at Tulane University in New Orleans must fulfill one service requirement before they may graduate. Students at Wittenberg University in Ohio must complete a semester-long service requirement to obtain their university degree. At Wittenberg students must register for the service as course credit, meet with a university staff member to outline their service and determine whether their service plans meet university standards, and then discuss their service results in reflections with other students, faculty and staff. Other universities, such as the University of Cincinnati, provide financial assistance scholarships with stipulations that require those scholarship holders to complete some form of public service.

DePaul should be at the forefront of creating service leaders. By requiring students to complete some form of public service, DePaul will create an engaged university community, attune to the needs of those not only in Chicago but throughout the U.S. and the world. DePaul’s requirement might also attract those students that desire an academic community looking to create a sustainable future. Sustainability is not something merely ecological. Servant leaders can help build ecologically sustainable communities, or help correct social injustices and poverty issues to allow others to participate in a sustainable future. Creating a servant leadership requirement of all DePaul students would help the university be true to its mission and values. From the Office of Mission and Values : DePaul University emphasizes the development of a full range of human capabilities and appreciation of higher education as a means to engage cultural, social, religious, and ethical values in service to others. What better way for DePaul to help build the foundations for a sustainable community and sustainable future, while remaining true to the core values the university seeks to fulfill.

For information on public service requirements at other universities visit these links: http://www4.wittenberg.edu/witt_services/community_service/community_service_100.html

http://tulane.edu/cps/about/graduation-requirement.cfm

For information on the U.S. government’s call to public service visit:

http://www.serve.gov/

For more on DePaul's Mission and Values visit: http://mission.depaul.edu/Pages/default.aspx

Posted by Marshall Houserman

Photo Credit - www.serve.gov

Connecting Students and Chicago – DePaul’s Community Involvement

As a large, urban university DePaul University must consider the social and communal relationship that it has to Chicago and Chicago’s neighborhoods. In so doing, DePaul can have a significant role in building Chicago’s sustainable future. At this time DePaul is moving forward in building these partnerships. The Irwin W. Steans Center for Community-Based Service Learning and Community Service Studies is working hard to foster these relationships and putting DePaul at the forefront of helping students understand their relationship to Chicago.

Founded in 2001 through a generous donation from Chicago banker Harrison Steans, the Steans Center’s mission is to develop mutually beneficial relationships with community-based organizations in order to develop a sense of social agency in DePaul students, faculty, staff and alumni. Using the ABCD model of community development, the Steans Center is committed to building a community where all community members have a voice, working to empower Chicago’s neighborhoods and foster a more satisfying community experience for all community members. Through this model the Steans Center not only focuses on community needs but seeks active participation from the community.

The Steans Center believes that if all community members are welcome to participate, a community is fostered and made more sustainable. For a greater understanding of the ABCD model for community development visit http://www.proveandimprove.org/new/tools/ABCD.php. The Steans Center provides a vital link between nonprofit and government organizations in Chicago and DePaul University. Among these organizations are ABC Youth Center, an after-school tutoring program on Chicago’s West Side, and Off the Streets, a youth development organization working to get Chicago youth off the streets.

The Steans Center website lists over 500 community and government organizations that collaborate with the Steans Center and DePaul University. Through the Steans Center website community-based organizations can apply to collaborate with DePaul and the extensive resources accessible through the DePaul University community. In fostering these relationships, the Steans Center organizes service learning classes for DePaul students, including a “Discover Chicago” course that combines seven weeks of course learning with a week-long immersion on a chosen topic outside the classroom and out in Chicago. Furthermore, the Steans Center organizes and facilitates student internships with numerous community organizations in Chicago. This vital link brings DePaul students face-to-face with Chicago’s problems, making them active participants in the communities they live in.

The Steans Center is creating tomorrow’s service leaders. As DePaul students graduate, there is a hope that because of the great work occurring through the Steans Center, DePaul alumni will lead the way toward creating a just and sustainable future for Chicago’s citizens.

For more on the Steans Center at DePaul University visit their website: http://steans.depaul.edu/

To watch a short video on DePaul’s vision to take students outside the classroom and into Chicago watch the video here: http://www.depaul.edu/multimedia/ExtendClassroomLearning.asp

You can also follow the Stean Center’s activities and development on facebook and twitter: http://twitter.com/DePaulSteans
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-IL/DePaul-University-Steans-Center

Posted by Marshall Houserman
Photo credit: Steans Center

Sustainability Curriculum and Program Development

The Vincentian Mission is the foundation of DePaul University. This backbone is exactly the reason why DePaul is in a position to lead higher education institutions toward a globally sustainable futurel. However, DePaul is still weak in integrating sustainable courses and programs under the 'sustainable framework' flag.

Cortese (2003) advocates that “higher education institutions bear a profound, moral responsibility to increase the awareness, knowledge, skills, and values needed to create a just and sustainable future.” He continues that “the context of learning with change to make human/environment interdependence, values, and ethics a seamless and central part of teaching of all the disciplines, rather than isolated as a special course or module in programs for specialists. Environment specialists are necessary but not sufficient. Understanding how to create a just and sustainable society must be a fundamental principle in all education.”

The White Paper on Sustainability at DePaul University recommends the following strategy on curriculum.
1. Promote sustainability across the curriculum, in the same way we have included ethics across the curriculum. In fact, we see sustainability as an important development in our ethics across the curriculum program;
2. Educate students to be leaders in the growth of the rapidly emerging green economy;
3. Develop an interdisciplinary minor in environmental and sustainability studies;
4. Develop an integrative sustainable management specialization in the MBA program;
5. Create a master’s program in sustainable development.

As to point 1, I would like to propose to include ‘sustainability’ as a core course for both undergraduate and graduate students aiming to strengthen students’ integral human development. ‘Sustainability’ can be an independent 2-credit course or a combined 4-credit course with ‘ethics’.

The second proposal relating to curriculum is to make study abroad program a 6-credit course with 5-times classes in Chicago and a week to 10 days classes abroad. In this way, students will be well prepared to make the most out of studying abroad in addition to extra credits.

The third proposal is to integrate a 'guide to sustainability at DePaul’ and ‘Vincentian mission’ into new-student orientation. Another component I would like to propose is to include ‘tours of sustainability-related resources on campus’ in new-student orientation aiming at raising awareness on sustainability at DePaul from Day One. To cover these added components, if possible, I would like to suggest that the duration of new-student orientation for undergraduates is two to three days and that for graduate students, two nights. According to The College Sustainability Report Card 2010, more than two in three schools have introduced sustainability into student orientation. An example is Pacific Lutheran University which conducts 'campus green tour' for new students on Day 2.

The fourth proposal relates to point 2 which is to increase sustainability internship opportunities, paid and unpaid, for students on campus. Two-thirds of the schools offer paid sustainability opportunities for students. Sixty-eight percent of the schools offer paid positions to students for work on sustainability activities within the facilities department, sustainability office, or other relevant campus office, according to The College Sustainability Report Card 2010.

If enacted, the four proposals stated above would enable students as well as faculty and staff to take the educational experiences from a theoretical to a practical level.

The Stephens et al. (2008) advocate that higher education institutions have the potential as a change agent in accelerating society’s transition toward sustainability within a global context. this relates to points 2, 3, 4, and 5 on curriculum. A good example is Arizona State University (ASU). ASU established Global Institute of Sustainability with the mission to: identify the grand challenges of sustainability, advance knowledge for applied practical solutions, create new tools for improved decision-making, prioritize university-wide efforts toward sustainable practices, and build global research partnerships. In this line, ASU started the School of Sustainability in 2007 which offers 18-credit hour program as an undergraduate minor in sustainability that can complement a student’s major in another academic discipline. The aim is to bring together multiple disciplines and leaders to create and share knowledge, train a new generation of scholars and practitioners, and develop practical solutions to some of the most pressing environmental, economic, and social challenges of sustainability, especially as they relate to urban areas. Please watch ASU’s orientation video to learn students’ comments on the School of Sustainability.
There are many universities which offer inter- and trans-disciplinary approach to sustainability. Examples include:
*Clark University, with inter- and trans- disciplinary course in its Department of International Development, Community, and Environment;
*The University of Notre Dame, with sustainability-related courses across all of its six colleges and schools;
*Loyola University Chicago, with the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy and ‘step courses’; and
*Santa Clara University, with clusters of courses with a common theme, promoting integrative and intentional learning, and with sustainability pathway course.

While DePaul does not present 'sustainable course framework' to students, it offers sustainable courses in the School of Public Service, the School of New Oearning, the College of Commerce, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Continuing and Professional Education. Starting inter- and trans-disciplinary courses on sustainability or establishing a School of Sustainability would require consensus among faculty, staff and students and may be difficult to materialize in a short-time frame but it must be done in the near future. To take one step forward, I believe that it is feasible to establish a 4-credit ‘ethics & sustainability’ course, change the study abroad program to 6-credit course, and integrate ‘guide to sustainability at DePaul’, ‘Vincentian mission’ and ‘tours of sustainability-related resources on campus’ in new student orientation. Increasing the number of paid sustainability opportunities on campus for students is also a possible change DePaul can bring to students.

Posted by Toyoko Sakamaki

[Reference]
Stephens, Jennie C., Maria E. Hernandez, Mikael Roman, Amanda C. Graham, Roland W. Scholz. 2008. Higher education as a change agent for sustainability in different cultures and contexts. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. Vol. 9, no. 3: 317-338

Kelley, Scott. 2009. What must be done? DePaul as Sustainable Learning Community. http://works.bepress.com/scott_kelley/11

Vincentian Identity as the Core of DePaul’s Sustainable Efforts

What distinguishes DePaul’s sustainability efforts is the Vincentian mission. For DePaul, the values of the sustainable learning community are not new but the logical extension of its strategic plan, Vision twenty 12 released on March 4, 2006. The plan declares six goals: I-Enrich academic quality, II-Prepare students to be socially responsible future leaders and engaged alumni, III-Be a model of diversity, IV-Selectively increase enrollment, V-Strengthen financial position, and VI-Further institutional DePaul’s Vincentian and Catholic identity. Four objectives under the six goals explicitly articulate our ethical responsibilities and Vincentian, Catholic and urban identity:

*Objective 1e-Provide opportunities for all students to learn ethical systems and demonstrate ethical practice;
*Objective 2b-Become a university known for its students’ lifelong commitment to social justice and civic engagement;
*Objective 6a-The board, faculty and staff will assume responsibility for the institution’s Vincentian and Catholic identity; and
*Objective 6d-Externally, be well-known for civic and community engagement and a commitment to the common good as expressions of our Vincentian, Catholic and urban identity.

The White Paper on Sustainability at DePaul University released on August 31, 2009 reaffirms our values: “The sustainable learning community requires a shared vision of integral human development that is achieved through dialogue and is marked by justice, the common good, and stewardship. This shared vision demands a heightened moral awareness and sense of social responsibility….Our Vincentian charisma requires a “bracketing in” of moral concern.”

Being aware of its mandate as a higher education institution, DePaul provides education that links economic, social, cultural and personal development across the curriculum with Vincentian identity as a core value. Students as well as faculty and staff are accustomed to analyzing what is going on, discerning what we value, and asking ourselves what must be done—as Madame de Gondi asked Vincent de Paul 400 years ago. Indeed, St. Vincent de Paul created sustainable and institutionalized solutions to address it. To follow the footsteps of Vincent de Paul, we must read the signs of our time and respond to them. We, the Depaulians, need to discern what we value and think about what kind of world we want to pass on to future generation. These are our sustainable efforts being practiced for the past 112 years since its foundation in 1898.

At DePaul, efforts in attaining a holistic view toward sustainability are made not only in classrooms but also outside of classrooms. In 2009 study abroad programs were offered in more than 40 locations throughout the world. Over 700 graduates and undergraduate students participated to see what is really going on in the world and to form vision on what should be done and what we can do. Arizona State University also sees study abroad programs as effective educational opportunities for students and includes them in its sustainable education course.

Kates (2005) states that sustainable development can be viewed as social movement and the underlying principles are the evolving product of a global dialogue. The original emphasis on economic development several decades ago and environmental protection has been broadened and deepened to include human and social notions of development and alternative views of nature (anthropocentric versus ecocentric.) However, in 2010, prevailing notions of and actions for sustainability are ‘GO-green’. The human and social aspects of environmental protection, especially from a global viewpoint, are not yet widely understood. For example, the sustainable efforts taken at U.S. universities and colleges, as represented by the members of the Association for the Advancement of sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), are directed mainly toward green initiatives.

My Google research about university/college mission statements which articulate holistic approach to sustainability found only two.

One is Bellarmine University: Its mission statement says: “The foundational Bellarmine mission statement of 1950 insisted that students must be taught to evaluate this society and to exercise their trained human powers to change it whenever necessary. Accordingly, we must continue to imbue our students with the knowledge and skills to develop solutions and opportunities—creative, serious, substantial and enduring—for a globally sustainable future….These principles, then, are the hallmarks of a Bellarmine education: Gospel values; Catholic identity; inclusive Merton spirit and sensibility. They are enacted with a commitment to excellence in all that we do; the provision of transformational educational experiences; internationalism; and global sustainability.”

The second is University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. On its website under ‘Sustainability Initiative’ UMass Dartmouth writes: “Our Mission is to assure that all graduates from UMass Dartmouth….will be environmentally literate and responsible, and work toward regional sustainability; to contribute to the international re-examination of paradigms in business, science, and technology through the establishment of educational programs that combine stellar interdisciplinary research and groundbreaking partnerships with business, non-profit groups, government agencies, and educational institutions.”

DePaul should include a statement on the front page of its website about DePaul's Vincentian heritage, its holistic approach, and its efforts toward a globally sustainable future. If revising the Mission Statement would require a long process, adding a few sentences in the vision or goals may serve to let people know of our stance and holistic approach to sustainability.

Posted by Toyoko Sakamaki
Image: Center panel of triptych, Vincent de Paul with poor at circular table of the Lord, face shown on table; dog at lower left; original in Vincentian church, chapel of Mercy, Graz, http://stvincentimages.cdm.depaul.edu/Pictures/2.%20Paintings/Austria,%20Graz,%20Vincent%20de%20Paul%20with%20poor%20at%20table.jpg

[Reference]

Kelley, Scott. 2009. What must be done? DePaul as Sustainable Learning Community. http://works.bepress.com/scott_kelley/11