College of St. Catherine: Undergraduate Academic Catalog 2005-2007: Institutes and Centers

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2001-2003 Academic Catalog
2003-2005 Academic Catalog

Institutes and Centers

ABIGAIL QUIGLEY MCCARTHY CENTER FOR WOMEN
This Center actively supports the mission of the College by affirming the dignity of women and fostering their spiritual and intellectual potential. As a program, the Center coordinates the women's studies minor, seeks to integrate scholarship on women across the College curriculum and provides events and activities focusing on women. As a place, the Center houses unpublished research, books, periodicals, conference reports and other information relating to women; provides an environment for women to share ideas and creates and encourages networks for women. This congenial meeting place is located on the St. Paul campus.

CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE
The Centers of Excellence build on the College's heritage of innovative, relevant education for women. These interdisciplinary Centers create new approaches to learning and prepare students to address the complex realities of our time. Through the Centers, a student has opportunities to pursue her education in nontraditional ways, grounded in six educational commitments:

to be interdisciplinary.
to engage faculty and students in collaborative work.
to involve active, learner-centered approaches.
to include diverse participants and address issues of diversity.
to work with community partners.
to conduct action research.

Each Center is built around a theme:

The Center for Women, Science, and Technology strives to increase the number and diversity of women in science and technology fields. Students gain valuable research experience through the 3M Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Program, participate in events showcasing scientific work, serve as editors of the Center’s science and technology newsletter, and teach local 5th through 8th-grade girls about science opportunities on Science Saturdays.

The Center for Women, Economic Justice, and Public Policy addresses systemic justice issues and prepares students to serve as engaged leaders in their communities and professions. Through policy forums, voter education initiatives, book discussions, and community partnerships, students involved with the Center connect academic work to action in the world. Focus areas include poverty, disability in the workplace, and trafficking in women and children.

The Center for Women and Health seeks to improve the health and quality of life for women and their families in local and global communities. The Center sponsors and supports activities that promote women's health, advance scholarship from a holistic perspective of health, promote health professions, and encourage individuals to be advocates for themselves and their communities. Examples of action research topics include healthcare work environments, racism in the United States healthcare system, and access to traditional and Western healthcare in rural Bolivia.

The Center for Women and Spirituality emphasizes three areas of women’s leadership: women's contributions to sacred art, music, and literature; the transformative nature of spirituality in cultures and social structures around the world; and the intersection of faith, feminism, and intellectual inquiry. The Center sponsors courses in women's spirituality in global context taught in international settings; hosts artists in residence, including actors, visual artists, and dance companies; and promotes exploration of spirituality through book discussions and poetry circles.

Beyond their credit courses, students take leadership in the Centers through paid assistantships. Advanced students, mentored by a faculty or staff member, engage in research collaboration, teaching and program development. These positions expand students’ academic and professional opportunities while providing well-compensated student employment. The assistantship program is a collaboration between the Centers of Excellence and the Student Center/Student Activities.

Offices and meeting space for the Centers of Excellence are located in Coeur de Catherine 210.

URL: http://minerva.stkate.edu/academiccatalog0507.nsf/pages/institutes_centers
This page was created on 06/03/2005 and last updated on 06/03/2005.
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