Core Areas

Global Citizenship, Community Service, Academic/Service-Learning, Leadership & Social Responsibility, and Religion & Spirituality are the Center's five core areas designed to enhance the Manhattanville student college experience.  Each core area offers students the opportunity to connect service with leadership resulting in elevated awareness of issues, a stronger sense of community, and a greater desire to be catalysts for change.

Global Citizenship Program (GCP)

Coordinator: Paolo Tagatac |  914.323.5186  |  tagatacp@mville.edu 

Site page: www.mville.edu/Duchesne/Global.htm

Global Citizenship inspires a spirit of community through the celebration of culture and the promotion of positive, meaningful relationships across group lines.  Community is "common unity.”  It is the grounding - the root from which one branches out to develop. When the community is healthy, the individual feeds the collective and the collective nurtures the individual.  Community is intentional.  At some point, each person must make a decision to be connected. 

Manhattanville College is a community.  From across the globe, from down the street, from various ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, physical abilities, and socioeconomic classes, we have gathered here.  With us we bring a myriad of experiences, perspectives, values, goals and opinions. As an academic institution, we are compelled to encourage a healthy discourse.  It is in the sharing of ideas that we are inspired to examine our own concepts, develop our thinking and create new perspectives.

Community requires balance.  While freedom of expression is highly valued, one must keep an eye toward the well being of the whole.  Where there is an exchange of ideas, there is bound to be disagreement.  In a community, we strive to create an environment where we can disagree without being destructive.

The Global Citizenship program serves as a catalyst for creating an informed and enriched community through use of its resource library, programs, and the encouragement of collaboration amongst student organizations, academic departments, administrative offices, and community groups.

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Community Service Program (CSP)

Coordinator: Craig K. Donnelly, Jr. |  914.323.5223  | donnellyc@mville.edu  

Site page: www.mville.edu/Duchesne/CommunityService.htm

Community Service is a partnership of humanity between individuals, communities, and entities for social and economic development. 

If we are to promote a philosophy and vision of community, and be successful in actually building community, we must organize the basic principles of the philosophy that guide our activities, in a way that we can and should promote to the participants in our projects. Thus, this following set of principles and guidelines is posed as a "first hypothesis", to be refined and corrected and expanded, through a process of community dialogue that seeks an informed and wise consensus:[1]

Inclusivity.  Everyone who wishes to be is included in our community

Diversity. We respect the differences between human beings; the strength and vitality of community does not depend on uniformity or widespread agreement on highly specific issues

Dialogue.  Everyone is a student as well as a teacher

The Ethic of Reciprocity. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Golden Rule)"

Democracy. Decisions affecting the group should be made by the group

Wisdom. "Give me the strength to change what I can, to leave alone what I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference"

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Academic / Service-Learning (ASL) 

Coordinator: Karen King-Sheridan |  914.323.7178  | kingsheridank@mville.edu  

Site page: www.mville.edu/Duchesne/Academic.htm

Academic/Service-Learning programs integrate service with reciprocal learning, critical thinking, social analysis and personal reflection to promote responsible, ethical citizenship.

The ASL program supports educational activities, programs, and curricula (carried out in partnership with a public or non-profit agency, organization, or project in the community) that promote student learning through experiences associated with volunteerism or community service.

ASL experiences and opportunities incorporate both curricular and co-curricular service-learning.  Curricular Service-Learning is integrated into an academic course and carries academic credit.  Co-curricular Service-Learning complements academic work, but is not directly connected to a course or academic program and does not carry academic credit.

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Leadership & Social Responsibility (LSR)

Site page: www.mville.edu/Duchesne/Leadership.htm

Leadership & Social Responsibility links students with service opportunities to enhance their effectiveness as agents of change. LSR experiences connect voluntary action with global concerns and economic realities in pursuit of conflict resolution, equity, equality, and quality of life for all individuals resulting in all members of society having the same basic rights, security, opportunities, obligations and social benefits.  The program incorporates training, meaningful service, leadership development, and structured reflection as core elements.

Training Student volunteers are prepared for the tasks they will perform.  Roles and responsibilities of students, staff, schools, parents, the community, and organizations are clear and agreed upon by all participants.  Intended service outcomes are defined in collaboration with those being served. 

Meaningful Service.  Service performed meets a real need.  Community agency staff and/or recipients of service are consulted about the nature and scope of their needs and way students can address them.  The service learning experience is designed to be sensitive to developmental levels, gender, multi-cultural issues, and individual learning styles.

Leadership Development.  Volunteers take responsibility for development and management of programs and service experiences.  Service integrates individual accountability with cooperative group work through skills development, reflection, celebration, and application of learning in new situations to foster appreciation of all people. 

Structured Reflection & Recognition.  Opportunities for reflection are included throughout the service experience so that students “learn how to learn from experience.”

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Religion & Spirituality (RS)

Coordinator: Fr. Wil Tyrrell |  914.323.5341  | tyrellw@mville.edu   

Jewish Chaplain & JSA Advisor: Rabbi Bruce Freyer | 914.323.5205 | freyerb@mville.edu 

Muslim Chaplain & MSA Advisor: Marwa Ali Saied | 914.323.5205 | 

Protestant Chaplain: Rev. Gawaan DeLeeuw | 914.323.5205 | 

Site page: www.mville.edu/Duchesne/Religion.htm

Guided by the principle that each religious tradition is an equally valued part of our community, interfaith programs support the multi-faith spiritual life of all religious traditions present at Manhattanville.

The Religion & Spirituality program is a "confluence" -- a coming together of many perspectives and traditions and voices, into a common framework and forum. The Manhattanville College community has a variety of options for expressing themselves, and sharing their beliefs, insights, and traditions.

The Challenge to the Global Community of Religions. "In this new ecological age of developing global community and interfaith dialogue, the world religions face what is perhaps the greatest challenge that they have ever encountered. Each is inspired by a unique vision of the divine and has a distinct cultural identity. At the same time, each perceives the divine as the source of unity and peace. The challenge is to preserve their religious and cultural uniqueness without letting it operate as a cause of narrow and divisive sectarianism that contradicts the vision of unity and peace. It is a question of whether the healing light of religious vision will overcome the social and ideological issues that underline much of the conflict between religions."[1]

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Objectives

Manhattanville College

Founders Hall, G-33  |   2900 Purchase Street  |   Purchase, NY 10577
    Main: (914) 323.3170  |  Fax:  (914) 323.1268  |  Email:  duchesne@mville.edu   |   URL: www.mville.edu/DUCHESNE