Traveling to Ireland to Work on SBU's Mychal Judge Center

As the next step in the development of the Father Mychal Judge Center at St. Bonaventure University, a core group of faculty and staff left this week for a visit to Northern Ireland.

During their time in Northern Ireland, the group will participate in programming related to Ireland’s educational, economic, political, and reconciliation issues, talk with other higher education faculty and administrators, meet community members who have been involved in the Irish peace process, and identify pedagogical and research areas of common interest to faculty at St. Bonaventure and the Irish colleges. The opportunity to offer St. Bonaventure courses in Northern Ireland and/or to establish a study abroad program at a Northern Ireland college will also be pursued.

The Father Mychal Judge Center for Irish Exchange and Understanding will provide opportunities for students to explore the issues that face the people of Ireland as they respond to the end of a century of violent conflict.

“We will be looking at a multidisciplinary approach to curriculum, with the idea of helping our students have a deeper appreciation of reconciliation,” said Larry Sorokes, associate vice president for Franciscan Mission and director of the Mychal Judge Center. “Initially, we’ll be looking at how to start mapping our curriculum in Clare College,” the university’s core curriculum.

In addition to Sorokes, members of the team traveling abroad are:

· Dr. David DiMattio, dean of Clare College;

· Alice Sayegh, director of International Studies/Study Abroad Programs;

· Carole McNall, assistant professor of journalism/mass communication;

· Leslie Chambers, lecturer in undergraduate teacher education;

· Michael Kasperski, lecturer in accounting and internship director of the School of Business; and

· Mark Phillips, academic skills specialist with the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP).


Also serving as part of the team is Dr. Neal Carter, associate professor of political science, who is unable to join the group abroad.

The group’s visit will begin in the Ballycastle region on the north coast of Ireland at the Corrymeela Community’s retreat center. This center, Sorokes said, has attained international acclaim for its development of community dialogue models, service learning, and global citizenship issues. The St. Bonaventure contingent will have the opportunity to meet with other faculty from Northern Ireland, leaders of peace organizations, and journalists from the BBC and other organizations. The Corrymeela visit will conclude with a field trip to the city of Derry, the scene of the historic “Bloody Sunday” in 1972.

The group will then spend several days in the Belfast area, meeting with faculty and staff from St. Mary’s University College and Queen’s University about opportunities to collaborate on courses, new curricula, service experiences, research, and student and faculty exchanges.

While in Belfast, the St. Bonaventure group will also meet with representatives from the British Council to discuss Northern Ireland’s Business Education Initiative, which provides students from Northern Ireland with an international experience through a yearlong placement in a U.S. school. St. Bonaventure will welcome its first student through the program this fall. The Irish student will be enrolled in business classes, obtain an internship with a U.S. business, and will give campus/community presentations about Northern Ireland each semester. Opportunities for reciprocal participation in the BEI project will be explored; applications from qualified SBU students to spend a semester or full academic year in Northern Ireland may become available for 2010-11.

A portion of the trip is being funded through a Martine Faculty Endowment for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning in Clare College. The balance of the cost has been provided by private gifts and grants to the university. Going forward, the Father Mychal Judge Center is expected to receive a Congressionally-directed grant this year to continue program planning and implementation, support faculty and student exchanges, and develop additional international partnerships.

Background on the Father Mychal Judge Center:
In establishing this center, St. Bonaventure recognizes the strong Irish heritage of its founder, Nicholas Devereux, the centuries-old and significant contributions of the Franciscan friars in Ireland, and the university’s long-standing commitment to servant leadership and social entrepreneurship.

Fr. Mychal Judge, O.F.M., was famous for the many ways in which he was committed to serving the poor, friendless, and disenfranchised. He was a counselor, pastor, fire chaplain, and peacemaker, and his work focused on the promotion of reconciliation, whether in addressing the AIDS crisis of the 1980s or the Irish peace process of the 1990s. Fr. Mychal died a hero’s death on Sept. 11, 2001, while serving as chaplain to New York City firefighters at the World Trade Center.

Fr. Mychal was a graduate of St. Bonaventure and a former administrator at Siena College in Albany.

More information about the Mychal Judge Center at St. Bonaventure is available here: http://www.sbu.edu/campus-life.aspx?id=19176.