Fro m the p re s ident
Letter from the President “ Commitment to service is an integral component of the Neumann University educational experience.”
I
recently received a newsletter from the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU). In it, the president’s letter, entitled “Joy and Hope in Catholic Higher Education,” caught my eye. Michael Galligan-Stierle wrote that “Catholic colleges and universities are living, thriving places where joy and hope, grief and anxieties exist every day.” He then asked member institutions to submit video clips that capture “joy and hope” as they are experienced and expressed today in Catholic higher education settings. Although this issue of Accent is not in video format, the photographic images in it perfectly represent the positive virtues and emotions that Dr. Galligan-Stierle described. Just look at the photo of Marykate McGurk on the cover of this edition. She exudes both the joy and the hope that our students report is their experience when they volunteer to help the Heart of Camden project. Neumann University’s mission is based on the belief that “knowledge, while valuable in itself, is best used in the service of others.” This commitment is authentically Catholic in the Franciscan tradition, and it is integrated into every aspect of the academic and social life on our campus. Opportunities for service exist not just in Camden, but in Chester, Philadelphia, Wilmington, and other areas as distant as Louisiana and Wyoming where there is need and desire for collaboration and service. We do this through Campus Ministry, service learning, our athletic teams, and activities designed and promoted by faculty.
Our students do experience joy and hope and they role-model joy and hope. They are the living, breathing embodiment of a community that is committed to Catholic Franciscan values. We assure you that this commitment to service at Neumann University is not a secondary byproduct of a university experience but an integral component of the Neumann University educational experience. Before our students leave campus to enter the marketplace and raise families of their own, they will have known the joy and hope of providing service to those in need, and they experience joy and hope by serving. It is a lesson that we pray they will draw on and use for their lives beyond Neumann. Thank you for your support of Neumann University and its mission that combines competence with compassion and service to others with moral and ethical integrity. Pace e Bene!
Rosalie M. Mirenda President
Summer 2013 3