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 JAMES AND EIGEL CENTER FOR COMMUNITY-ENGAGED LEARNING


The Center
Connecting students to the real world is essential to a Jesuit education. The connection is enhanced at Xavier through the establishment of the James and Delrose Eigel Center for Community-Engaged Learning.

The Eigel Center is the hub of a network of programs and functions that extend the campus into the community. It is a catalyst for the University's involvement in partnerships that advance learning and pursue social justice through practices of direct service, community building and public policy advocacy.

The Focus
The Eigel Center's objectives are to coordinate and enhance the University's community-engagement efforts by focusing on:

  • Supporting faculty initiatives and participation.
  • Promoting new opportunities for student engagement.
  • Mobilizing resources to support engagement activities.
  • Helping to manage Xavier's external partnerships.

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The Vision
During his inaugural speech in September 2001, Xavier University President Michael J. Graham, S.J., keenly aware of the impact a university and its surrounding region can have on each other, posed a challenging idea:

"What is the great conversation that might occur between [us] if we found ourselves around a common table ...? What might we study then, teach then, learn then, research, report and write about then?"

The answers are being realized with the help of the James and Delrose Eigel Center for Community-Engaged Learning.

The Eigel Center serves as a catalyst for the efforts of faculty, students, administrators and staff to partner with the broader community to promote student learning and community well-being. It answers the call in the University's strategic plan for a "community-engaged learning network" by serving as its hub. And most important it builds on Xavier's strong tradition of service by encouraging students to dig deeper to discover the mutual benefits of community engagement.