Colleagues,
Just a few items this week from around the campus:
Charter for Compassion
This Friday evening in the Fine Arts Hall, Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, an internationally known peace activist and scholarwill speak about the worldwide “Charter for Compassion” at 7:30 p.m. The Charter for Compassion is a cooperative effort to restore compassionate thinking and action to the center of religious, moral and political life. At this free event, Santa Fe College will join the worldwide and growing Charter community of thousands of organizations that have signed the Charter to date. (If you haven’t seen the excellent “Charter” video developed by our students and staff last semester, you can view it here—see how many of your students and colleagues you recognize!) Rev. Dr. Campbell served for ten years as Secretary General of U.S. National Council of Churches, and as a member of the U.S. State Department’s advisory committee on Religious Freedom Abroad. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, speaking about Joan Campbell, referred to her as “a woman of courage and compassion [whose] voice helped to bring an end to the evil of apartheid.” I hope you’ll take advantage of this opportunity to hear a major figure from the world stage.
Help with Alternative Spring Break 2013
The Office of Civic Engagement in the Student Life office is partnering with UF Florida Alternative Break to offer our students the opportunity explore civil rights history and take part in a service project in Selma, Alabama, during spring break, March 2-9. The program will include training in the philosophy and practice of nonviolence advocated by Dr. Martin Luther King, participating in the 48th Commemorative Bridge Crossing Re-Enactment, and other activities. All travel arrangements will be handled by Santa Fe. However, Student Life is in search of faculty advisors to accompany this trip, and the schedule and activities may even be adjusted to accommodate any specific advisor interests. Faculty interested in accompanying this trip are encouraged to contact Kimberly Buchholz, Office of Civic Engagement and Service Specialist, as soon as possible atkimberly.buchholz@sfcollege.edu or 381-3660.
Winners at Welding
Congratulations to Professor J.T. Mahoney and his students from the welding program, who recently won top honors at a national student cutting and welding competition. The team’s project, “The Mighty D.U.C. (Dynamic Utility Converter),” was a utility vehicle converted into the ultimate mobile welding cart using mostly scrap metal found on a farm. One contest judge commented that the team from Santa Fe “demonstrated great imagination in turning what was often discarded scrap metal into works of function and beauty.” For their efforts, the team won over $4,000 in new equipment for the welding program, which the students now get to use every day. Congratulations to J.T. and the students on their outstanding and creative work.
That’s all for now. More next week!
–Ed