Three Holy Cross Priests to attend Center for Social Concerns 30th Anniversary Open House

The University of Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns, founded in 1983, is celebrating its 30th anniversary with an open house from 4:30 to 6 p.m. today (April 29, 2013) in the Geddes Hall Coffee House.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 5 p.m.

The Centeris Notre Dame’s community-based learning, research and service center, a place where faith and action, service and learning, research and resolve intersect. Over the past 30 years, the CSC has grown to offer hundreds of community-based courses, community-based research, and service opportunities that allow students and faculty to better understand–and respond to–poverty and injustice grounded in the 2,000 year-old Catholic social tradition. A recent study conducted by the Center showed that nearly 70 percent of Notre Dame’s undergraduate alumni are engaged in some form of service 10 years after graduation, a testament to the lasting influence of the Center’s programs, which also can be seen in numbers.

In the Center’s first 30 years:

• More than 18,050 students have taken a one credit seminar;
• 4,800 students participated in the Summer Service Learning Program;
• 6,892 students took the Appalachia Seminar;
• 7,841 students completed an Urban Plunge Seminar;
• 534 students participated in the International Summer Service Learning Program;
• More than 4,200 graduates have entered full-time post-graduate service; and
• Millions of hours of service have been contributed to communities worldwide.

Beyond its own courses and programs, the Center also reaches out to faculty across disciplines to assist in community-based learning courses and community-based research. Last year, the Center facilitated 172 community-based courses and saw 240 students and 27 faculty engaged in community-based research.

All three executive directors of the Center, founding executive director Rev. Don McNeill, C.S.C.; Rev. William M. Lies, C.S.C., and Rev. Paul V. Kollman, C.S.C., will attend the open house.

Contact: John M. Guimond, director of communications, Center for Social Concerns, 574-631-3209, John.Guimond.2@nd.edu

Originally published by John Guimond at news.nd.edu on April 26, 2013.