Cabrini and its “education of the heart” will only grow as we begin a new chapter under the leadership of Cabrini’s new president, Dr. Marie A. George.
Nov. 15, 2008 was the Inauguration of Cabrini College’s seventh president. In her inaugural address George explained the future of our college and the direction in which she sees Cabrini becoming a nationally-recognized college.
George wants the college’s students, alumni and staff to begin a lifelong journey of social justice. Although community service has always been part of Cabrini’s core curriculum, George wants to raise the bar because she sees the students as capable of much more. The new curriculum will allow students to learn the importance of social justice.
Justice is a top priority for George and she sees it changing the lives of students and the Cabrini community. George is not only the president of our tiny college in southeastern Pennsylvania, but she is the president of a college doing something extraordinary.
She emphasized her commitment in several ways. Frequently in her address she repeated the phrase, “justice matters,” which is the name of the new core curriculum.
She also plans to travel with six seniors who have been deeply engaged in social justice work at Carbini, to work alongside them as they make a video of partnerships in Guatemala. The students are creating a video of the work the Cabrini sisters and Catholic Relief Services, our two global social justice partners, are doing in partnership with Guatemalans.
Taking social justice beyond the classroom is the best way to get students engaged in the new curriculum.
It goes deeper than learning about injustices; it takes students to the next level of actually living those injustices and knowing through experience how the rest of the world lives.
Social justice is more than volunteering your time. It’s finding some way to make a difference in the world, and Cabrini wants to be a catalyst for Catholic higher education.
Other colleges have few classes that educate their students about global issues and few students see their responsibility for the future of our nation and world. At Cabrini, however, students are immersed at the beginning of their college career so they will fully understand social justice in general and be able to relate it to their professional fields. This creates a graduating class not only ready for the world but ready to be life long advocates for change.
It seems as though Dr. George’s dedication to education and social justice stems from her personal experience at home. She has risen from a modest home to become a college president. George is from a home of hard work, love, faith and belief in the future, giving reason behind why justice matters so much to her and the future of our college.
