CSB and SJU each receive $100,000 grant from Mellon Foundation

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University have each received a $100,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in support of faculty formation to support liberal arts learning.

Both grants - which run until June 2017 - are distinctive in their approaches, but complement each other. Each is for planning or piloting curricular and pedagogical experiments.

The CSB grant will focus on professional development for humanities faculty that will address successfully teaching, advising and engaging both CSB's and SJU's increasingly diverse student body. The multi-pronged approach includes an extensive review of current practices, multiple and dynamic faculty development opportunities and a "crossover evaluation" conducted in partnership with SJU. The ongoing operation of the program will be overseen by Jean Keller, CSB/SJU professor of philosophy and gender studies.

The SJU grant will enable professional development for all faculty who teach First-Year Seminar, to enhance understanding of and the ability to meet the needs of first-generation students and American students of color at CSB and SJU. This grant program will be managed by Kyhl Lyndgaard, director of First-Year Seminar and the CSB/SJU Writing Center.

"I am particularly excited about the ways that these grants will support our Strategic Directions 2020 commitment to liberal arts for life," CSB president Mary Dana Hinton said. "Faculty development is a key to helping our campus meet the needs and aspirations and exceed the expectations of a 21st century student body."

"Our exceptional faculty already provide our students with a superb, holistic education, but they are always striving to be better," said SJU President Michael Hemesath. "These grants from the Mellon Foundation will support faculty development from the earliest stages of their careers.  We trust that our experiences will not only benefit students at Saint Ben's and Saint John's, but could be shared more widely as well."