With the year rapidly winding to a close, we have no shortage of exciting news and events to share. In just the last week we celebrated a festive Carol Night, welcomed the American Montessori Society to campus as part of their Traveling Symposium Regional Tour, and welcomed the Connelly Foundation to campus for a site visit. I’m also pleased to share about our recent Undocuweek activities and highlight the extraordinary efforts of one of our students who is working with nonprofit HEAL to help end the cycle of poverty in Kenya.

Our community is truly blessed with exceptional faculty, staff, and students. It is my privilege to work alongside them. On behalf of everyone at the College, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a joyous Holiday Season!

Sincerely,
Bill Latimer, Ph.D., M.P.H.
President, Chestnut Hill College

Around Campus

Connelly Foundation representatives visit campus in recognition of $100,000 grant awarded in collaboration with OMC

Bill Latimer, Ph.D., M.P.H, members of the President’s Cabinet and CHC faculty members, and OMC Principal Patricia Sheetz welcomed representatives from the Connelly Foundation to campus on Tuesday, December 5 for a tour and discussion. Representing the Connelly Foundation were: Fran Burns, Executive Vice President, Tim Durkin, Vice President for Grantmaking, Stephanie Freeman, Senior Program Officer, Education and Director of Scholarship Programs, and Kim Simmons, Program Officer, Education.

After touring the OMC classroom spaces and seeing classes in action, the group spent time in the President’s Boardroom learning more about the collaborative projects being funded by the recent $100,000 award from the Connelly Foundation.

Read the full story here: CHC Receives $100,000 Grant in Support of Collaborative Programs with OMC

Undocuweek celebrates immigrant voices and highlights undocumented student experiences

From November 6th through 10th, Chestnut Hill College hosted its second annual Undocuweek, a weeklong series of events designed to allow students, faculty, and staff a chance to examine and celebrate the experiences of immigrant communities. Undocuweek’s programming was made up of a variety of events each day, including a student panel on social justice, a storytelling session with the Sisters of Saint Joseph (SSJ) and the SSJ Welcome Center staff who work with asylum seekers, a letter-writing campaign to elected officials advocating for just immigration policies, as well as story-sharing on social media all week long.  

In the days leading up to Undocuweek, the event’s planning committee of CHC students and staff members attended the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice (IFTJ) held in Washington, D.C. The Teach-In began in 1997 to honor the witness of the Jesuits and their companions who were martyred in El Salvador in 1989 for speaking out against the oppressive socio-economic structure of Salvadoran society. Since its inception, IFTJ has become the largest annual Catholic social justice gathering in the United States, bringing together high school and college students who are passionate about advocating for justice. 

During the three-day conference, CHC students Allan Keller, Xiomara Nieves, Makani Thornhill, and Rachel Yonak watched presentations from keynote speakers, took part in breakout sessions, and joined over 1,000 IFTJ participants on Capitol Hill advocating for humane migration reform and care for creation. Energized by what they learned about advocacy at the Teach-In, the CHC students brought their organizing skills back to campus.

Read the full story here: CHC Undocuweek Celebrates Immigrant Voices and Highlights Undocumented Student Experiences

CHC graduate student Jennifer Musick Wright working to help end the cycle of poverty in Kenya with nonprofit ‘HEAL’

Every child matters. Those are the words that define HEAL: Health, Education, Ample Nutrition, and Love, a non-profit organization committed to providing "a nurturing home environment and access to quality education for orphans and vulnerable children," and providing opportunities for children to "grow beyond the cycle of poverty into which they were born."

Following two impactful volunteer experiences at orphanages in Zimbabwe and Kenya, one as a senior in high school and the other as a sophomore at Wagner College, Jennifer Musick Wright founded HEAL, committed to "raising our world, one child at a time." Now, as a student in Chestnut Hill College's Clinical and Counseling Psychology program and Executive Director of HEAL, Wright is using her education to help further her goals of helping provide a better world for orphans and vulnerable children around the world.

“When I was looking for programs, I saw that Chestnut Hill College was in the Top 25 in child psychology," notes Wright. "I like that the spiritual energy and the mission align with what I’ve done so far in life. When I walked through the Hall of Philanthropy for the first time, I knew this was where I was supposed to be.”

Read the full story here: CHC Graduate Student Jennifer Musick Wright Working to Help End the Cycle of Poverty in Kenya with Nonprofit 'HEAL'

CHC’s Carol Night continues with special performances from SSJs, OMC, and College alumni

Read the full story with full video of the concert here: CHC's Carol Night Continues with Special Performances from SSJs, OMC, and College Alumni

Read previous issues of From the President's Desk - Chestnut Hill College newsletter here.