As we come through this crisis – and we will – what is the essence of Nazareth that will help us emerge with strength and positive impact? What key words describe the compelling meaning and spirit of Nazareth? What core commitments and values define the enduring essence of the College?
As a faculty, we have an unshakable commitment to our students--their learning and their well-being as a whole. I believe this is what sustained us through the difficult times this semester and it is what will help us to navigate the obstacles ahead.
ReplyDeleteThe term unity still really resonate with me when thinking about the essence of Nazareth in this time. I feel like the campus community unified to problem solve in this unprecedented time. I've felt the unified support from my supervisors and fellow colleagues as we adjust and adapt to new ways of doing things. I've also felt this unity/togetherness as I've talked with students through the last weeks of the semester. They too have acknowledge that we are all in this together. This strong sense of community and unity is what truly makes this a great place to work in good and challenging times.
ReplyDeleteHaving worked at another university for seven years before coming to Naz, I have to say that the other place felt like an institution; Nazareth feels like a family.
ReplyDeleteFaculty and staff tend to be passionate about their role in advancing the college's vision, mission and values. This combination of passion and commitment are at the heart of Nazareth.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that some of our greatest strengths are the relationships between students and faculty, the ability to come together as a group, and the wide array of service and experientially based learning opportunities. Values may include empathy, communication, service to the community, and perseverance. We may not always be perfect in operating according to these values all the time but it seems that people are committed and striving to embody them. What I love most about Nazareth is the sense of community that I have felt along the way with colleagues and students.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that impossible perfection is not the enemy of striving for goodness at Nazareth!
DeleteEmerge is a great word. Our greatest strengths are the bonds we make. By exploring the differences in our community, and continuously explore, we do emerge as a family. Families are best for healing. And that’s what we’ll do this year and many to come.
ReplyDeleteWhat will help us emerge with strength and positivity is Nazareth's unique ability to adapt in a way that is calculated and compassionate; doing so with logic and data without compromising our values of community, inclusion, and betterment. Nazareth is defined by the eagerness of its people to consider and act outside of their own self interest, engage in something transformational, and come back to re-evaluate and reflect upon the experience with the goal of growing from it.
ReplyDeleteKey words: Creativity, compassion and a willingness to evolve. We live within the world of creativity and compassion. My hope is that we carry those values and work with us, but are bold and brave enough to be willing to change, evolve and re-imagine all that we do.
ReplyDeleteDedication and "willingness" to get the job done describes the people who work at Naz. Our fortitude and determination will propel us in to the future.
ReplyDeleteI think our decisions are always based on what is best for the student. With that mindset I feel our community will continue to provide the services and experiences that separates us from what other schools will be doing.
ReplyDeleteOur belief in and commitment to the transformational power of what we do with individual students AND how this intersects with making a difference in our community and beyond. We are not only educating next generations of engaged citizens, but also recognize the responsibility of higher education, and our institution in particular, to be part of systemic change.
ReplyDeleteCommunity, connection, and collaboration are key words. We are fully committed to supporting our students and helping them to discover and develop their strengths. We value building connections and collaborating with each other, among our programs, and with the community beyond Nazareth. These are essential elements of the Nazareth experience and holding onto them despite the current challenges will help us to stay and emerge strong.
ReplyDeleteThe people! Thats what makes Nazareth great. Nazareth is a people first community. We are a family environment!
ReplyDeleteI so agree!
DeleteAs a parent, I would want to send my child to Nazareth because they are getting great teachers who are motivated to get to know their students as people. I accept the danger of C-19 as extremely real and dangerous. That said I am hoping we can creatively retain the deep engagement with each other that is in my mind, the hallmark of a Nazareth College education.
ReplyDeleteEngagement comes to mind as the word that ties our community together. To endure through the next months of change, it is important for our faculty, staff and our Sodexo partners to be engaged, and create conversations, as we formulate the best plan going forward. Transparency is key to communication, especially with our returning and our new incoming students.
ReplyDeleteInnovation, commitment and compassion. Thinking of our grad students in particular, many of them are working professionals who have been struggling with the “triple whammy” of working from home, parenting and teaching their kids and pursuing their degrees. Developing innovative teaching methodologies that demonstrate compassion for our students’ lives while maintaining a commitment to excellence is what will get us—and out students—through. That is the uniqueness of Naz.
ReplyDeleteI am moved by the compassionate humanity that centers Nazareth. Naz's commitment to students is enhanced by this compassionate humanity, as your post so beautifully describes.
DeleteStudent-centered decisions. We care about our students, and we care about each other. While we are somewhat slow to change, we work hard and will do whatever it takes to get the job done.
ReplyDeletePersonal connections, relationships and perseverance keep us going. We are used to hard work and most of us really care about what we do.
ReplyDeleteEngagement, Service, and Care were the first three words that came to mind when I read the question. We are engaged with the students, the community, and beyond. We have always been in this together and we will emerge together by engaging with one another in service of the highest good because we care so deeply.
ReplyDeleteThe ripple effect.
ReplyDeleteDoing good for the sake of doing good - not for glory or recognition. Just because it's the right thing to do.
Drive and purpose inextricably linked with humility and compassion.
Thanks to all for these wonderful reflections on the essence of Nazareth. I am excited to hear more!
DeleteNazareth's story is like A Tale of Two Cities. There is no doubt that it is a special place with people willing to do whatever it takes to make this a better world. It also has its struggles and while there is work to be done, most people are willing and open to doing that work. I was reminded of this in the Workshopallooza event on Wokeness. 60 people were in that workshop, grappling with difficult ideas and conversations about our Nazareth community. I felt so hopeful that so many people were interested and willing to be uncomfortable. Naz has a special energy...sometimes, we need someone to ignite it. But, it's there.
ReplyDeleteEngagement, community, student-centeredness, meaningful relationships between faculty, staff, and students, compassion for student situations yet accountability, adaptabilit. . . . .and more. . . . . as my colleagues have written above all come to mind. While all this is true and so meaningful to all of us, we need to be ever mindful when there are students/groups/identities who do not feel fully included and who will be impacted in different and challenging ways by the larger structural inequality issues which influence all social institutions. Being truly inclusive and socially just will be among our ongoing goals.
ReplyDeleteThe Nazareth Community is always unified by our shared compassion to our students and towards each other, irrespective of the role we serve or the position we hold. When the World was forced to find ways to accept this new unforeseen reality, we as a family not only were able to hold each other tighter, but also explored opportunities hidden in this troubling time to educate our students better. We ensured that our students see this difficult phase as a path of endurance that leads to resilience. If I reflect at my own journey and ask: when did I learn something that lasted with me life long? The answer would be every time I was pushed out of my comfort zone and thrown into unanticipated challenges. I feel this perplexing time gives us a unique opportunity to communicate this life lesson to our students and I believe when this situation would be finally over, we will all emerge as even better educators in a much stronger Nazareth family.
ReplyDeleteI have always thought the following words from our founding ideals in 1924 captured well what Nazareth College aspired to be. Reaffirmed and extended in 1964 and 1985, “older scholars” will recognize these words as portions of this statement were read at every convocation and commencement ceremony: “A community of older and younger scholars learning and living together, a community where people extend to one another compassion and kindness . . .a community of older and younger scholars conscious of their indebtedness to the past and their responsibility to the future. . . a community that seeks to define itself both as a model for human interaction and as an advocate of human values. . . The teachers and students who make up this academic community are dedicated to the effective assimilation and communication of available knowledge and inherited wisdom received from scholars of the past. Nazareth’s program of studies, therefore, is traditional in that it does not ignore the achievements of the past. Yet no academic community can rest content with the achievements of the past; it must encourage fresh inquiry into every possible area of intelligible reality. Its program, therefore, must promote a dynamic involvement in a cooperative search for new knowledge and deeper wisdom.”
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ReplyDeleteAs others have said, the core of Nazareth is connection and dedication to our community (local and global). In our graduate program, the students from other undergraduate institutions often comment on the individualized nature of everything we do. They are surprised that we actually know who they, where they have come from, and where they are going. And we truly care about them as an individual - this sometimes surprises them! So many facets of the campus community strive to ensure that students have a meaningful and individualized experience that is "naz". Sometimes this dedication can also present challenges and inefficiencies, but perhaps they are worth it in the end. I look forward to reflecting on the essential elements of Naz more as we move forward in these challenging times.
ReplyDeleteWe think that *community* is the best word to sum this up. We believe that we as a college have an impressively strong sense of community among faculty, staff, and students--we are a place where people genuinely care about each other not just in terms of their formally defined roles, but as fellow human beings. This is as "unalienating" a workplace as we think it is possible to have embedded in a capitalist economy. And in our formal educational offerings, we prepare the greatest number of students for the "helping" professions, and the extensive work (both officially and unofficially) that faculty and students engage in to be involved in the wider Rochester and US community. Caring about what happens to other people, particularly those with less power, and nurturing and supporting the talent, skills, and efforts of those who want to make a difference in the world is the ethos of Nazareth that will help guide us through these difficult times and come out on the other side with an even stronger commitment to making the world a better place.
ReplyDeleteWhen Nazareth College made the decision to give money back to their current students during the pandemic, it showed class, and compassion. Nazareth made their student's a priority and was one of the first college's around the nation to do this!! Amazing!! One of the first words that comes to mind when I think of the Nazareth spirit is GRIT (courage and resolve, strength of character)! Additionally, Nazareth's spirit is POSITIVE and is always looking for new OPPORTUNITIES to move forward into the future and find ways for continual improvement. The core commitments and values that define the college, is their dedication to students and making them a top priority, ALWAYS!!!! Whether it's an
ReplyDeleteincoming new student, a current student or an alum, Nazareth college never disappoints!!!!
I am particularly inspired by Nazareth as a "scholar-practitioner" community. We actually do the work. We are in the community and we involve the community. And...we ask the big and hard questions. We think, study, create, and share knowledge. We take an action-oriented stance. We teach and learn because we want to continue to be "do-ers" in this world.
ReplyDeleteI spoke with an alum from the class of '63 yesterday. She shared that she still draws on her Nazareth experience, having developed resilience, to see her through the ups and downs of life. Similarly, I believe the ability to observe societal needs and to seek ways to meet them is a hallmark of Nazareth.
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