Chatham’s Mission and Values: A Pulse@ChathamU Collection
As a whole new batch of students plan for their first year at ChathamU, we thought we’d take a little time to introduce them— and refresh ourselves and our returning students— to the mission and values that Chatham holds dear, as exemplified through features on Pulse@ChathamU. Though Fall 2020 will be unlike any other semester we’ve had before, we hope that our mission will serve as a guide and inspiration to everyone in our Chatham community.
Our Mission and Values:
“Chatham University prepares its students to build lives of purpose, value, and fulfilling work. Through professional skill development and liberal arts learning, Chatham prepares its graduates to be informed and engaged citizens in their communities; to recognize and respect diversity of culture, identity, and opinion; and to live sustainably.
To this end, our work in and out of the classroom prizes our core values of sustainability; women’s leadership and gender equity; community engagement; and diversity and inclusion.”
Professional Skill Development:
The folks at Career Development work tirelessly to ensure that the job market is demystified for graduating ChathamU students. Check out Associate Director of Career Development Lesli Somerset’s advice on tackling the scariest aspects of getting a job: cover letters, interviews, and salary negotiations.
Speaking of tough topics, Director of Career Development Kate Sheridan shares tips on entering the job market during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how students can get creative and build their virtual networks.
Mentorship opportunities are another way we ensure professional skill development at ChathamU. Check out these features on our Welcome Aboard program and the new Chatham Connect virtual platform, where alumni and students can link up to discuss career opportunities, mentorship, and more.
Liberal Arts Learning:
Chatham’s approach to liberal arts learning means that students take an array of classes that broaden their minds and scope of knowledge, oftentimes using innovative teaching styles like the School of Health Science’s focus on problem-based learning.
Another perk of liberal arts education? It champions discussion, engagement, and respectful discourse, like the time student Taylor Pelow made The New York Times for having a (friendly) ongoing disagreement with Associate Professor of Policy Studies Dr. Jennie Sweet-Cushman.
The move to all-virtual education in Spring 2020 was a learning and growth experience for students and faculty alike. Check out these lessons from the virtual classroom to see how our classrooms adapted to and embraced the challenges of learning in quarantine.
Community Engagement
MSUS + MBA alumna Caitlin Fadgen ‘17
Engaging with your community comes in many forms, both outside the classroom and within it too, as students who took part in the Social Activism Institute learned. Class IND130 (AKA, the Social Activism Institute) was developed in partnership with the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics and provides a sampling of what it means to engage in service, civic work, and social advocacy.
Alumni use the tools they’ve learned at Chatham to improve their communities, like Master of Sustainability + MBA alumna Caitlin Fadgen, who works with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to enhance the downtown neighborhood, creating initiatives that range from festivals like Picklesburgh to an outreach team that interacts with people experiencing homelessness or other crises to connect them with resources.
Chatham Assistant Professor Carrie Tippen received a grant from the Council of Independent Colleges and AARP as part of their Intergenerational Connections program, designed to help foster connections between generations and to benefit lower-income older adults. With it, she created “Food Story/Food Secure: Building Community Through Food-Centered Partnerships,” where students collected recipes and related stories and memories from seniors affiliated with Vintage Senior Center.
Sustainability:
Of course, our sustainability major and graduate programs in sustainability prepare out students to work within the field, like MSUS alumni James Snow, who advances sustainability through his work with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, overseeing individual, foundation, government, and corporate giving.
Studying sustainability isn’t just about selflessness. Master of Sustainability grad student Laura Allston lists the ways studying sustainability can make your world— and the whole world— a better, brighter place.
Chatham’s focus on sustainability suffuses all aspects of our educational offerings, including in fields that, on first glance, might not seem related. Assistant Professor and Practice Experience Coordinator of Chatham’s nursing programs Jennifer Wasco, DNP, RN discusses the impact climate change has on healthcare, and what nurses can do to help patients face a rapidly declining environment.
Women’s leadership and gender equity:
Chatham has a proud legacy of furthering women’s leadership, from individual empowerment to challenging inequity on the political stage. Read more on the efforts of Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics to increase gender parity in politics.
From beloved alumna Rachel Carson to current students studying biology, chemistry, and more, Chatham has always been a home for women in science. In this roundtable discussion, three members of Chatham’s science faculty shed some light on the underrepresentation of women in the sciences, including in elite laboratories, leadership roles in universities, and in the field.
As Chatham moves into a new era of all-gender classes and an expanded focus on gender equity, we strive to support all our students in the expression of their truest selves. Though June 2020 didn’t feature many typical Pride Month celebrations, we highlighted ways to have a safe and meaningful pride, emphasizing Pride’s origins in activism, demonstration, and advocating against the oppression of minority groups.
Diversity and Inclusion:
Chatham is proud to celebrate our range of voices as we work toward establishing more diverse, inclusive communities, on campus and around the world. In the wake of the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others at the hands of state-sanctioned racist violence, we gathered together community healing resources for our Black and Indigenous and People of Color (IPOC)-identifying students, faculty, staff, and community, in partnership with the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.
Striving toward anti-racist allyship and upholding the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion is vital to the Chatham community. To that end, we compiled this list of resources, readings, recommendations, and more for concrete ways to be an ally to Black and IPOC-identifying people.
Part of a commitment to diversity and inclusion means a willingness to listen, learn, grow, and change. We invited Chenoa Baker, majoring in Cultural Studies, to expand on her social posts listing ways the Chatham community can advocate for change, and share her recommendations for true inclusion at Chatham.
If you’d like to learn more about Chatham’s plans for returning to campus in Fall 2020, please click here, and make sure to fill out our feedback form if you have questions or comments.
