Proposals

Proposals that have received funding from the Year of the City Coordinating Committee

Faculty and Academic Programs
Administration
Staff
Students
Alumni and Friends in Baltimore

Faculty and Academic Programs Proposals

American Studies Interest Group (Jean Lee Cole, English)
A monthly series of trips and discussions, during the 2006-7 year, focused on Baltimore and open to the entire Loyola community. Possible events: A bus tour of Baltimore neighborhoods; a tour of the newly reopened Baltimore Basilica; visit to the Irish Railroad Workers' Museum; discussion of Poe and the Poe-Toaster; H.L. Mencken, reading and discussion; a walking tour of Homeland, focusing on Olmstead; Anne Tyler or Laura Lippmann.

Baltimore: Its History and Architecture (Jack Breihan, History)
This will be a new course offered by the History Department. It will examine the history of Baltimore since its foundation in 1729: its growth as a center of trade and industry, its tumultuous 19th-century politics, and especially its industrial decline and unexpected revival in the 20th century. The city’s historic buildings and neighborhoods will be a principal focus of the course; students will be encouraged to leave campus to study them.

The Baltimore Colloquium (Jack Breihan, History)
15-25 faculty from across the curriculum will meet together 3 times each semester to examine the social realities of Baltimore from various academic perspectives. Most sessions will consist of presentations by Loyola faculty studying Baltimore, but occasionally there might be an outside speaker or bus tour.

The Urban Minister and Care: For God, Congregation and Self (Kevin Gillespie, SJ, Pastoral Counseling)
Loyola’s Graduate Department of Pastoral Counseling and Spiritual Care invites interested persons to join urban ministers from the Baltimore-Washington area for a day of dialogue and deliberation on the challenges and opportunities of urban care. The event addresses issues such as building congregational strategies, developing a relationship with God and creating approaches to self care.

CCLS Lecture Series: P.A. Miller (Sharon Nell, Modern Languages and Literatures)
“I Get Around: Desire and Metonymy on the Streets of Rome with Horace, Ovid and Juvenal” (Nov. 20, 2006). The Dept. of Modern Languages and Literatures is organizing talks with the Year of the City theme: what it means to live in a city in different literary and historical contexts. P.A. Miller, Director of Comparative Literature at the University of South Carolina, publishes on ancient Greek poetry, 19th century French poetry and theory. He will discuss Roman elegy and satire; they portray the city and the action of “navigating through the city” in fundamentally different ways.

Social Justice Awareness and Client Advocacy Forums (Kayliz Oakes, Pastoral Counseling)
Through sensitizing counseling students to the social justice needs within society in general and within the Baltimore region in particular, it is expected that their counseling strategies will begin to reflect this sensitivity as well as provide the empowerment for the counselor to begin to advocate for change within their sphere of influence, be it in their places of employment, within service agencies for their clients, or within their communities. To achieve this, the proposed program will provide exposure to selected community leaders in social advocacy through the written word and in person; provide demographic information about the scope of regional problems that will likely be reflected in the counseling issues presented by clients; and provide a resource bank for referrals and training.

Irish Immigration Tour HS 311 (Jack Breihan, History)
Students from Hs 311 Britain, Ireland, and America would tour Irish immigrant neighborhood in West Baltimore in connection with course material.

Panel of Writers (Peggy O'Neill & Barbara Mallonee, Core Composition Program, Writing)
The Panel of Writers is part of a larger initiative, entitled Beyond Evergreen: Writing Our Way into the City, that has students in Effective Writing courses writing and researching essays about Baltimore and cities in general. Twice during the academic year, a panel of local writers will discuss how Baltimore influenced their writing, how they have conducted research about the city, and the role research plays in their writing process. Students will use the panel in multiple ways, for example as a source to learn about Baltimore as well as a source on how to do research. In preparation for each panel, students will read material--most likely essays or excerpts--written by the panel participants.

Anthology, Beyond Evergreen (Peggy O'Neill & Barbara Mallonee, Core Composition Program, Writing)
This is the culminating project of a larger initiative, the curricular infusion of the Year of the City into Effective Writing courses. The anthology will be a collection of "best" essays written and selected by students in Effective Writing sections. The essays will be about issues and topics specific to Baltimore or contemporary cities in general. The anthology will be distributed to the incoming first-year class of 2007 as a way to introduce them to Baltimore during summer or fall orientation. This will provide the students composing the essays with a real audience and purpose, concepts important for developing writers.

Restoring Baltimore (Michael Braden, SJ, Communication)
“Restoring Baltimore” is a student-produced, faculty-supervised multimedia project, the goal of which is to document, in a variety of media, the revitalization of the landmarks, neighborhoods and homes of Baltimore. The Restoring Baltimore Project proposes to harness the talents and skills of students and faculty in video and audio production, graphics, journalism, and the fine arts to document the landmarks, neighborhoods, and historic homes of Baltimore, to examine the progress being made to revitalized those areas, and to explore the impact all this is having on the people of those Baltimore neighborhoods.

CCLS Lecture Series: Peter I. Barta (Sharon Nell, Modern Languages and Literatures)
“Anti-Imperial Discourse and the Occidentalised Metropolis”: MLL is organizing talks next year with the “Year of the City” theme: what it means to live in a city in different literary & historical contexts and how the city is theorized. Peter I. Barta, of the University of Surrey, UK, publishes on literary theory and Russian, British and German literature and film.

"Classical Paris" (Thomas D. McCreight Classics)
Prof. Lillian Doherty, Assoc. Prof. of Classics at UMCP, teaches a spring-break course on the influence of Classical architecture in modern Paris. Prof. Doherty is a very productive scholar and also an active lecturer, having presented talks on a wide range of topics to audiences of various types. Her experiences with this study group on the classical roots and influence of urbanism in one of the world's great cities will be the subject of an upcoming presentation at a professional conference.

Access to Civil Justice Project (John Gray, Law and Social Responsibility)
The event has two components: (1) a panel discussion that highlights issues related to access to justice in Baltimore City. Panelists from organizations such as the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Council will discuss topics such as the cost of litigation and access to legal rights and remedies for Baltimore City residents; (2) an internship fair that will link students to internship opportunities with local agencies that provide legal services to Baltimore City residents, especially resident with limited financial means.

RE 722 Children's Literature Speakers Series (Wendy Smith, Education)
Local authors of children's books will be invited to speak to class participants and others (up to 25 students) about social justice issues in Baltimore City and how these issues influence their writing. Six authors will be invited to speak over the course of the semester.

City Comparison Project: Baltimore and Montreal (Catherine Savell, Modern Languages)
Students of French 104 Alpha and FR 201 will research similarities and differences of Baltimore and Montreal while doing a "cultural treasure hunt." Explorations will focus on specific landmarks in both cities, including historic monuments, churches, museums, shops, universities, sports facilities, presence of homeless persons, hospitals, public transportation, etc. The comparison of the cities will foster greater knowledge about Baltimore, cultural awareness, and analysis of civic values and priorities.

Baltimore History Today and Tomorrow (Jack Breihan, History)
As part of the 2007 Humanities Symposium, the History Department will present a discussion of recent trends in the history of Baltimore, with suggestions for future work needed. Panelists will be local historians who have recently published on Baltimore history. Examples: Jessical Elfenbein (University of Baltimore), Ed Orser (University of Maryland at Baltimore County), Ken Durr (History Associates), Mary Ellen Heyward (independent scholar). Jack Breihan will moderate.

Athena Community Collaborative (Diana Samet, Communication)
This collaborative venture between graphic design classes at Loyola and the Student Sharing Coalition, a local non-profit, will produce a book with the working title The Underground Student Handbook for Social Change and Action. The book will encompass photos of youth service projects in Baltimore, reflections of youth working on homeless issues, poems, examples of advocacy projects created by youth, some statistical information on Baltimore’s urban issues, selected highlights of partner CBO’s, interviews with middle school youth focused on community change, etc. The book will serve as a tool to inspire other youth to take action, will educate the community about potential projects and how youth are powerful change agents, and create an additional funding stream to fuel SSC’s ongoing mission and programs.

Jim Kelley Lecture: Housing (Graham McAleer, Philosophy)
Jim Kelley is an expert on Catholic social thought and law. He runs the clinic program at University of Baltimore's School of Law where he oversees helping poor persons with their housing needs in Baltimore. In light of his concrete knowledge of the city and its poverty, he will examine the needs of the poor against the horizon of the Catholic intellectual and faith traditions.

Keith Lilley Lecture (Graham McAleer, Philosophy)
An urban geographer and author of City and Cosmos, Lilley shows how medieval theology and political philosophy shaped the structure of medieval cities. More broadly, he wonders what role shared meanings can have on urban dwelling. The talk will examine the contributions of theology to the crucial task of humanizing city development.

Write Me with Art! (Mary Beth Akre, Fine Arts)
Write Me With Art! is a pen pal program, matching Loyola students with 2nd-4th graders in the after-school program at St. Frances Academy. Students create art postcards, and then write to each other on the backs of the cards. Through this program, Loyola students are promoting literacy and advocating the arts. The visual arts support the literary arts, allowing a positive and personal direct connection between members of two different communities in Baltimore.

Frederick Douglass Walking Tour (Richard Blum, Diversity Committee)
The Diversity Committee is sponsoring a trip to Fells Point which will include a walking tour to the Baltimore places of Frederick Douglass (slave market, house where he lived, house he owned, etc.). This tour will be guided by BBH Tours, Louis C. Fields and includes visit to the Douglass-Myers Museum on Thames Street. Fells Point is known for its entertainment sites, this tour will shed another light on the life and history of this city. It will also guide us to one of the roots of poverty and social problems of Baltimore.

David Simon Lecture (Jean Lee Cole, English)
David Simon, creator and executive director of the acclaimed HBO series, The Wire, will come to Loyola to speak about the relationship between media, art, and social justice, using his experiences in creating The Wire and writing Homicide: Life on the Killing Streets and The Corner—all set in Baltimore and deeply concerned with urban issues. His books and programs have been a wake-up call to America to confront what he calls the "other America"—poor, black (mostly), and lacking in opportunities. This presentation will bring a widely recognized and respected Baltimorean to campus to discuss issues confronting Baltimore and cities across the nation, including the drug trade, the educational system, and corrupt or dysfunctional city institutions.

Administration Proposals

“Good Neighbor”: Training for Student Leaders (Sara Scalzo, Student Development)
The intent of this program is to help student leaders look at three main questions and to introduce them to the neighborhoods in Baltimore. What makes a home? What does it mean to be a good neighbor? How are students neighbors to each other and to the people in Baltimore? This will be done through interactive presentations, the use of B'MORE a game created for this purpose, a multimedia presentation on the neighborhoods in Baltimore and small group discussion.

Development of the St. Frances Academy Digital Library (Library staff)
Pilot project to digitize the materials needed for course instruction and assignments for high school students. Four faculty members in four disciplines will identify relevant materials needed for students to access during the academic year to produce good school assignments. LNDL will digitize and make materials available on our server. This will scale to a long-term project to develop a digital library for all subjects taught.

Multicultural Awareness Program: Baltimore Cultural Tour (Rodney Parker, ALANA Services)
The Multicultural Awareness Program, which introduces ALANA freshman to the College and the larger Baltimore community, is adding a new Baltimore Cultural Tour. The tour will highlight important historical and cultural aspects of Baltimore. Students will learn about the significance of the City in the struggle for civil rights and the contributions of many Baltimoreans to American history. The tour includes stops at Orchard Street Church, the Civil War Museum, Fort McHenry, St. Francis Academy, and the Great Blacks in Wax Museum. Other attractions include the Basilica, the Billie Holiday Statue, and other sites. The tour concludes with a meal at El Travador, a Latin American restaurant in Fells Point.

Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium (Leonard Brown Jr., Student Development)
The MLK Symposium is a day-long reflection on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Offered in conjunction with the Education department, the symposium focuses on the lessons of social justice from MLK and the application of social action on the public school system in Baltimore City. It will be a learning experience about the history of the civil rights movement locally and about Martin Luther King, and an examination of social action in public schools.

Kolvenbach Award Program (Lee Dahringer, Sellinger School of Business Management)
This expansion of the Kolvenbach Award program, in collaboration with the Sellinger School, will promote additional research that focuses on the role that business can and should play in responding to social and justice issues. Areas of research may include social enterprise, social entrepreneurship and social responsibility.

Southwest Quilts Enrichment Program for Sisters Academy (Margaret Musgrove, Women’s Center Quilting Guild)
This is an enrichment program using quilts of the depression - the "25 Penny Rugs" - to teach history of the depression and quilting. Workshops will train guild members who then will teach the students of Sisters Academy using songs of the depression, the Gee’s Bend stamps, the book The Quilts of Gee’s Bend and the quilting experience itself.

Return to Work Education Program (Mary DeManss and George Casey, Career Counseling Center and Human Resources)
The Career Center and Human Resources will conduct job readiness workshops that address effective resume writing, job interviewing skills, interview practices, and socialization skills for clients of Catholic Charities’ Christopher’s Place. In addition, books relating to job readiness will be contributed to Christopher Place’s library.

“Faith in the City” Visual and Graphic Arts Contest (Anne McSweeney, Campus Ministry)
Open to all members of the Loyola College Community, this contest solicits works that reflect or interpret the theme “faith in the city.” Understanding of this theme may include, but is not limited to (1) expressions or evocations of religious faith or spirituality in Baltimore; and/or (2) expressions or evocations of Loyola’s faith in the city of Baltimore.

Loyola/Notre Dame Library/St. Frances Academy Library Partnership (Library Staff/John McGinty, Loyola/Notre Dame Library)
The Loyola/Notre Dame Library has developed a partnership with the St. Frances Academy (SFA) for the development of the SFA library. This program attempts to build a long-term relationship with an inner city private high school to share the skills and experience of Loyola staff with the SFA staff in order to improve student learning and outcomes in preparation for successful college experiences. As such, the library has organized a team of nine staff volunteers to assist in improving the library collections, services, literacy and access to online materials at the St. Frances Academy (SFA). Two year goals and objectives related to the improvements have been set and agreed to by SFA administration. The number one priority is building the collection of materials needed to support the curriculum. As such the Loyola/Notre Dame Library will assist SFA in the acquisition of materials (books, etc.) for their library.

Black History Month Celebration Speaker: Kweisi Mfume (Shavalyea Wyatt, ALANA Services)
Kweisi Mfume will be the kickoff speaker for the 2007 Black History Month Celebration. His lecture examines race, its place in the political arena and, more specifically, its impact on the city of Baltimore.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium/Job Fair (Steve Miles, Theology)
Loyola has had a long-standing connection with the job fair held at St. Frances Academy. In previous years, the College community has been a source of volunteers, and our Human Resources department has interviewed applicants at the job fair. The same will be true this year, as well. In addition, Loyola has asked the St. Frances Academy/Community Center to be host to Loyola's annual MLK, Jr. Symposium. In addition to using space at the St. Frances Academy, Loyola has asked that its program be integrated into the annual job fair program. The form of the integration will include a breakfast, lunch and prayer service that will bring together members of the Loyola community and participants in the job fair. Over lunch, the conjoined audiences will listen to a speaker who is traveling from New York for the occasion. Her talk will honor the legacy of Dr. King with its focus on issues relating to economic justice and employment.

Kolvenbach Research Grants (Andrea Giampetro-Meyer, Sellinger School of Business and Management)
The Kolvenbach Awards are summer research grants that allow faculty, students, staff and administrators to conduct summer research projects that are consistent with the faith and justice goals enunciated by Rev. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach in his 2000 speech. The Kolvenbach Committee will use funds from the YOTC Committee to advertise the program.

Mother Seton Academy FAC Attack (Don Pitcher, Jesuit Identity Week)
Mother Seton is a nativity school run by the Jesuits located in Fells Point. They do not have a gym for athletic events and activities. Students from Mother Seton Academy will come to Loyola to play games on the courts at the FAC. Evergreens and Resident Assistants will help chaperone the event and play games with the children.

Migration: A Global and Local Phenomenon (Andrea Goicochea, Center for Community Service and Justice)
This program will provide an educational panel workshop for all members of the Loyola community to become educated on the local and global historical context of migrants in Baltimore. As part of the program migrants who are currently living in Baltimore will provide testimonials to their experiences of living in this urban setting. The panel of speakers will include representatives from Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Staff Proposals

Shadow Day: Educational Mentoring Program (Candra Healy, Staff Council)
The Staff Council will invite students from selected nativity schools in Baltimore City to spend a day with Loyola staff members and students to explore firsthand skills and education needed to succeed in today's and future job markets. The program will also encourage the development of relationships between these students and the Loyola community.

Urban Expedition (Recreational Sports)
Through Recreational Sports-Outdoor Adventures, students of Loyola College will have an opportunity to experience Baltimore City in a unique and hands-on way. Lead by the Outdoor Adventure Experience leaders, participants will be part of a self-sufficient weekend excursion into Baltimore City. Students equipped with all gear on their backs will be immersed into the city for an Outdoor Urban Adventure. Having to travel on foot from Loyola and use public transportation, students will travel through the city and be creatively exposed to Baltimore.

Students

Off-Campus Transportation: A Cost Effective Approach (Mike Pavlis, Resident Assistant)
The purpose of this program is to inform the Loyola student body about safe, cost-effective travel to locations in Baltimore and the surrounding communities. Such knowledge will help students to enjoy Baltimore’s rich cultural and historical sites and enable them to discover areas and attractions in the City that are currently unfamiliar to them. Plans for the program include presentations by representatives from Baltimore Collegetown, Maryland MTA (MARC, Light Rail, Bus), Supershuttle, BWI Airport Shuttle, Amtrak, and Water Taxi.

Guilford's After School Be Fit Program (Lauren K. Bivona, Loyola-Guilford Community Partnership)
In this after-school program for students of Guilford Elementary/Middle School, Loyola students will lead and supervise two-week sports units including dance, basketball, swimming, and softball. A reading component will be incorporated into the program that will address healthy lifestyle choices and good sportsmanship practices within the context of professional and local sports. If possible, Guilford students will visit Loyola College for a few special outings, such as a basketball tournament or swimming unit at the FAC, a Loyola basketball game and Loyola College's annual celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

The Crucible: From Page to Stage (Emily Rosen, Loyola College Literary Society)
This program brings students from Overlea High School to Loyola to watch the Loyola production of The Crucible and to engage in discussion of the play with Loyola English majors.

Habitat for Humanity House Dedication (Jessica Kimak, Habitat for Humanity)
Loyola College has been working on the rehabilitation of a house in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of West Baltimore for the past two years. Sandtown-Winchester is part of Baltimore's history and the way Habitat for Humanity is working to revive this area of the city is remarkable. Loyola has been honored to work with Habitat for Humanity on this project for the last two years and the house on which students have been working is finally complete. The Habitat for Humanity program and Loyola are planning a dedication for the homeowner to present her the new home. The dedication will include a schedule of speakers, singers, presentation of the keys and other events. Also, following the dedication, there will be an open house and a celebration. This dedication is the culmination of the hard work by many Loyola students and has provided them with an experience in a new part of the city every Saturday and opened their eyes to the struggles faced by many urban residents. This dedication is a honor for the woman we are giving the home to and for Loyola students to be a part of something that rebuilt a part of Baltimore.

Refugees and Asylees in Baltimore (Brendan Hogan, Lutheran Social Services)
A panel of speakers, including refugees/asylees and employees of Lutheran Social Services, and the International Rescue Committee. Each panelist will speak to educate members of the Loyola community of the plight of refugees and asylees in Baltimore as well as how the refugee community contributes to Baltimore's society and culture.