CMU introduces School of Public Service and Global Citizenship
Central Michigan University is offering students the opportunity to gain more global experiences and engage in ethical public service with the addition of the School of Public Service and Global Citizenship.
The school will serve as a melting pot for programs that would otherwise not have a specific home by aggregating a variety of both new and old programs. Some areas that are being introduced include Middle East and Islamic Studies, East Asian Studies and European Studies.
“It’s not just about the new curriculum,” said David Jesuit, director of the School of Public Service and Global Citizenship and associate professor of political science. “The school has been housing a variety of interdisciplinary programs that don’t seem to have a clear home. When there’s not a place for these programs, nobody fights for them.”
In addition to the new programs, other areas that presently exist, such as Women and Gender Studies and Museum studies, are being merged to create the school.
“The money from academic programs eventually flows back to the department that the program belongs to,” Jesuit said. “So, there’s a definite incentive for a department to promote its own programs. Accordingly, interdisciplinary programs receive a lower priority, so the school was created to overcome this adversity.”
Successful completion of coursework in these programs offers a certificate that can be earned, in addition to a degree. The hope is that the certificate programs will complement a degree and further student competency.
According to a news release, it is the school’s vision to "mentor and empower creative leaders who exemplify integrity, have a global perspective, value diversity and are committed to social justice."
“The certificates are a grouping of courses that will make a student more competent,” said Pamela Gates, dean of the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences. “If you do business in southeast Michigan where there’s a large Arab population, you might want to have some knowledge of that population and get a certificate in Middle East and Islamic Studies.”
Relatively new, the prices associated with the School of Public Service and Global Citizenship are difficult to determine. Jesuit offers only predictions for what costs will accumulate.
“I’m a regular faculty member, and I’m still teaching, but I know we have had some resources relocated,” Jesuit said. “There’s been a full-time office professional moved from another department, and we do have a visiting scholar. We expect growth, but the curricular process is hard to predict.”
The new school is slated for housing in the newly renovated first floor of Anspach Hall, which, according to Jesuit, is the busiest academic building on campus.
The outreach efforts in advertising and other mediums has yet to begin, but the school has already reported at least four students who have registered for programs within the newly created fields of study.
