Catholic San Francisco reports on a partnership between the University of San Francisco and CRS as part of the new Scholars in Global Solidarity program, which aims to develop student solidarity with marginalized communities around the world, faculty expertise, and course curriculum. USF is one of three Catholic universities in the U.S. and the only Jesuit university chosen for the initial three-year phase of the program. The University of Dayton and St. Johns University are also part of the pilot.
The University of San Francisco is partnering with Catholic Relief Services to develop courses in various disciplines that will promote a greater understanding of human suffering, especially among the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world.
The courses will stress an awareness of the applicability of key Catholic social tenets to poor populations in developing countries.
The partnership, called “Scholars in Global Solidarity,” was announced Feb. 7 at USF, when an agreement was signed. It will draw on Catholic Relief Services’ “vast experience in humanitarian development” while USF will be contributing “its experience as an academic training ground for future faculty and student leaders,” said Joan Rosenhauer, executive vice president of U.S. Operations for Catholic Relief Services.
Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency provides assistance to people in need in nearly 100 countries.
Also partnering with CRS and developing curricula are the Marianists’ University of Dayton in Ohio and St. John’s University in New York.
Jesuit Father Stephen A. Privett, president of USF, told USF faculty, staff and students in an email that the partnership in part is a tribute “to the serious and effective efforts of our faculty, staff and students to blend academic rigor with social responsibility.”
In mid-January, Father Privett was part of a delegation for Catholic university presidents visiting Rwanda and Burundi, led by CRS personnel doing humanitarian work in the region. “The experience was an eye, mind and heart opener, as well as an inspiring introduction to the people and work of CRS and to the possibilities of our new partnership,” he said.
He noted that CRS was formed in 1943 to assist in relief work in Europe. After the 1994 Rwandan genocide, CRS broadened its mission from disaster relief to embrace human development of poor and marginalized populations in collaboration with local church groups, indigenous grassroots organizations and nongovernment organizations.
CRS’ Rosenhauer added, “Together we will tap the brain power of our respective institutions and focus our resources on creating a new generation of global thinkers using a lens of justice on complex issues.”
