mark dantonio - MSU Alumni Association - Michigan State University

citement, the pleasure, the improvisational
nature of learning as
their new skills are internalized.
A related concept, civic
engagement, or active involvement
in the community, also
will play a critical role in the
College. While MSU has a rich
heritage of outreach and service
in which students often have
played a vital role, the Residential
College seeks to engage
students on every level and in
every area.
Students will have the opportunity
to work in schools,
refugee centers, community centers,
and other venues. The goal
is not service per se, although
service will occur, but rather a
reaching out, with mutual cooperation
and learning between
students and those with whom
they work.
“One of the goals of the Residential
College is to integrate
community service and civic
engagement into the curriculum
and the major as a whole,
not just into one particular
course as a module or an extra
credit experience,” Esquith says.
“This kind of active experiential
learning can shape how
students approach their other
creative and intellectual work.”
A hallmark of the RCAH will
be its collaborative nature, as
the College works with other
“The arts and humanities not only
give us the pleasure of living in
the moment, but also the wisdom
to make sound judgments and
good choices.”
MSU departments and colleges
as well as with community
partners. Students also will collaborate
as they work with each
other, with faculty and staff,
and with members of the community
in their civic engagement
activities.
Such collaboration will be
important in preparing students
for future careers and professions.
“We work in groups; that’s
how work is done in the world,”
says Esquith. “We’re teaching
the value of listening to other
people’s views and being able to
engage with other people as collaborators
in a common project.”
A State of the Art Facility
About 125 students are expected
to comprise the inaugural
first-year class, with a goal of
about 500 total students within
four years. Students will be
housed in the newly renovated
Snyder-Philips complex. A new
three-story facility connected
to the two dormitories will
house faculty and administrative
offices, an art studio, music
practice rooms, an art gallery
for displaying visiting artist
and student work, and even a
small theatre for student performances
and creative initiatives.
Classrooms and seminar rooms,
as well as the World Language
Proficiency Center, will be
equipped with the latest in educational
technology.
In addition, a wireless coffee
house will provide ambiance—as
well as a quick latte or
cappuccino—and a new stateof-the
art dining facility will
feature an ever-changing menu,
with choices ranging from
world cuisine to cook-to-order
stations to traditional Midwestern
comfort food.
Shaping the Future
In a College that stresses student
engagement, it comes as
no surprise that students have
been involved from the very
beginning in discussions about
the proposed College, serving
in focus groups and on design
and planning committees. And
they will continue to help shape
the College, helping to plan the
following year’s curriculum,
organize co-curricular activities,
and develop the College’s
governance structure. In so doing
they will both utilize their
developing skills and further
hone them for use in the wider
community and beyond.
As stated in an RCAH planning
committee report, “Students,
faculty, and community
partners in the arts and humanities
have the power to focus
critical attention on the public
issues we face and the opportunities
we have to resolve them.
The arts and humanities not
only give us the pleasure of living
in the moment, but also the
wisdom to make sound judgments
and good choices. The
mission, then, is to see things
as they are, to hear things as
others may, to tell these stories
as they should be told, and to
contribute to the making of a
better world.”
Carol A. Cole, ’75 (Social Work),
’96 (English), is the office administrator
in the Residential College in
the Arts and Humanities.
☛ For more information
about the new college, please
visit www.rcah.msu.edu.
Click Right Through for MSU
www.msualum.com
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