University Core Opens Core Center  

Core Center in Mooney 339.

This Friday, the new Core Center (Mooney 339) will open its doors. Our full schedule will be posted on the Core website, as soon as it is finalized. Every day, there will be faculty tutors who teach Core I and/or Core II on a regular basis) available to help students. This program grew out of an event we piloted last fall, "Help for the Journey," in which the Core office opened its doors to drop-in students who needed help with their papers. It was a success, so we decided to expand upon it.

Dr. Todd Stockdale, Core Fellow and Journey Coordinator, who was a participant in "Help for the Journey," feels it was an extremely positive experience. He says, "As a Journey instructor, it was delightful to have lively conversation about course themes and questions with students from other sections of the Core, without the student having to concern herself/himself with my evaluation of their ideas." It is truly different to work with students as a tutor/mentor/coach than it is as an instructor.

Sister Mary John Bosco Amakwe, one of our faculty tutors, explains, "Tutoring is another word for mentoring. It creates familiarity with the subjects, faculty and students." Another faculty tutor, Prof. Rich Fritzky, says, "Tutoring invites the kind of intimacy that is often difficult to find in the classroom. Support, instruction and the like, of course, but also a portal—heart to heart and soul to soul."

Besides Sister Bosco and Prof. Fritzky, at least three other Core faculty will be available for tutoring: Prof. Mini Khumalo as well as Core Fellows Dr. Ksenija Puskaric and Dr. Edgar Valdes will all be tutoring regularly in the Center. The intention is not to replace the Writing Center, where tutors mostly assist students with papers, but the focus in the Core Center will be on content. Experts in the field, these faculty tutors will be able to help students navigate difficult texts, but, of course, they can answer some questions about writing papers as well. The Core Center is meant to supplement, not replace, the Writing Center and, of course, regular instruction in the classroom. As Dr. Laura Pallitto, Associate Director of the Core, says, "We are always looking for creative ways to support our students."

The Core Center will be open daily, starting on Monday (hours, still being finalized, will be posted on the Core website). On Tuesday, February 11, we will hold an Open House with refreshments, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We encourage all – students and faculty – to drop by to see the new Center and meet any of the faculty tutors who are available. Note that we will offer at least two hours of tutoring available in the library for students who cannot access Mooney by stairs. The Core Center will also be available for study groups, meetings, showing films, discussion groups, and other functions related to the Core. Events can be scheduled by contacting Dr. Laura Pallitto, Associate Director of the Core, ext. 5882.

Categories: Arts and Culture, Campus Life