Opportunity for undergraduates to carve out careers in service work

Students from Jesuit universities and colleges around the world are invited to Fairfield University to attend the next Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network (JUHAN) Leadership Conference, taking place June 12-15, 2012.

Entitled "Global Perspectives on Humanitarian Action," the event will be the third such conference, bringing together undergraduates to receive training on the practice of responding to humanitarian emergencies. Jesuit institutions globally will also be encouraged to participate. The Fairfield conference has a goal of preparing students intellectually, morally and experientially to help communities in need, both domestic and abroad - the objective of the previous two JUHAN meetings that were held at Georgetown and Fordham Universities.

"The basic theme that we are trying to convey is that we want to expand the JUHAN network globally and want to focus in on JUHAN as an educational endeavor specific to Jesuit higher education," said Melissa Quan, associate director of Fairfield's Center for Faith and Public Life, which houses the University's JUHAN chapter. The chapter hosts an active student group, and designates several courses each semester as JUHAN courses.

The initiative comes at a time when the global need for expertise in humanitarian relief continues unabated. Crises in Sudan and Rwanda can attest to the need, as can natural disasters in the United States such as Hurricane Katrina.

The JUHAN conference at Fairfield aims to further build the capacity for humanitarian training among member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU).

The initiative was launched in 2008 through a joint collaboration between Georgetown, Fordham and Fairfield Universities on the premise that in addressing the needs of those who are suffering, our academic institutions can be more effective when working together rather than independently. The founders had come to the realization that there is relatively little going on in U.S. higher education to prepare undergraduates for humanitarian action - whether that be career development or preparation to fulfill everyday civic responsibilities.

Registration begins January 2012. E-mail JUHAN2012@fairfield.edu for more information and to be added to the distribution list. Stay tuned for new details via http://www.fairfield.edu/juhan2012conference . There will be a "Call for Presentations" for this conference in October. Please contact Melissa Quan at mquan@fairfield.edu .

Posted On: 10-04-2011 11:10 AM

Volume: 44 Number: 64