ethics news & views

Center launches new Clairmont Campus student community: 'Bridging Academics, Service, and Ethics' to begin next semester

Nirvana on campus?

No, there has not been a mystical reunion of the famous band—but, the Center for Ethics has teamed with the Program in Science & Society and the Emory Scholars Program to develop, if not a nirvana, then at least a new and exciting environment for truly integrated learning.

Imagine an environment in which students live in the same building as faculty, share meals, and integrate their academic classes with their extracurricular activities. Imagine, for example, a group of undergraduates and faculty tackling a complex issue like stem cell technology and examining the ethical, biological, religious, and political perspectives on the issue by taking classes that address related questions, inviting speakers with expertise for dinner, discussing the fine points of these questions over laundry, developing programs for peers and the community, integrating alumni into the discussion. . .

This is the way a university is supposed to be, you’re thinking. Well, with strong support from Campus Life, this is the vision we have developed for a new living and learning community at Emory we call Bridging Academics, Service, and Ethics (BASE). Beginning in Fall 2003, 28 undergraduates, one graduate student, and one professor and his family will live in the new Clairmont Campus. Everyone will live on the same floor and will get together for discussion and meals on a regular basis. We are currently in the selection process for students; preference is given to those in the Center for Ethics, Science & Society, and Scholars’ programs.

Our ideal is to establish a model community—a powerful and diverse group of student leaders who help shape the ethical culture of the university for years to come. What exactly we do the first year will be decided by the program participants. We imagine BASE students might, for example, develop strategies and programs for Emory’s Freshman Advising and Mentoring Program (FAME) to initiate and build a community conversation and legacy in civic engagement and ethics from the first day students walk on campus.

We are extremely excited about BASE. The potential for such a program is clear, and, who knows, if we do it right, maybe it will provide a certain kind of nirvana on campus. Stay tuned.

(Eisen will be BASE's first faculty advisor. Eisen and his family will be moving into the Clairmont Campus this summer.)

[ Posted by Arri Eisen at March 1, 2003 01:03 PM | More BASE Community articles ]

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