LIFE OF THE MIND CONSORTIUM

PARTNER NEWS

A Mural of Cooperation from Thailand

CONGRATULATIONS !!!

New Director named for The Ware Institute for Civic Engagement - Susan Dicklitch, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Government, will become the next Director of the Ware Institute for Civic Engagement. Susan will begin a three-year term as Associate Dean of the College and Director of the Ware Institute on July 1, 2008. Susan's experience, passion and vision will serve the Ware Institute well. She will strive to become a very active presence and represent the College in the ongoing dialogue within the higher education community about the critical connections between the liberal arts and civic engagement.

"Seeing the gravitational wave universe will revolutionize astronomy in the same way as the invention of the telescope revolutionized astronomy," Lommen says.   "It will enable us to detect mind-blowing phenomena from much earlier in the universe than we've previously been able to probe."

Millersville University

"Cooperative Education and Internships are a "win - win" for all concerned. Employers get a highly motivated employee for a specific amount of time; students gain professional proficiency, self-confidence and a chance to "test drive" their career choice; the University gains important feedback regarding its instruction, curriculum and programs."

Anthony Comper, former President of the Bank of Montreal, stated: “Whatever else you bring to the 21st century workplace, however great your technical skills and however attractive your attitude and however deep your commitment to excellence, the bottom line is that to be successful, you need to acquire a high level of information literacy. What we need in the knowledge industries are people who know how to absorb and analyze and integrate and create and effectively convey information­and who know how to use information to bring real value to everything they undertake.”



 

The Overview

What is it?

The Consortium is a partnership uniting Willow Valley Retirement Communities, Franklin & Marshall College, Millersville University, and Pennsylvania College of Art & Design to encourage an exchange of intellectual, social, artistic, and cultural ideas and activities.

Why is it?

The partner institutions share a commitment to life-long learning, intergenerational activities, and the importance of active, involved citizenry at all stages of human life. They are concerned with broad social issues and with developing an enabling culture to sustain and nurture older adults and the young people with whom they interact. Anything less is a tragic waste of human potential.

What will it do?

The Consortium encourages retirees and college/university faculty and students to engage in a broader and a deeper exchange of ideas in sustained, interactive, intergenerational educational, social, and artistic pursuits.

Initially the Consortium will focus on the arts but would then expand to include other areas of mutual interest and benefit. All the partner institutions have strong programs in the arts, and the Consortium will attempt first to determine how Consortium partners can participate in and enrich existing programs.

Further, all of the member institutions recognize the importance of working together to give back to the larger Lancaster community and will develop joint projects to do so.

Where will it be?

Although the Consortium will have no physical location on any of the campuses, the Willow Valley Cultural Center with its focus on the arts will be the natural center for Consortium activities at Willow Valley.

How is it funded?

Primary funding for the service projects of The Life of the Mind Consortium has come from a grant from the H.W. Wilson Foundation in New York City. This money is dedicated to the improvement of library facilities for children and young people in Lancaster County. Addition funding for these projects has come from the generous contributions of individual residents of the Willow Valley Retirement Communities.

Mutual Benefits

1.) Broadening the concept of diversity to foster cross-generational sharing of cultural and intellectual pursuits.

2.) Fostering the personal growth of both young people and older adults through increased interaction and life enrichment among communities.

3.) Developing new constituencies, building community support and recognition among local institutions.

4.) Serving as a model of a cross-generational and cross-institutional center for life long learning.

5.) Advocating for member institutions, providing support on issues of concern to the members, developing new constituencies, and building community support and recognition through intergenertational service programs.

 

Life of the Mind Consortium Advisory Board

The Advisory Board is representative of all of the resident communities at Willow Valley and is the sounding board for ideas and expectations as the Consortium expands. The personal and professional expertise of board members is a vast resource to draw upon. Board members also elicit opinions, support, concepts, and thinking from each of the communties they represent.

On May 18, 2006 the Advisory Board held its first meeting. We asked the members to respond to a brief survey of what they might like to see as a result of the Life of the Mind Consortium and how they might participate with individual talents, skills, and interests.

We hope to hear from all members of the community your thoughts about what this Consortium might be and do. The Board is intended to be the communication link from Willow Valley residents to our own administration and to the Partner representatives.


  "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving." --Albert Einstein
2008 Last Update