Abstract
Over the past four years, three universities in the state of Connecticut (USA) have become partner institutions in the global Charter for Compassion movement. Different governance structures, mission statements and demographics have resulted in very different experiences at each institution. The author explores the history of this initiative at each institution and enquires into the nature of the project as part of a liberal arts education. What does it mean to be a Campus of Compassion? What led each university to become involved? How is the intention lived out at each institution? What has been learned along the way? Why should any university seek to become a Campus of Compassion?
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TED stands for ‘technology, entertainment and design’. This organization is ‘a nonpartisan nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks’. What began as a conference in 1984 is now ‘a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world. [They] believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world’. TED has produced videos of over 2,300 events, which are available online at no cost. For more information, please see www.ted.com. See Karen Armstrong, (2008). Twelve steps to a compassionate life. New York: Random House.
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http://www.charterforcompassion.org/charter/charter-overvew/. Appendix I contains the full charter, as well as details on how to become a Charter partner.
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http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/09/cover-pressure.aspx Retrieved 06/09/2016.
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http://www.bu.edu/today/2015/college-students-anxiety-and-depression. Retrieved 06/09/2016.
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AA Taren et al., Mindfulness meditation training alters stress-related amygdala resting state functional connectivity: a randomized controlled trial. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience , 2015, 1758–1768.
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See, for example, Shapiro et al. (2011). Moderation of mindfulness-based stress reduction effects by trait mindfulness : Results from a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Psychology , 67, 267–77. See also: Klimecki, Olga M, Susanne Leiberg, Claus Lamm and Tania Singer, Functional Neural Plasticity and Associated Changes in Positive Affect After Compassion Training. Cerebral Cortex, 2013: 23(7): 1552–1561.
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David Sable (2012). The impacts of reflective practices on the dispositions for critical thinking in undergraduate courses. Dissertation, Dalhousie University.
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Louis Cozolino and Susan Sprokay, Neuroscience and adult learning, New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2006: 110, 11–19.
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The first was Spalding University in Kentucky. Since that time, over 90 educational institutions worldwide have become members.
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See Kukk’s personal website: http://www.chriskukk.com.
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See more at: http://compassion.ccsu.edu/html/about.html.
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Examples include the ‘Sandwich Hero’ programme, in which a different group of students, faculty and staff gather monthly to make sandwiches for to make 170 sandwiches for the South Park Inn shelter for the homeless and the ‘Go Baby Go’ project that adapts toy ride-on cars for toddlers with mobility impairments lists events related to compassion across the campus community as well as opportunities for volunteer involvement. With funding from the Office of Student Affairs, this subcommittee distributed 10,000 bookmarks in 2015 to inform people about the work of the Compassion Campaign.
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See the website for further details: http://compassion.ccsu.edu/html/partners.html.
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Jim Malley is Professor Emeritus of Counselor Education.
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Jim Malley, http://compassion.ccsu.edu/html/news.html.
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Used by permission.
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USJ has a long tradition of preparing teachers of special needs children. A laboratory school on our campus serves special needs students, ages 5–21. Applied behaviour analysis (ABA) focuses on positive reinforcement for socially useful behaviours. It is widely used in the USA in the education of children with autism. USJ offers a Master’s of Science in Autism and ABA.
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Postgraduate enrolment is almost double that of the undergraduate student body. However, there is no graduate Dean of Students, none of the postgraduate students live on campus, and many are part time. Therefore, they are virtually never involved in (or even aware of) campus events or initiatives.
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At the time of writing, in fact, the university had just appointed a task force to explore the idea of becoming co-ed.
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Another important topic (unfortunately beyond the scope of this chapter) is the extent to which diversity issues and questions of social justice need to be raised as matters for the Campus of Compassion movement.
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The Charter’s website lays out a very helpful and concrete set of guidelines to follow in setting oneself up as a partner institution. See www.charterforcompassion.org/communities/charter-tool-box-framework.
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One enterprising first-year student took matters into her own hands, designing an online survey to which 25 % of the student body responded.
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This has also been a challenge at CCSU and WCSU. At both institutions, student involvement has waxed and waned.
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Interestingly, this was also the overall response of a survey done at another Catholic college, the College of the Holy Cross, which tried and failed to launch a Charter of Compassion project in 2014.
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References
Armstrong, K. (2008). Twelve steps to a compassionate life. New York: Random House. 2008.
Dalai Lama XIV. (2003). The art of happiness: A handbook for living. Sydney: Hachette. 2003.
Kukk, C. (2014). Educating through the connected five Cs: Creativity, compassion, courage, concept and constraint. http://chriskukk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/ConnectedFiveCs%E2%84%A2.pdf.
Newman, J. H. (1982). The idea of a university. Introduction and Notes by Martin J. Svaglic. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press. Discourse VIII, 10, Svaglic edition, pp. 159–160.
Shapiro, S. L., Brown, K. W., Thoresen, C., & Plante, T. G. (2011). Moderation of mindfulness-based stress reduction effects by trait mindfulness: Results from a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 67, 267–277.
Sullivan, J. G. (2006) The idea of a university—revisited. Presentation given at Elon University, 21 February 2006. http://facstaff.elon.edu/sullivan/version.pdf. Accessed 12 Nov 2016.
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Billias, N. (2017). On Becoming a Campus of Compassion. In: Gibbs, P. (eds) The Pedagogy of Compassion at the Heart of Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57783-8_10
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