College of Wooster Joins Project Pericles

Invitation-only group of 27 colleges focuses on strengthening civic engagement

WOOSTER, Mar. 30 - The College of Wooster is the newest member of Project Pericles, an invitation-only group of 27 colleges and universities that share a commitment to helping prepare students to become active, responsible citizens. The college’s board of trustees passed a resolution formally ratifying Wooster’s participation at their last meeting.

Project Pericles was founded in 1999 by philanthropist Eugene M. Lang. Lang believes that democratic institutions and processes offer each person the best opportunity to improve the condition of society. Therefore, participating institutions join together to provide education for social responsibility and participatory citizenship in the classroom, on the campus, and in the community.

Other liberal arts college members include Bates, Carleton, Macalester, Occidental, and Swarthmore.

“Our participation in Project Pericles will help us better organize and focus our existing civic engagement work at the global, national, and local levels,” said Wooster President Grant H. Cornwell, “as well as inspiring new ideas for curricular and co-curricular initiatives.”

One such initiative, the Global Social Entrepreneurship program, combines a classroom seminar on entrepreneurship, the operation of the nonprofit sector, and the ethics of social and economic development, with a six-week consulting assignment working with a non-profit or NGO in India.

“Global Social Entrepreneurship is a relative newcomer to our civic engagement offerings,” said Amyaz Moledina, associate professor of economics at Wooster, who will serve as project director on campus. “Wooster has a long history of civic engagement and community service that stretches far back into our origins in 1866. From the student run Wooster Volunteer Network advised by the Office of Inter-Faith Campus Ministries to a more recent sociology class designed by Anne Nurse that is held in a juvenile detention center, students and faculty readily engage with the wider community. Being part of Project Pericles will allow us to strengthen and grow this important pillar of our mission to train thoughtful, compassionate citizens for the global good.”

The College of Wooster is an independent liberal arts college, nationally recognized for an innovative curriculum that emphasizes mentored, independent research. Each Wooster senior works one-on-one with a faculty adviser to create an original research project, written work, performance or art exhibit. Founded in 1866, the college enrolls approximately 1,800 students.