Last night I was at the Cathedral for Incarnation for a panel on my book called, Sustaining Higher Education through Community. It was a very productive conversation. And it was directly under the Cathedral’s new Gaia exhibit

On the panel with me were two amazing people! The mayor of Garden City Ed Finneran and the Dean for the Cathedral of Incarnation Dr. Michael Sniffen. Mayor Finneran is a lawyer turned businessman turned mayor.  Dean Sniffen is a Marine Lieutenant turned professor turned Reverend turned Dean.  We dove into how the Cathedral and the University can become thirdspaces for the entire community, both in the Village of Garden City and beyond.  And how it can be mutually beneficial.

It started out as a panel, but it really ended as a community discussion. At one point I was thinking about taking out a notebook and writing down action items because we were generating solutions for ways to bring our communities together. Here are some of those ideas:

• Having a block party for the Cathedral and University members to bring together the community. The grounds of both the university and the cathedral are wonderful.
• Developing classes for seniors in Garden City Village to get them on campus and connect them to school. (So I hear that Mahjong is the battlefield and a strategy class would be well received.)
• Doing profiles of students and professors from some of the smaller departments on campus to expose the richness of the university. Everybody thinks Adelphi is a nursing school – and if they’re not interested in nursing why come to campus? The University is more than nursing. We need to let the community know this.
• Creating events on campus (e.g., speakers) that make people feel welcomed
• Developing additional internships for Adelphi students in the Village government. Deeping the connections with the Innovation center on campus.

It’s an interesting time for higher education. Sometimes I feel like we’re playing ping-pong and we’re the ping-pong ball. That’s what this week’s College Matters podcast from the Chronicle of Higher Education was about. Everyone wants to rule a university. The idea that people within the university get any say was completely left out.  To mitigate problems like this, the University must develop trust and connection at all levels.  After doing so they will build their own voice into the conversation. Otherwise we will continue to be the ping-pong ball – perfectly spherical.  (Just like the exhibit, hehe)

Did I mention how beautiful the Cathedral is? Did I mention how warm and welcoming their staff are? Did I mention how beautiful the Gaia exhibit is?  Did I mention how beautiful the Four Element art exhibit that the Adelphi Art department has exhibited at the Cathedral is?  Well, that’s all true.

I personally would like to thank the Cathedral, Kyle Sabo, and Dean Sniffen for being so open, welcoming, and inviting me to have this wonderful night. Thank you for creating a space to have this amazing conversation and opening up your beautiful world to the community.

Pictures Taken by Colleen Wright: