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What we do and how we do it is our brand. This week in CHSS, we are focused on our fourth strategic goal, defining and sharpening the CHSS brand. Our facilitators from Elliance define the brand as the sum of Value and Experience. With their help, we, dean’s office and department chairs will be exploring these key questions:
- What value does CHSS bring to our students, university, community and the world today?
- How do our students, faculty, staff, and community experience CHSS?
We know what we teach—our disciplines, mental models, and research methods—but do we truly understand the "why" behind it? In a rapidly changing world shaped by technology, what are the enduring values we offer? What processes must we put in place to ensure we consistently deliver on those values? These are exciting questions and revisiting them regularly keeps our value strong and work purposeful.
This is also a moment to reflect on the experience of everyone who interacts with the college. In line with our mission, we aspire to be welcoming and inclusive. We want to communicate to every student that we have high expectations and faith in their ability to achieve them. We want every student, employee, and parent to know that they matter, and their dreams matter.
Articulating this experience is the first step. Making it a reality requires our collective commitment—understanding our diverse community and adapting as a learning organization to equip our faculty and staff with the skills needed to deliver this experience consistently, in every interaction.
A great example of this commitment is the Penn Resilience Train-the-Trainer Program, funded by Provost Gonzales and led by Professor Donoghue. This evidence-based initiative, developed by University of Pennsylvania researchers, equips Montclair State faculty and staff to foster resilience and well-being in their students—especially when students face challenges such as work, family responsibilities, or academic stress. CHSS is sponsoring two additional participants (faculty and advisors). If you're interested, submit your application here.
I am excited for the rich conversations ahead—and for what we’ll uncover about who we are, who we’re becoming, and what we can achieve together.
Have a great week everyone,
Fatma
P.S. Applications for the CHSS Faculty Fellow for research are still open. You can submit your application here.
[1] Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven W. B. Yeats
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