The Engelhard Project for Life and Learning
Georgetown University’s Engelhard Project for Connecting Life and Learning builds on the principles of whole-person education by supporting faculty and campus resource professionals as partners in incorporating health and wellbeing issues into the classroom. This curricular approach enhances academic learning, encourages students to reflect on their own attitudes and behaviors, and fosters faculty, staff, and student connections both in and out of the classroom to support students’ engagement in their learning.
The Engelhard Project embodies Georgetown’s mission of cura personalis, or “care of the whole person.” An innovative approach to integrating student wellbeing issues into academic contexts, the project exemplifies the kind of high-impact learning practice that characterizes a Georgetown education.
The Engelhard approach includes:
Courses
Engelhard courses are the signature element of the Engelhard Project. Using a curriculum infusion approach, Georgetown faculty link academic course content to health and well-being topics through readings, presentations, discussions led by campus health professionals, and reflective writing assignments. In addition, fitting with Georgetown’s commitment to social justice, some courses extend this work with involvement in local communities. The Project strives to create meaningful connections between faculty, students, and campus resource professionals and encourages the practice of one of Georgetown’s most important Jesuit principles, cura personalis, or care of the person.
Wellbeing Workshop Series
The Engelhard Project, in collaboration with Counseling and Psychiatric Service (CAPS), Health Education Services (HES), and Cawley Career Education Center, offers the Wellbeing Workshop Series for students, staff, and faculty. The Wellbeing Workshop Series was created in the fall semester of 2020 as another resource for the Georgetown community for engaging in topics related to wellbeing.
Conversations on Teaching
Engelhard Faculty Conversations on Teaching aim to create a small community of colleagues for deep exploration of various topics that relate to teaching and well-being. Started in the Fall of 2017, the Faculty Conversations have now expanded to two different conversation groups, “Teaching to Mission” and “Inclusivity and Well-Being.”
Safety Net Training
Georgetown University maintains a robust “safety net” to support students by helping to connect them to resources that may be beneficial for their success. The safety net includes a range of offices and resources across campus. As an orientation to recognizing students of concern and the resources available to them at Georgetown, the Engelhard Project collaborates with the Division of Student Affairs through Student Outreach and Support, Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS), and Health Education Services to offer Safety Net Training workshops for staff and faculty. Each semester, new Engelhard Faculty Fellows, Campus Resource Partners and/or Teaching Assistants are encouraged to attend a Safety Net Training.
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Inside Higher EdCrossing the Divide |
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LearningWellWelcoming Wellbeing into the Classroom |
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The First Seven Years ReportGeorgetown University Center for New Designs in Learning & Scholarship, 2015 |
What began as a curricular experiment has evolved into one of the hallmarks of a Georgetown undergraduate education, reaching thousands of students across campus. Since 2005, the Engelhard Project has offered nearly 500 courses taught by over 100 faculty members, for a combined enrollment of more than 19,200 students.
The Engelhard Project has forged strong connections among faculty, student affairs staff, and students, not only enriching the Georgetown experience but also engaging in national conversations about the role of well-being in higher education. The Project’s work has been shared formally and informally through conversations across campus, in academic journal articles, at national higher education conferences, and with a presentation by President DeGioia at a 2013 White House Conference on mental health.
