The Jesuit University Humanitarian Action Network (JUHAN)
The Jesuit University Humanitarian Action Network (JUHAN) is a partnership led by faculty, staff and students at Fairfield University, Fordham University, and Georgetown University. The members of the network aim to raise awareness on Jesuit campuses of the meaning of humanitarian response and its implications for the Jesuit ideology of “men and women for others.” They also aim to train student leadership teams at Jesuit institutions to develop effective campus responses to humanitarian crises, both domestic and international. The members of JUHAN aspire to accomplish these goals through humanitarianism-based content incorporated into courses at every JUHAN school, as well as through student action, student trips, and network conferences.
In addition to implementing humanitarian learning in the classroom, JUHAN developed a national workshop on humanitarian aid in order to create intercampus exchange of ideas and experiences and to engage as many participants from all member institutions as possible. In June 2008 it convened the JUHAN National Conference: Engaging Students in Humanitarian Action at Fordham University. Student leadership teams from twenty Jesuit colleges and universities participated in this conference. (A report on the Georgetown representatives’ experience at the conference can be found here.) 250 students and 50 faculty from Jesuit colleges and universities convened for the June 2010 JUHAN conference at Georgetown.
Representatives from JUHAN’s member institutions received an assessment-focused grant from the Teagle Foundation. This grant prioritizes assessment early in the project, providing money and resources to develop strategies for evaluating student learning in the context of humanitarian-related coursework and community-based projects, as well as the resulting organizational impact on the participating campuses. CNDLS’ major contribution to the JUHAN project comes in the areas of student learning assessment and organizational change.
At Georgetown University, the Institute for the Study of International Migration, the Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching, and Service, and CNDLS are proud to be in partnership with JUHAN.
If you are interested in becoming involved with JUHAN or simply would like more information, please contact Daryl Nardick, CNDLS or Susan Martin, Institute for the Study of International Migration.
