Wheeling Jesuit University Receives Grant to Aid Hands on Learning

A recent collaboration between Wheeling Jesuit University and the University’s Bishop Hodges Library has resulted in funding from the Appalachian College Association (ACA) that will purchase LEGOS that will benefit grade school students that the university serves. This funding was thanks to two English majors at the university that wanted to expand the school’s curriculum resource center. The two began the work of writing the grant which they note as being difficult but also providing a valuable learning opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom.

The funding will “allow the library staff to purchase LEGOs and other materials that allow Wheeling Jesuit students, particularly those studying to be teachers, to develop hands-on learning programs that can be used in the classroom.” The LEGOs will serve as a learning tool by which children can “be more self-sufficient in their intellectual growth” and will help educators “develop fresh, innovative ways to incorporate hands-on learning into teaching.” This collaboration which resulted in the funding shows how WJU is committed to expanding their resources across academic disciplines.

To read more about this collaboration, visit WJU news.

WJU Student Working on Sustainable Food Source

Sam Adams, a former member of the U.S. Navy and current senior at Wheeling Jesuit University majoring in Environment and Sustainability, is working on a project that could potentially help end the world’s deficiency of nutritious food. His project utilizes an aquaponics ecosystem which uses the waste created by fish to provide nutrients for plants. The plants then clean the water, which is returned to the fish tank. The system is inexpensive and energy efficient, and is currently being used to grow lemon trees, blueberries, tomatoes, and a host of other healthy foods, making it an ideal solution for areas in desperate need of nutritious food.

Read more about his project here, and read more about the issue of food security and how it relates to Catholic Social Teaching on the ACCU website.

Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice – happening now!

The Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, an annual gathering of Jesuit schools, began in Washington, DC over the weekend and continues today with advocacy sessions on Capitol Hill. Foremost in participants’ minds is the 25th anniversary of the death of six Jesuit priests and two lay women, who were killed in El Salvador during their civil war. The Teach-In hopes to educate tomorrow’s leaders on their role in the world and their Catholic call to fight the many forms of injustice.