Category: Education

Advantages of Attending a Catholic College

Father Jay Fostner, of De Pere, WI, is a former vice president of mission and student affairs at St. Norbert College. During his tenure with St. Norbert, Father Jay Fostner also spent time teaching and oversaw numerous presentations about student development at Catholic colleges.

Catholic higher learning institutions are in the minority in the United States, but they offer numerous benefits to students attending them. For starters, a faith-based education that fosters a relationship with God is more conducive to retaining values and beliefs that can help students on their path to independence and self-reliance.

Furthermore, faculty at Catholic colleges have more to offer than simple academic guidance. While academic achievement is a priority, faculty are also encouraged to help students with spiritual guidance and maintain a God-focused mindset as well.

Catholic colleges are also more active in providing tools and activities that can help minimize harmful behaviors. Through proper guidance and proactive action, Catholic colleges take an active role in the prevention of these behaviors and take that role seriously.

An Overview of the Norman Miller Center

De Pere, Wisconsin, resident Father Jay Fostner has served as a vice president of mission and student affairs at St. Norbert College since 2011. During his tenure as vice president, Father Jay Fostner has overseen major institutional accomplishments that include the endowments of the Sturzl Center for Community Service and Learning and the Norman Miller Center for Peace, Justice and Public Understanding.

Since its inception in 1998, the Norman Miller Center has cultivated peace by advancing awareness, compassion, and a commitment to justice. The center embodies the values of its namesake, Norman Miller, a Northwestern University student and advocate who dedicated his life to peace and understanding.

The Norman Miller Center’s primary function is to work toward sustainable peace. In support of this goal, the center operates curricular and co-curricular programs that cultivate cultural awareness and compassion. The center also offers resources to the St. Norbert community that help to build knowledge of contemporary issues while also providing opportunities for discussion and learning. Finally, the center helps develop young adults into agents of positive change by prioritizing community engagement and service.

St. Norbert College Makes Campus Safety a High Priority

Based in De Pere, WI, Father Jay Fostner has served at St. Norbert College since 2011, and is the current vice president of mission and student affairs. While serving in this role, Father Jay Fostner has instituted many improvements at the college, including expanding student housing, increasing student retention, and formalizing campus safety.

St. Norbert College makes campus safety a top priority, which is why the college has campus safety officers on staff day and night to ensure a safe environment for everyone living, studying, and working there. Campus safety staff actively work to prevent campus crime and provides silent witness forms to encourage people to report information on any suspicious activities noticed. Campus safety officers are also available when transport assistance via foot or vehicle is needed on campus in the evening time.

Several security cameras and blue-light phones are installed on campus to help reduce crime and facilitate contact with emergency help if needed. When emergency situations do arise, the campus emergency notification system (CENS) is used to provide alerts to keep people informed.

A Brief Overview of the St. Norbert College TRIPS Program

Based in De Pere, WI, Father Jay Fostner has served as vice president of mission and student affairs at St. Norbert College since 2011. Father Jay Fostner has achieved many accomplishments while serving in this role, including professionalizing campus safety, increasing student retention, and expanding student housing at the college.

St. Norbert College is one of America’s top liberal arts colleges, and is dedicated to providing students with the best in academic education programming. Each year, the college organizes Turning Responsibility Into Powerful Service (TRIPS), a program the affords students an opportunity to provide service to others while demonstrating their values and religious convictions and experiencing personal growth and life-transforming experiences.

In operation since the 1970s, the TRIPS program takes place over a week-long period during the winter or spring breaks, and involve work within local and national communities. Students participating in the program interact with people from different cultural, economic, and faith backgrounds while focusing on a specific social issue and providing service in the community.