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Center for Community, Service, and Justice

Mission, Vision, and History

Mission & Vision

Loyola鈥檚 Center for Community, Service, and Justice (CCSJ) connects campus and community for a more just and equitable world.

Inspired by Loyola鈥檚 Jesuit Catholic educational mission and identity that calls for a dynamic integration of academic excellence, social responsibility, and faith that does justice, CCSJ is committed to reciprocal collaboration with community partners and to involvement with people who are marginalized.  CCSJ aspires to place a shared emphasis on the engagement of Loyola students and faculty and the pursuit of positive community impact in Loyola鈥檚 immediate York Road neighborhoods, throughout Baltimore City, and the world.

CCSJ Aims:

  1. Engage Loyola students and faculty to serve, learn and lead for a more just and equitable world.
  2. Build capacity for positive change in our local York Road community.
  3. Animate Loyola鈥檚 mission through measuring, highlighting, and communicating our work internally and externally.

History

In 1992, Rev. Timothy Brown, S.J., professor of law and social responsibility, and Erin Swezey, the director of Loyola鈥檚 Community Service Office envisioned and co-founded a Center for Values and Service to help students explore social justice issues, offer opportunities to reflect on experiences of service, improve the quality of service experiences, pioneer an academic service-learning program, and build partnerships with community agencies.

In 2006, under the leadership of Sr. Catherine 鈥淢issy鈥� Gugerty, SSND, the Center changed its name to the Center for Community, Service, and Justice to more effectively describe the work and focus of social justice education through service.

In 2008, the university鈥檚 strategic plan called for 鈥渁 leadership role in the development of a multi-dimensional plan to improve the quality of life for all persons living, working, and learning in the York Road corridor.鈥� Following substantive listening projects with area residents, Loyola鈥檚 York Road Initiative was established.

From 2010-2013, the York Road Initiative grew from a coalition of university partners to a community-based office with staff and a cadre of student, faculty, and resident volunteers.

In 2016, the Center for Community, Service, and Justice and York Road Initiative join, integrate efforts, and deepen the partnership between Loyola鈥檚 academic affairs and the needs and assets of local community partners.

In 2021, CCSJ made a small but important change in name to accurately reflect its mission, inclusion of Loyola鈥檚 York Road Initiative since 2016, as well as brand CCSJ in line with the national movement toward Centers for Community Engagement, and away from using the non-reciprocal term 鈥渃ommunity service,鈥� while still maintaining our Jesuit and Catholic commitment to 鈥榮ervice.鈥� The new name is the Center for Community, Service, and Justice."

 

Core Values

Through CCSJ and York Road Initiative programs, policies, operations and culture, we value:

  • Anti-racism, as racism affects all other structures of inequity.
  • The dignity of all people and our common home by practicing love in action with our neighbors.
  • Local community power, wisdom and relationships.
  • Collaboration, education and connecting through relationships to promote positive collective social impact.
  • Dismantling systems of oppression, transparent and inclusive decision-making processes and the equitable distribution of power and resources.

Commitment to Racial Justice

Inspired by our mission to connect campus and community for a more just and equitable world, Loyola鈥檚 Center for Community, Service, and Justice (CCSJ) strives to become an anti-racist organization. We will pursue this commitment by investing in our capacity to think critically about the role race plays in our relationships, programs, and organization and we acknowledge that we will be personally and professionally challenged in this work. Please read our Racial Justice Commitment Statement. Additionally, please join us in utilizing CCSJ鈥檚 social justice library, located in our Center at Loyola, anytime. Our online resource page with a link to our , is also available to all.