“The recent donation from the Dodig family will allow St. Michael’s College to move forward in offering the Cornerstone experience to all of its first-year students,” said program co-ordinator Jenna Sunkenberg. “We are now able to develop a curriculum that, over the next three years, will offer students in the humanities and sciences the opportunity to explore their interest in social justice through community engagement and small class seminars.”
Launched last September, the program had a limited capacity and saw only 40 students enrol in the inaugural year.
At the University of Toronto, which St. Michael’s is federated with, each college offers its own ONE program. While each reflects the unique values of the respective college, all aim to ease the transition into university for incoming students.
These programs help students by placing them in small classes, similar in size to those found in Ontario’s high schools, promoting a deeper exploratory-based understanding of the material compared to the traditional university lecture. Each week students enrolled in the Cornerstone program spend two hours in class, attend their placement at an assigned community agency and are required to reflect on this experience in two journals.
“Our program’s community engagement piece sets Cornerstone apart from the other ONE programs in that we integrate this experiential component to the student’s university experience,” said Sunkenberg. “Cornerstone’s overarching aim is to narrow a gap between theory and practice, teaching our students that regardless of the discipline they choose to focus their study in, theories and practice of equity and inclusivity can be embodied and cultivated through our actions and ongoing efforts to self-reflect.”
It’s that community engagement component which really excited Viktor Dodig, the alumnus whose family of six made the donation commitment.
“That is something that I would have valued,” said Dodig. “For the students who want to help out those who have sort of less fortunate circumstances than many of us, Cornerstone really is a conduit into the community. It sort of takes you out of the academic environment and into the reality of those who need assistance.”
Dodig, who graduated from the St. Michael’s in 1988, is the senior executive vice-president and group head of wealth management for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. He’s stayed involved with his former school over the years as a member of collegium, chair of the investment committee, a member of the presidential search committee and co-chair of the annual golf tournament.