Cynthia Leon began her college career at Saint Mary’s as a biology major hoping to go into premed, but she realized there was more than one way to help people and switched her area of study to psychology and Spanish.
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota will welcome Melinda C. Bier, Ph.D. to its Twin Cities campus on June 24-25, 2021 as a featured speaker during the Summer Institute. Dr. Bier is co-director of the Center for Character and Citizenship at the University of Missouri - Saint Louis. Her expertise spans the fields of character education, teacher preparation and professional development, and the design and use of instructional technology for enhanced teaching and learning.
Saint Mary’s will host the inaugural Summer Institute for students in the Education Specialist (Ed.S.) program, which continues to be one of the largest programs in the state. Building on its strong reputation among educators and educational administrators, Saint Mary’s is enhancing the curriculum of the Ed.S. program with a renewed emphasis on character, virtue, and ethics. The Summer Institute will feature speakers and formation activities aimed to equip participants to become leaders of character and lead schools of character. Sharing a commitment to character formation, quality education, and dynamic programs that create long-term, systemic impact, Saint Mary’s received a $1.7 million grant from the Kern Family Foundation to support this work.
It is with deep sadness that I write to you today in light of the killing of Mr. George Floyd just one week ago. His death is shocking and appalling. And so I write this realizing that I don’t have the words to adequately express what this has meant to and for our community, nor do I have the words to describe what has impacted so many individuals and families and neighborhoods over the past several days.
