PHILADELPHIA, May 17, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Eastern University's School for Social Change (www.eastern.edu/change), founded by author, sociologist, renown preacher and beloved professor emeritus Dr. Tony Campolo, is now admitting students to its new Master of Arts in Urban Studies (www.eastern.edu/urbanma) with concentrations in Arts in Transformation (community arts), Community Development, and Youth Leadership. Courses are offered in a variety of formats to accommodate working students and those who wish to study in their own location and context.
Arts in Transformation provides the skills, knowledge, practice and spiritual foundation for artist practitioners committed to transforming cities through a broad range of artistic expressions. Special focus is given to arts-based interventions at the level of the individual, family and community, as well as social service and organizational leadership. Instructors are carefully selected for their ability to provide both theoretical and practical instruction. The concentration is built on principals from the seminal work of Drs. J. Nathan Corbitt, director, and Vivian Nix-Early, dean, which marked the beginning of a field of study called Arts-based Community Mission.
The Community Development concentration develops skills needed by activists, organizers, planners and developers to cultivate resources for holistic community transformation through a variety of physical, social and spiritual means. Based upon Dr. Campolo's vision for the city and its people, the MA in Urban Studies prepares agents of change-compassionate professionals and activist scholars-to use their professions and lives in communities around world.
Youth Leadership addresses the needs of leaders in urban youth ministry and youth development. It prepares students to be effective in both secular and faith-based environments involving social work, counseling, sociology, practical theology, missions and youth ministry. According to Bart Campolo, Founder of Mission Year, "The people who put this program together are experienced in the serious business of urban youth ministry. If you want to learn how to impact city kids, look no further."
Graduates of the program are involved in solving urban problems through their own leadership and initiative around the world. They understand the complex relationships between urban influences: historical and religious, legal and political, economic, sociological, aesthetic and global.
This graduate program is offered through the School for Social Change, of the Campolo College for Graduate and Professional Studies at Eastern University's Philadelphia campus. It encourages students to become insiders and partners in the community. It builds on relationships with the School's partners, such as BuildaBridge International (community arts); the Salvation Army (community development) and Young Life (youth leadership) among others.
Founded in 1925 as part of Eastern Baptist (now Palmer) Theological Seminary, Eastern University is a coeducational, comprehensive Christian university offering undergraduate, graduate, seminary, international and accelerated programs. The University's maxim-"Faith, Reason, Justice"-is fitting for the study of urban transformation. Its main campus is located in St. Davids, PA.
The Eastern University, School for Social Change logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2607