Generous support pays dividends
Gifts and grants enhance CCSJ student, community experience
Recent monetary contributions are spurring growth as Calumet College of St. Joseph begins projects and expands programming for the benefit of students and the community. The college has begun the interior renovation process that resulted from the $15 million Lilly Endowment Grant that was awarded in August. The college’s 7th floor in the main academic building was inaccessible. Noted on the 1949 blueprints as an “executive lounge” of the former Standard Oil building, the mostly vacant space housed nothing more than a shag-carpet-covered bar, an addition from the 1970s. College family members held a final celebration in the space, enjoying era-appropriate music, food, and drink before demolition and abatement started in October.
The college also recently celebrated the naming of the first residence hall in October, recognizing Jim and Colleen Clark, who recently made a $2.5M gift to Calumet College of St. Joseph to help support the school’s mission of service to the community.
Jim and Colleen Clark built distinguished careers in engineering. As they approached retirement, Jim recognized that he had more to give and enrolled in the Transition to Teaching program at CCSJ, which enables career professionals with bachelor’s degrees the opportunity to complete the necessary coursework to become licensed educators. Upon completion, Jim served as a physics teacher at Andrean Catholic High School for a decade.
In addition to capital projects, the Clarks’ gift will support scholarships. “While their most significant gift, the James and Colleen Clark House, symbolizes their lasting legacy, their ongoing impact will be through the students and teachers they have supported with scholarships. They have committed their resources to making a difference in communities and enriching the lives of others,” says CCSJ President Amy McCormack.
“I want to do what I can to make Calumet College of St. Joseph stronger,” Jim says. “This college is an important educational resource for our region.”
The newly rechristened Clark House was constructed in 2022 to meet the demands of an increasing student population at CCSJ who were interested in relocating to on-campus residence. The Clark House sleeps 63 residents. An additional 40 students occupy college-leased property in Whiting.
Residents of Clark House are part of a “Living, Learning, Serving” community and are required to maintain a minimum GPA and to provide service to the community through volunteer hours.
Jim and Colleen Clark attended a naming ceremony Monday, Oct. 21, the Feast of St. Gaspar.
The Clarks’ beneficence follows the announcement of a recent Department of Education award. The “Promoting Post-Baccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans” grant secured the college $3 million in funding that will be dedicated to the enhancement of the current roster of master’s degrees in business, education, and public administration, while also helping to develop a master’s degree in kinesiology and potentially the first Ph.D. program in the college’s history. This doctoral degree, should it be approved by the Higher Learning Commission, would focus on public administration.
These generous gifts and grant awards significantly assist the college in living out its mission of service to the Calumet region and to its students. Additionally, a wellness grant assists students in maintaining better physical and mental health and recently culminated in an inaugural session of “goat yoga.”
Peanut, Sammy, and Darby joined 30 Calumet College of St. Joseph students in September for an afternoon of exercise and laughter.
An increasingly popular fitness trend, goat yoga combines stretching and mental exercises with hooved barnyard animals that mingle among, nuzzle next to, and climb atop participants.
“Smiles, giggles, and laughter are guaranteed,” says JoAnn Shults, owner of Deer Creek Farm, which provided the goats. She explained that “animal-assisted therapy helps to lower blood pressure and allows a person to enjoy all the physical benefits of exercise and nature.”
CCSJ student Aaliyah Edwards, who participated in the event, agreed. “This was refreshing. It was nice to clear my mind by enjoying an experience I’ve never had before,” she says.
Calumet College of St. Joseph is a Catholic institution of higher learning informed by the values of its founding community, the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.). The mission of the college is to cultivate the academic, spiritual, and ethical development of our students by affirming the inherent dignity of all people, promoting social justice and an ethic of service, and providing opportunity and empowerment.