Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
In an era when the humanities are often undervalued, the heart of the humanities is growing stronger at Georgian Court with the creation of the Sister Maria Cordis Richey Center for the Humanities and Creative Arts.
Named to honor the legacy of Sister Maria Cordis Richey, RSM, Ph.D. ’50, an alumna, beloved former GCU president, prolific poet, and Professor of English, the Richey Center serves as a vibrant hub for the humanities and creative arts, elevating their profile throughout the university.
The Richey Center will provide undergraduates with support and resources to conduct research, develop creative projects, and be provided with experiential learning opportunities. For faculty, it will help coordinate teaching and research endeavors that facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration across the university with the humanities and creative arts. Beyond campus, the Center will actively engage community audiences with programming focused on the value of the humanities and creative arts in the 21st century.
“It’s important to recognize the value of the humanities and creative arts, and to have conversations about it,” said Dr. Paul Cappucci, Chair of the English and Interdisciplinary Studies Department, who played an integral role in establishing the Richey Center.
According to Dr. Cappucci, separate programs already existed on campus, such as the Humanities Discussion Forum and A Dose of Poetry, and individual efforts like creative writing workshops, but there was no central place to celebrate and promote these activities.
The effort to create the Center started two years ago but gained traction this summer when over 20 faculty volunteers participated in brainstorming sessions to compile an events calendar and propose ideas for future programming. Ideas included a health and humanities symposium, Jazz in the Mansion, film festivals, summer student fellowships and scholarships, writing conferences, poetry arboretum walks, and humanities career forums.
“The enrichment that can be gained by talking to students and others in our community through creative works is incalculable,” explained Dr. Cappucci. “Once you have these conversations to better understand the significance of reading the work, seeing the dance performance, hearing the music, and understanding the history, it changes the meaning and true power of it all. The Center facilitates and encourages these conversations, making them more visible.”
“Our goal now is to help make these ideas a reality and turn them into something tangible and impactful,” said Cappucci, who noted the following accomplishments so far:
- Implementation of a Fall 2024 Event Calendar that includes over a dozen workshops and activities.
- Creation of a “virtual” Richey Center on Blackboard to encourage faculty, staff, and students to come together to learn about humanities events and issues; and a humanities career resources section for students.
- Establishment of Poetry Nooks across campus to provide a quiet space to reflect, a comfortable chair, and access to free books on a variety of topics, not just poetry. Some of the books come from Sister Maria’s own collection. All members of the campus community are invited to take a book, leave a book, or just enjoy the space. One Nook is located on the second floor of the library and a second is on the second floor of Raymond Hall.
- Compilation of videos of past and current performances, lectures, and events on campus, which can be viewed on a special Richey Center YouTube playlist.
The power of the Richey Center is that it provides a multidisciplinary way to gain a deeper understanding of people and their lives, cultures, beliefs, and experiences from a variety of perspectives. “It’s all about creating connections and showing relevance. The humanities bring people together and create a human bond; it is called humanities for a reason,” said Dr. Cappucci.
The decision to name the Richey Center after Sister Maria was an easy one. Sister Maria, who retired in 2011 and is still quoting Shakespeare from memory at 95 years old, has a tremendous love of language, literature, and poetry. Her lasting mark on future generations, along with her deep connections with students, colleagues, and the campus community, made her the perfect choice.
“Sister Maria is the epitome of what the humanities and creative arts are about at GCU,” remarked Dr. Cappucci who still keeps in touch with Sister Maria. “She was humbled by our request to name the Center in her honor, but said if her name could help support the humanities, she was for it.”
He added, “Cordis in Latin means of the heart, and her legacy is that heart, that love. We are committed to this center and believe in what we are trying to do, to not only honor Sister Maria’s legacy, but to build on that great GCU humanities legacy and show the value of what humanities can bring to everyone.”
To learn more about the Center, click here or contact Dr. Cappucci at pcappucci@georgian.edu. As the Richey Center is fully supported by donations, please also consider supporting these efforts to make more programs a reality.
