ACU National has strengthened ties with the St Vincent de Paul Society Sydney Archdiocese with the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). ..
The Memorandum Of Understanding provides a partnership which will impact on social policy and benefit the poor in society. Partnership programs are being developed with St Vincent de Paul Society in the areas of education, social work and health.
The MOU was signed at the ACU National Vice-Chancellery on the North Sydney Campus (MacKillop) by the University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and International), Professor John Coll, and the President of the St Vincent de Paul Society, Sydney Archdiocese, Mr Les Miko.
ACU National staff and students have joined forces with St Vincent de Paul Society staff and volunteers in recent years to help provide education and food for people who are homeless, to provide scholarships for Indigenous students, and to work in clothing outlets.
Under the MOU, these activities are expected to be strengthened, and others introduced, such as nursing students helping provide health checks for homeless people.
“The MOU is working towards a partnership to impact social policy, and bring resources together for the benefit of the poor in society,” said ACU National senior lecturer Dr Peter Howard from the University’s School of Education (NSW), who also chairs the Faculty of Education’s National Advisory Committee for Community Engagement.
“This agreement is about social analysis, community outreach, and putting theory into action,” he said. “St Vincent de Paul is an evolving learning culture and ACU National is a teaching and research institution. Together, we share many values and ideas so that through collaborating we can influence public policy to benefit the poor and marginalised in our community.”
ACU National is recogised nationally and internationally as an institution in which all activities are driven by its distinctive mission in a quality way. Through this mission, it is guided by a fundamental concern for justice and equity, and for the dignity of all human beings.
ACU National empowers its students and staff with a strong sense of social responsibility and concern for the moral and ethical dimensions of their study and their professional and personal lives. For more information, visit www.acu.edu.au.
