When Ambassador Ahmad Kamal (Retired Pakistani ambassador at the UN) visited DePaul University he said: "The most important asset of your university is the Vincentian mission to serve the community" (April 2005).
Public Service as Vocation
Service is central to Dr. Tavanti's vocation as academic, scholar and professional. Ultimately, service is more than a list of committees in the department, college or university - it is about making a difference through servant leadership, collegial works and shared governance to contributing to the true excellence and engagement of academia. Service is about 'practicing' our teaching and research, in Dr. Tavanti's case, public, social and international service. Service to the community is more than board services. It is about making our expertise a 'pro-bono' contribution to create, develop and institutionalize organizations, programs and projects. This should be done in a way that best benefit society, especially the poor and disenfranchised people and sectors of society. There is a growing movement in academia to make 'service' a central element in teaching (service learning) and research (participatory action research). Unfortunately current promotion and tenure standards do not sufficiently take into account service in its impact in the community, relevance to the discipline and integration with teaching and research. Academic institutions that value service in their mission should be at the forefront of recognizing, promoting, rewarding service. Dr. Tavanti's perspective of service is ultimately community-oriented or connected to his international service and professional career. The following are samples of Dr. Tavanti's services to the university and community.
Sustainability Across the University
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DePaul University is an academic institution committed to sustainable practices. Dr. Tavanti as instructor of sustainable development and member of the presidential Sustainability Initiatives Taskforce committee has been promoting sustainability practices at personal, organizational and institutional level. The plans at DePaul follow the assessment criteria and best institutional practices shared around members of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education and measured with The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) . DePaul is focusing its sustainability commitments along its Vincentian mission and an integrated approach of looking at the institution, along the curricula, operation, research, engagement (iCORE) working areas. This blog is not the official website of the university which is http://sustainability.depaul.edu. Here you can read about definitions of sustainability along some interesting reports and ideas from students http://sustainabledepaul.blogspot.com/ |
Ethics Across the Curricula (EAC)
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As part of the Vision 2012 Strategic Plan at DePaul University, Dr. Tavanti has been serving in the Ethics Across the Curricula (EAC) committee coordinated by Dr. Patricia H. Werhane. Some of the outcomes of our process have been the university-wide audit of ethics related courses, the writing of a booklet for a common ethical language (Ethics 101) and the offering of faculty courses for teaching ethics. Following his fellowship with The Institute for Business and Professional Ethics (IBPE), Dr. Tavanti contributed to the ethics conversation at DePaul by offering a useful framework for understanding Vincentian values and ethics. To download the Ethics 101 manual, click here.
Down load the presentation of Vincentian Leadership Ethics 
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Internationalization of the University
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Dr. Tavanti currently serves as member of the globalization / internationalization task force of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Science (LAS). Prior to this he served in the University Community for International Programs (UCIP) to implement a comprehensive plan for internationalizing the campus, curricula and colleges. He also served in his department, the School of Public Service to implement the internationalization of the curricula across course and graduate program. Beside the formulation of an International Public Service degree and creating innovative study abroad programs, Dr. Tavanti believes a university that wants to pursue an international agenda needs to open its doors to international students, collaborate with community-based culturally diverse communities and enter into strategic partnerships with international organizations. Education in the Global North can benefit from direct exposure and engagement in collaborative projects in the Global South of the world. Institutions of higher education are the vehicle for making these connections real opportunities for mutual growth and international public service. Just going abroad in not enough as academic tourism or poverty tourism are not enough for educating globally responsible citizens and leaders. Learn more about these topics of internationalization and education at IIE website. At DePaul University Dr. Tavanti served also as President of the International Scholars Society Phi-Beta-Delta. Read more here.
The Sharing Quality Higher Education Across Borders: A Statement on Behalf of Higher Education Institutions Worldwide offers some very good ethical insights for the internationalization process. Dr. Tavanti has introduced these principles in the School of Public Service and university's conversations on International Public Service and International Service Learning. Read the good practice document here. |
Value Board Leadership Development
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Dr. Tavanti has been consulting and serving various nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations in their board leadership development. Through the knowledge on value leadership, organizational management and intercultural diversity, his contribution to organizations could be very helpful to identify its strengths, strategic plans and systemic orientations toward social impact. Dr. Tavanti has been serving the boards of Directors, Advisors and other special committees of organizations like Catholic Charities, Jubilee-Economics, UNA-USA Chicago, World Engagement Institute and others to enhance their values and capacity. Download here one of the PowerPoint Presentation used in a board leadership training for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago's Regional Board members.
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International Career Development
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Dr. Tavanti created and coordinates International Career Forum to assist graduate students interested in international public service careers. Through the visit of professionals and practical insights the forum series give student the possibility to engage with IPS alumni worldwide through a professional social network site: The International Public Service IPS Network (LinkedIN Group). Developing a sustainable and successful international career requires expert advice and strategic planning. The Career Forum is a quarterly event designed to give international public service (IPS) and other graduate students interested in international careers practical and expert advice on the necessary steps in developing a qualified, competitive and engaged profile. In combination with the international competencies, management skills and leadership values acquired with the courses and experiential learning requirements of their graduate degree, participants can learn valuable insights on organizations, programs and initiatives in line with careers for international development and global advocacy among other common fields in international public service. The following are sample of the practical documents and insights shared during the meetings.
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Public Service and Service Learning
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Dr. Tavanti has been coordinating reflections and sharing of good practices in between public service and service learning. The Public Service & Service Learning Colloquia is a collaborative initiative of the Steans Center for Community Based Service Learning and Faculty of the School of Public Service at DePaul University. The purpose of these quarterly colloquia is to stimulate value-based reflections and promote good practices in teaching, research and service in line with the common characteristics of service learning and public service. The structure of the colloquia follow a quarterly focus on teaching methods and practices, applied, participatory action research, and urban, community, international service through study abroad, internships and other professional and organizational service related activities. The themes of the colloquia alternate from teaching, research and international aspects of public service and service learning. Click here to know more.
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