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STU Dean Elected to Executive Board of Florida’s Largest Faith-Based Community Organization

By October 29, 2015Biscayne College


Dr. Darrell Arnold, dean of Biscayne College at St. Thomas University, has been chosen as the first-ever university administrator to serve on the Executive Board of South Florida’s largest faith-based community organizing coalition, PACT (People Acting for Community Together), an interfaith coalition of diverse congregations working for social and economic justice in Miami-Dade County.

“I am honored to be chosen to join PACT’s leadership,” said Dean Arnold. “Perhaps more than any other organization in our region, PACT embodies both the principles of participatory democracy and the Catholic call to solidarity. It is an honor for St. Thomas to be a member of PACT, and I personally look forward to working with my colleagues to support PACT’s excellent efforts toward community change.”

Arnold teaches in the philosophy department at St. Thomas University, and is actively involved in civic engagement and in strengthening local democracy.

“Dean Arnold is going to be an excellent addition to the Executive Board of PACT,” said Megan O’Brien, lead organizer for PACT. “St. Thomas has long been a leader in engaging its faculty and students in meaningful research and advocacy, and we look forward to building the partnership as we work together toward a better community for all.”

PACT represents more than 150,000 people (including 39 churches, synagogues, schools and community groups). Its members work collectively to identify their commonly held concerns, research policy solutions these concerns, and use the power of their numbers to negotiate with officials for long-term change. Founded in 1988 by an Archdiocesan priest, PACT has long been supported by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development – the premier anti-poverty campaign of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

St. Thomas University has been a member of PACT since 2007, with the university’s Center for Community Engagement supporting faculty and students interested in integrating their teaching and research with PACT’s work for community change. Over the years there have been dozens of courses and internships with STU faculty and students working on issues such as job creation, community violence, and reform of the juvenile justice system.

For more information on St. Thomas University’s long-term partnership with PACT, visit www.stu.edu/cce, or contact the Center for Community Engagement at cce@stu.edu; 305-628-6717.

Marlen Lebish

Author Marlen Lebish

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