Fearing that its students, faculty and staff are torn by biases and competing interests, the University of Cincinnati is adopting eight commandments for a “Just Community.”

        Going beyond the traditional education mission statement, the compact arises from five years of campus debate and commits the institution to what President Joseph Steger calls “enduring values.”

        The eight ideals range from promoting justice to practicing civility. Dr. Steger promised they will be cast in bronze.

        • Pursue learning and scholarship.

        • Strive for excellence.

        • Celebrate the uniqueness of each individual.

        • Practice civility.

        • Embrace freedom and openness.

        • Seek integrity.

        • Promote justice.

        • Accept responsibility.

        A Just Community plaque will be unveiled at noon Wednesday. It is to be installed in the new student service pavilion. Replicas are to be placed in other high-traffic UC facilities.

University of Cincinnati junior Camille Jackson (clockwise from right), sophomore Matt Carlin and senior Eric Forte wrap themselves up in a giant Just Community flag made by freshmen. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        In a recent letter to “members of the university community,” Dr. Steger said the plaque embodies “the final Statement of Commitment for a Just Community” and a “compact between the university and all of its members.”

        No one is required to sign the compact and nothing in UC codes of conduct suggeststhat failing to pursue or achieve these ideals would begrounds for disciplinary action.

        “They're not that formal,” spokeswoman Dawn Fuller said.

        Vice president Mitchel Livingston, who brought the Just Community concept from the State University of New York at Albany, said that while similar character-development initiatives are being promoted nationwide, UC's is the most institutionally pervasive and widely embraced by groups it addresses.

        Dr. Livingston said a Just Community will “create an ethos of expectation” among UC's diverse, sometimes hostile and often competitive institutions and populations.

        The compact, sketched out on the plaque and elaborated in publications and programs, reflects a recent finding by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching that American campuses typically lack a sense of community.

        Dr. Livingston said the Just Community speaks to that by helping overcome UC's lack of a “larger sense of itself.”

        Students, faculty and staff all know the “Thou shalt nots,” he said, but the compact is a “positive affirmation of what we value.”

        “We're all fairly decent people,” he continued, but if UC doesn't clarify what it expects, “you get what people want to give.”

        UC sophomore Darren Tolliver of Toledo said the compact is not window-dressing.

        “Definitely, UC needs it,” he said, because everyone needs to know what UC expects.

        Camille Jackson, a Green Township junior, said the Just Community was a new concept to freshman orientation groups she has led. When she assured them, “You're allowed to have your own opinions as long as you respect others' opinions,” they responded enthusiastically, she said.
       
       

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