Cabrini College’s campus is a perfect environment for students to become engaged in academic programs and extracurricular activities, according to Joseph Clark.
That, coupled with the opportunity students have to participate in community service and activities that promote social justice, is what impressed Clark about Cabrini.
“Cabrini is a special place for learning,” Clark says. “The students with whom I have worked have been bright and eager participants in the college experience.”
In 2007, Clark became assistant professor of education, teaching undergraduate courses in methods of teaching elementary science. He brings to Cabrini’s undergraduate program 10 years of experience as a public school teacher and 25 years as an elementary school principal.
Clark, who also served as Cabrini’s interim director of student teaching, believes learning is maximized when students become actively engaged in meaningful and challenging activities.
“Students will become more confident and skilled science teachers when they are guided through units of instruction which require inquiry, discovery, and problem-based learning activities that provide hands-on experiences in the process and content of elementary school science,” he says.
Clark has served the College’s partnership with Cabrini Ministries, an organization founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the African nation of Swaziland.
He twice has visited St. Philip’s Mission, home of the Cabrini Ministries hostel and health clinic, working with the child care staff to support orphans and vulnerable children living there. Swaziland is the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, where 26 percent of the population is infected, and life expectancy averages less than 49 years.
“Traveling to Swaziland has been a transformational experience for me,” Clark says.
“In a country so devastated by AIDS and related terminal illnesses, the Missionary Sisters at Cabrini Ministries have given the children there food, shelter, access to education, and hope for the future. This social justice partnership between Cabrini College and Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland is just one of many ways our students can be engaged in social justice matters that truly make a difference in our global community.”
Clark earned a master’s in education, a school administration certificate and a certificate of advanced graduate study from Temple University. He earned a bachelor of arts from Alderson-Broaddus College in West Virginia.
His academic interests include pedagogy of inquiry and discovery methods for teaching elementary school science, and developing awareness of issues related to conservation and advocating for clean water and clean air legislation.
Clark enjoys sailing, skiing, hiking, and getting lost in adventure and mystery novels. He is married and enjoys visits with his five 20-something children. He lives near Guthriesville, Pa., in the Downingtown School District.
Contact Information:
Joseph Clark
Assistant Professor, Education (Science)
Iadarola Center, Room 224
610-9020-8727
jc738@cabrini.edu