Recently, Cabrini nominated professors Eric Malm, PhD, and Amy Persichetti, EdD, for national awards highlighting their commitment to civic engagement and social justice programs.
The two faculty members held pivotal roles in shaping the Justice Matters curriculum—specifically the Engagements with the Common Good courses—and have helped define the role of community partnerships at Cabrini.
Eric Malm, PhD
Associate Professor of Economics and Business Administration
Spotlight partnership: Norristown Arts District
When Eric Malm, PhD, first arrived at Cabrini, the economist and entrepreneur was unaware of the effect 
“community engagement” would have on him, his teaching, and his aspirations as an educator.
Engagement scholarship quickly became a central part of all his classes, beginning with his Engagements with the Common Good course that partnered with the Norristown Arts District.
The course partnered students with Arts Festival committees focused on marketing, logistics, fundraising, and real estate. Students worked with community partners to identify how they could help using their unique skills and interests to support the inaugural Arts Festival in Norristown.
One student lobbied to perform at the festival while another worked to examine the logistics of the event and how and why it impacted the community.
“To engage meaningfully in community work, you truly need to become part of the community,” Malm said. “The roots of partnership needed to be deep and broad.”
Malm’s work with the municipality of Norristown has grown since that initial course.
By engaging with the community through a business background, Malm and his students have helped design campaigns to support small, struggling businesses in the community; continue to market the annual Arts Festival and engage locals and visitors to the area; and have worked with local leaders and businesses to create development proposals to the municipality.
Amy Persichetti, EdD
Assistant Professor of English
Spotlight partnership: Laurel House
Since the beginning of her teaching career in an urban high school classroom, Amy Persichetti, EdD, has understood the classroom’s capacity for student empowerment and social change.
At Cabrini, her research and service have aligned with Cabrini’s mission and core values to enact meaningful 
change in the classroom and the local community.
By developing a course, Engagements with the Common Good 300: Dating and Domestic Violence, Persichetti partnered Cabrini students with employees at the Laurel House, a local domestic violence program in Norristown, Pa.
The partnership both educates students about domestic violence issues at a local and global level and helps the organization conduct research that spots trends, informs programming, and provides rationale for funding.
“By comparing local results to national results, students are often shocked by how accurate and relevant their own research is, driving them to seek ways to shift the paradigms that permit domestic violence.” said Persichetti.
“Because they have personally identified and confirmed the presence of domestic violence in their communities, they are more likely compelled to work to solve the problem.”
Since the class has been offered, more than 500 students have taken the course and have shared data with the Laurel House from more than 17 unique surveys.
The course also has secured a grant from the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for Domestic Violence Education to increase awareness of domestic violence education through the formation of a student group (PiNK), educational events, and on-campus and community task forces.