St. Norbert College to Offer First “MOOC” Programming

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From St. Norbert College, December 8, 2016
by Matthew Matuszak, matthew.matuszak@snc.edu, 920-403-3089

Beginning Jan. 31, 2017, St. Norbert College president Thomas Kunkel and the Rev. Andrew Ciferni, O.Praem., director of the Center for Norbertine Studies, will deliver a five-week Massive Open Online Course, or MOOC, on the Canvas.net online platform. The course, "St. Norbert -- The man, The movement, The MOOC," is free and open to the community, current and potential students, alumni, faculty and staff. It will focus on the life story of St. Norbert of Xanten, and his influence on today's St. Norbert College. There will be five live streaming presentations: Jan. 31, Feb. 7, Feb. 14, Feb. 21 and Feb. 27. Registration begins at http://www.Canvas.net on Dec. 19.

MOOCs, Massive Open Online Courses, are courses of study made available over the internet without charge to an unlimited number of people. Readings and resources are provided at no cost to participants, who view the presentations via a live stream on the course website. On the Canvas.net network, MOOC participants earn a badge of completion for each course.

Thomas Kunkel is the seventh president of St. Norbert College. Prior to arriving at the college in 2008, he served for eight years as the dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. At St. Norbert, Kunkel has presided over the introduction of the Master of Business Administration and Master of Liberal Studies graduate programs, adoption of a new general education curriculum, and a groundbreaking partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin, as well as unprecedented enhancements to the college's facilities. Kunkel earned his B.A. in political science and his master's degree in humanities at the University of Evansville. He will be retiring from St. Norbert College in May 2017.

Fr. Ciferni is a member of the Norbertine community at Daylesford Abbey in Paoli, Pa. Graduating from St. Norbert College in 1964, he holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome and a Ph.D. in liturgical studies from the University of Notre Dame. Ciferni is an adjunct professor of theology and religious studies at the college in addition to being the director of the Center for Norbertine Studies.

For more information about the course and MOOCs, contact Sundi Richard at 920-403-3281 or email sundi.richard@snc.edu. You can also go to, http://www.snc.edu/mooc/.