On This Page
Overview
Community-Engaged Learning
Community-Engaged Learning programs link academic study and community service, so that each is strengthened and both are transformed.
Community-Engaged Research
Community-Engaged Research organizes learning and knowledge-sharing opportunities and provides strategic data analytics support for community organizations.
Humanitarian Action
Humanitarian Action initiatives raise awareness about humanitarian issues and build skills and strategies for effective and compassionate action.
About Us
Welcome to the Center for Social Impact
Grounded in Fairfield University's Jesuit, Catholic mission to share its intellectual resources for the betterment of the community and to educate students to be socially and morally responsible, the Center for Social Impact connects community and campus to create high impact academic opportunities that address local, national, and global challenges and develop individuals committed to creating a more just and equitable world.
The Center offers:
- Course development and research project support
- Partnerships with local and global organizations
- Faculty development programs
- Student leadership opportunities
News & Events
Humanitarian Action Minors Intern at NGOs
Fairfield Students Rally to Support Afghan Refugees
Students’ Mapping Efforts Support Global Disaster Response
Community-Engaged Research Connects Campus and Regional Communities
Magdalena Dutkowska ’22 Wins Community Service Scholarship
Humanitarian Action & Climate Change Conference
Sept. 30 – Oct. 2
Fairfield Students Reflect on a Remarkable Volunteer Journey
Fairfield's Center for Social Impact Releases Norwalk Community Food Report
2021 MLK Vision Award Honors Andrea Canuel
Harnessing Blockchain for Change
Our Team
Melissa Quan
Director of the Center for Social Impact, Fairfield University
Melissa Quan, EdD
Director of the Center for Social Impact, Fairfield University
Melissa Quan, EdD, is director of the Center for Social Impact at Fairfield University where she has worked since 2002. As director, Dr. Quan leads the strategic growth and development of academic community engagement. Dr. Quan completed her master’s degree in education at Fairfield University in 2005 and earned a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2021. The International Association of Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement recognized her scholarship with the Dissertation Award in 2021. Dr. Quan has several publications that focus on professional development within the field of higher education community engagement, institutional change, and community-engaged teaching and learning. Dr. Quan is an alumna of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (1998-1999) and currently serves on the board of directors with RYASAP (Regional Adult and Youth Social Action Partnership). She is a recipient of the Lucy Katz Woman of the Year Award (2016) and the Martin Luther King Jr. Vision Award (2012), both from Fairfield University, for her commitment and work to promote social justice. She lives in Fairfield, Conn., with her husband, two children, a parent, and a pup.
Julie Mughal
Associate Director
Humanitarian Action
Center for Social Impact
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Mary Crimmins
Administrative Coordinator
Center for Social Impact
Center for Catholic Studies
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Mary Crimmins is the Administrative Coordinator for the Center for Social Impact. In this capacity Mary interacts with faculty, other departments and outside partners to ensure the achievement of the Center’s objectives.
Mary is also the Administrative Coordinator for the Center for Catholic Studies. As administrative coordinator, Mary interacts with faculty, lecturers, and other departments to ensure the achievement of the Center’s objectives.
Mary received her BA in 1991 with a focus on marketing, from St. Bonaventure University. Prior to taking a hiatus to raise her three daughters, Mary held a variety of administrative positions in marketing and promotion, most recently with Breitling, a manufacturer of premium watches. Mary is an 18-year resident of Fairfield and mostly enjoys spending time with her three daughters, Emily, Nicole, Claire and husband Mike.
Andrea Canuel
Associate Director,
Community-Engaged Learning
Center for Social Impact
Community-Engaged Learning
Center for Social Impact
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Reinaldo González Rodríguez
Assistant Director for CEnR
Center for Social Impact
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Reinaldo D. González Rodriguez '20, MA '21 serves as the Assistant Director for Community-Engaged Research at the Center for Social Impact. He graduated from Fairfield University with a BA in Sociology and minors in American studies, anthropology and Black Studies. Then soon after pursued his Masters degree at Fairfield University in Applied Data Science.
Rei’s main role at the CEnR is to work with staff, faculty and students to design and implement research projects with community partners. The goal of the program is to connect the college campus to the community in order to develop research-based solutions to social challenges. Before the CEnR, Rei had the opportunity to work for a Digital Market Research company as a Sr. Data analyst. In addition to his work in digital marketing he also worked as a Data Analyst and Visualizer consultant for multiple community partners around Fairfield County.
Advisory Board
Biff J. O’Reilly ’80, P’11
Chair
Lindsay Clayton
Nancy von Euler
Charlie MacCormack
From 1993 through 2011, Dr. MacCormack was President of Save the Children, the world’s leading independent nonprofit organization serving children in need. With programs in the United States and more than 50 countries, an annual budget of over $550 million and more than 6,000 staff worldwide, Save the Children works to create lasting positive change in the lives of children in need through programs in health care and nutrition, education and economic opportunity. Save the Children also provides child-oriented humanitarian assistance during natural disasters, war and conflict. He also served on the Board of the International Save the Children Alliance, which currently programs more than $1.3 billion in over 120 countries.
Prior to his position at Save the Children, Dr. MacCormack was President of World Learning (formerly known as the Experiment in International Living) from 1977 to 1992. His first experience at Save the Children was as Vice President of Programs in the 1970s and for four years he worked as the Director of the Masters Degree Program in International Management at the School for International Training. Before that, he was a research fellow in foreign policy studies at The Brookings Institution. He earlier served as Assistant to the Dean of the International Fellows Program at Columbia University. Dr. MacCormack was an instructor of Latin American Politics at the University of New Hampshire Summer School and was a staff associate for the First National City Bank International Division in Caracas, Venezuela.
Dr. MacCormack served as Board Chair of InterAction, the national association of over 160 U.S. international humanitarian and development organizations from 2006 to 2009. He currently serves on the Board of World Learning and is a Founding Board Member of Malaria No More. While CEO of World Learning, he was Chair of the International Exchange Association, the national membership organization of America’s leading citizen exchange organizations. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Throughout his career, Dr. MacCormack has served in many consultative and official roles. He sat on the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid and the Food Security Advisory Committee, and was President of the Non-Governmental Committee on UNICEF. He was selected by the United Nations Secretary General to participate on the Founding Committee of the United Nations University and served as a member of the United States Delegation to the 1997 World Food Summit and the United States Delegation for the 2002 General Assembly Special Session on Children. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Education by Middlebury College, and an honorary Doctor of Law by Clark University. He was made a member of the Grand Cordon of the Order of Al-Istiolal by former King Hussein of Jordan.
Dr. MacCormack received his doctorate and master's degrees from Columbia University and his undergraduate degree from Middlebury College. He was a National Science Foundation Fellow at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in Mexico City and a Fulbright Fellow at the Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas. He participated in a special three-summer program at the Harvard Business School on the Leadership of Global Non-Profit Organizations.
He was married to the late Susan Ross, former president of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation. He resides in Easton, Ct.
Richard Miller-Murphy '78
Rich Miller-Murphy ’78 has worked in for-profit and non-profit healthcare his entire professional career, currently as executive director for blood, laboratory, and medical services at New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe). Previously he served as their chief of strategy & marketing within the Office of the President, managed the Office of Contracts/Pricing Administration, and served as vice president and executive director for N.Y. Blood Services, serving hospitals in Manhattan. He has held senior management roles at Laerdal Medical Corporation, Hitachi Medical Corporation of America and Corometrics Medical Systems. Rich started his career with the Hospital Products division of Abbott Laboratories in New York City.
After earning his bachelor of science degree in biology and chemistry from Fairfield University and his MBA in business policy and strategy from the University of New Haven, he served as chair of University of New Haven’s Pompea College of Business Advisory Board, as a member of the Board of Directors for N.Y. American Marketing Association’s Executive Circle, and as vice president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Laurence O’Toole Conference, NYC.
Rich is currently helping set up a formal Office of Fund Development at NYBCe to raise funds nationally for their clinical research programs. He is excited to work with CSI and encourages students to develop programs to address social needs in the community.
Kelly Nakamoto ‘89
Kelly is a native of New York and holds a Masters in Taxation from the American University Kogod School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree from Fairfield University. She is an active supporter of Capital Hospice, Washington Jesuit Academy and serves on the Board of Directors for Volunteer Fairfax. Volunteer Fairfax is an organization, which matches the skills and interests of volunteers and donors to the needs of local non-profit organizations, helping to build a better community through service.
Nicholas Napolitano
Marianne O'Connell Neville ’79, P’11
Mary Ryan Cunningham ’76
Kurt C. Schlichting '70
His most recent book for Johns Hopkins University Press, Waterfront Manhattan; From Henry Hudson to the High Line, was published in May of 2018. His previous book for Johns Hopkins, Grand Central Terminal: Railroads, Architecture and Engineering in New York won the 2002 Association of American Publishers award as the Best Professional/ Scholarly Book in Architecture & Urbanism. The book was the basis for the 2008 PBS - The American Experience – Grand Central an award-winning documentary.
Dr. Schlichting’s research uses GIS to analyze historical data focused on the history of immigration and the rise of the American city with a focus on New York City. He co-founded the Community-Engaged Research program, providing research assistance to non-profit organizations and local governments. He continues to participate in CEnR research projects
Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. ’73
President and CEO of Collette, Dan Sullivan has over 45 years in the travel industry. He was a driving force in taking Collette from a regional tour operator to a global company and an industry leader. In addition to being a highly successful businessman, Sullivan has dedicated much of his life to philanthropy. In 2007, he founded the nonprofit, The Collette Foundation, to support communities and especially children through hunger and education initiatives all over the world. A member of the Center Social Impact Advisory Board for nearly 10 years, Sullivan has been a supportive and enthusiastic advocate for the Center’s work.
Sullivan has worked for decades to instill social responsibility and a philanthropic mindset in Collette’s culture. He was inducted into the Tourism Hall of Fame for his contributions to the community, through philanthropic endeavors and significant contributions to the advancement of responsible tourism and in December 2017, Sullivan received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Travel Weekly.
In addition to his service to Fairfield, Sullivan is on the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. He chairs the Collette Foundation board. He sits on the Charitable Foundation board for Bristol County Savings Ban; is the former Chairman for Tourism Cares; serves as Co-Chairman of the Pawtucket Foundation, an organization committed to the continued economic development of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Collette’s home city. He is also an engaged supporter of non-profit causes including the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Hospice, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, and Amos House.
Sullivan graduated from Fairfield with a degree in marketing and holds a degree from Harvard Business School’s Executive Owner/President Management program. He loves Springsteen, traveling the world and relaxing at home with family, including his 8 grandchildren.
Ashley Toombs ‘07
Rosellen Walsh Schnurr ‘74
Rosellen has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 1995, and has served as the vice-chairman, on the Executive Committee, and as the Chairman of the Committee on Trustees. In addition, she was part of the Presidential Search Committee that was responsible for the hiring of the Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, S.J., who became the eighth President of Fairfield University in July 2004. Rosellen was the recipient of the Alumni Service Award in 2004. Rosellen was the first of three Walsh children to attend Fairfield, followed by her brother, Thomas J. Walsh III ’78 and sister, Marianne Saladino Walsh ’88. In 1990, the Walsh family name became permanently and publicly attached to Fairfield when an art gallery at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts was named for Rosellen's grandfather, Thomas J. Walsh. In 1999, in recognition of the family's $5 million gift, the athletic center was named for her father, who was president and chairman of Colonial Wire and Cable Company.
In addition to her longtime commitment to Fairfield, Rosellen currently serves on the Executive Committee of the American Mural Project, a 3-dimensional mixed media mural, measuring 120’ long and 50’ high that is a tribute to America’s work ethic and ingenuity. The project will culminate with interactive educational technology made available to America’s classrooms. It is estimated that over 10,000 Americans will take part in helping to produce sections of the work, which was originated by artist and creator, Ellen Griesedick. Since 1992, Rosellen has served as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Indian Mountain School in Lakeville CT. In that role, she has run board meetings, oversaw the budget and fundraising issues, and assisted in the merger of 2 schools to form one that is K-9. Rosellen recently became of member of the Cosmopolitan Club, a professional women’s club in New York City.
Rosellen has been married to Robert C. Schnurr, M.D., ’74, for 31 years and is the mother of Brian (27), who is employed in her family’s business, Michael (26) who will be starting his final year of law school at Georgetown University this fall, and Christina (19), a rising sophomore at Bates College. The Schnurrs reside in Sharon, CT.