Lunch & Learn: “From California to the New York Island…”
On Tuesday, January 31, Newman University history professors Dr. Cheryl Golden and Dr. Kelly McFall will present “‘From California to the New York Island’: Reflections on Land and National Identity.” The presentation is the third in the Gerber Institute’s year-long Lunch and Learn series on the theme of land, which takes its inspiration from Woody Guthrie’s folk anthem “This Land Is Your Land.”
The presentation will take place from 12:00 to 12:50 p.m. in the Tarcisia Roths, ASC Alumni Center in the Dugan Library and Campus Center. A complimentary lunch will be provided for the first 30 individuals who RSVP to Julie Brin by 5:00 p.m. this Friday, January 27. RSVP by calling (316) 942-4291, ext. 2483, or e-mailing Julie at brinj@newmanu.edu.
The Trials of Darryl Hunt
The Newman University Criminal Justice program, with the support of the Gerber Institute for Catholic Studies, will present Darryl Hunt hosting a screening of the award-winning documentary about his life, “The Trials of Darryl Hunt,” at 7 p.m. on Monday, February 6 in the Performance Hall of the De Mattias Fine Arts Center on the Newman campus. The film documents a brutal rape/murder in the American South, and offers a deeply personal story of a wrongfully convicted man who spent twenty years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
Mr. Hunt will take questions from the audience immediately following the film. There will also be a brief reception and an opportunity to pre-order signed copies of Mr. Hunt’s forthcoming book “Life Interrupted: The Trials of Darryl Hunt.” The event is free and open to the public.
Mr. Hunt’s appearance is the result of a successful grant application made by Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Jill Fort to the Gerber Institute last year.
For more information about Darryl Hunt or the Gerber Institute, please visit www.gerberinstitute.org.
Dr. Kevin Godfrey to speak on reconciliation and Newman
Alvernia University Associate Professor of Theology Kevin Godfrey, Ph.D. will present the Cardinal Newman Lecture at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 in the Performance Hall of the De Mattias Fine Arts Center. Godfrey will speak on reconciliation in the life and thought of Blessed John Henry Newman.
The event is sponsored by The Gerber Institute for Catholic Studies at Newman University in celebration of Cardinal Newman Week, and is free and open to the public.
Dr. Godfrey has published articles and delivered scholarly papers at national and international conferences on a variety of topics in Historical Theology and Christian Spirituality. His most sustained areas of interest for research are the Franciscan Tradition and the theology of John Henry Cardinal Newman. He has served as convener and moderator of the Thought of John Henry Newman Group of the Catholic Theological Society of America for the last seven years. He is a member of the Editorial Board and also Book Review Editor for the Journal of the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities.
Fr. Bill Morton to speak Nov. 2
Who: Fr. Bill Morton, SSC
What: Part 1 of Gerber Institute Visiting Speakers’ Series on Land
When: Wednesday, November 2, 2011, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Where: De Mattias Performance Hall, Newman University
As part of its 2011-2012 programming on the topic of Land, the Gerber Institute will welcome Fr. Bill Morton, a Catholic priest from El Paso, Texas, for a lecture at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2, 2011. Fr. Morton will talk about the ongoing dispute over land use and property rights in the Lomas del Poleo region of Mexico, just south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Fr. Morton has been actively and intimately involved in this dispute since 2003. In 2006, as a consequence of his involvement, he was fined and forced to leave Mexico; however, he has continued advocating for the Lomas residents from El Paso. To learn more about Lomas see www.pasodelsur.com and/or Google “Lomas del Poleo.”
Fr. Morton has a BA in Philosophy from St. Thomas University in St. Paul, an MDiv from Weston Jesuit in Cambridge, and an MA in Theological Studies from LaSalle University in Philadelphia. He is past president of the Board of Directors of the US Catholic Mission Association and serves on the Board of Directors of Annunciation House, Inc., a house of hospitality for the undocumented in El Paso.
The talk will take place in the of the De Mattias Performance Hall, located on the north side of the Newman University campus. Admission is free of charge and the public is invited.
Warren St. John to speak at Newman
The Gerber Institute for Catholic Studies at Newman University presents author Warren St. John on Monday, September 19, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. in the DeMattias Performance Hall on the Newman campus. Mr. St. John is the author of the national bestseller Outcasts United, the “stunning real-life story of an inspiring group of refugees and a woman who, with tough love and fiery determination, changes an entire community for the better” (back cover). During the lecture, which is free and open to the public, Mr. St. John will recount the story of the Fugees soccer team and will take questions from the audience. A reception and book signing will follow the talk. For more information about this event or to reserve a free ticket guaranteeing your seat, please visit the Eventbrite page at http://bitly.com/stjohnspeaker.
Warren St. John to speak at Newman
The Gerber Institute for Catholic Studies at Newman University presents author Warren St. John on Monday, September 19, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. in the DeMattias Performance Hall on the Newman campus. Mr. St. John is the author of the national bestseller Outcasts United, the “stunning real-life story of an inspiring group of refugees and a woman who, with tough love and fiery determination, changes an entire community for the better” (back cover). During the lecture, which is free and open to the public, Mr. St. John will recount the story of the Fugees soccer team and will take questions from the audience. A reception and book signing will follow the talk. For more information about this event or to reserve a free ticket guaranteeing your seat, please visit the Eventbrite page at https://www.eventbrite.com/event/1907077119/auto.
Warren St. James to speak at Newman
The Gerber Institute for Catholic Studies at Newman University will present the writer Warren St. James on Monday, September 19, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. in the DeMattias Performance Hall on the Newman campus. Mr. St. James is the author of Outcasts United, the story of a youth soccer team from Georgia called The Fugees. During the lecture, which is free and open to the public, Mr. St. James will recount the story of the Fugees soccer team and will take questions from the audience. A reception and book signing will follow the talk. For more information about this event, please visit the Gerber Institute’s website at www.gerberinstitute.org.
Lecture by Edward J. Miller
Feb. 23, 2011 — We thoroughly enjoyed Prof. Miller’s fascinating remarks last night about John Henry Newman and what it means to have — and to be — an “alma mater.” The phrase “alma mater” is not usually translated, having gained enough of its own currency in English to no longer need it. Most people know it means something like “the college I went to/graduated from.” But, while our language is certainly enriched by the importation of foreign words and phrases, there is almost always something lost in translation, so to speak. Had we been asked, we would have known that “mater” means “mother.” But our Latin is sadly not good enough to know that “alma” means “nourishing.” One’s “alma mater” is thus the mother that intellectually and spiritually nourishes one. What a beautiful image!
In his talk, Prof. Miller graciously shared some personal reflections on his own alma mater, the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, where he earned his doctorate. He then offered some insight into Cardinal Newman’s relationship with what he considered his alma mater, Trinity College at Oxford, a place that Newman recalled much later as having “never been unkind” to him, even as he was shunned by the rest of Oxford for his conversion to Catholicism. Finally, Prof. Miller brought us some insights (based in part on unpublished end-of-year reports which Newman was obliged to submit annually to the bishops) about how Newman sought to ensure that the institution he founded, the Catholic University of Ireland in Dublin, would continue this tradition of nourishing its students’ minds and souls.
The presentation was accompanied by numerous pictures — of Louvain, of Oxford, of the Catholic University in Ireland — some of which brought back fond memories for those who attended the beatification of Cardinal Newman last September. We only wish more members of the Newman community could have attended this special Newman Week event. For those who did attend, feel free to add your comments below!
2009-2010 Topics
The Gerber Institute will extend its examination of the study theme “Reconciling Differences” at least one more year. Additionally, however, the Institute’s programming for the 2009-2010 academic year will address the theme of reconciliation with a focus on the specific areas of healthcare and education. More details about these programming initiatives will be released as soon as they are finalized.
Fall 2009: Healthcare
In the wake of an extended national discussion about healthcare reform, culminating in the legislation passed this spring, it is clear that many fundamental and unresolved differences exist with respect to the rights and responsibilities associated with caring for the health of our population. The Gerber Institute is making plans to offer programming during the Fall semester that will help audiences unravel some of the many complexities that are involved in healthcare debate.
Spring 2010: Education
It is a commonplace to say that American education is in a crisis. With costs rising, test scores falling (or not climbing rapidly enough), and ever-louder cries for accountability at all levels of education, many teachers, professors, and administrators are under tremendous pressure. Yet it is not at all clear how to reconcile all of the competing demands that educators face. Nor is it entirely clear how the educational enterprise is to be carried out in a Catholic context. Next spring, the Gerber Institute plans to present programming aimed at fostering dialogue around some of the more pressing and fundamental questions associated with education–in particular, Catholic higher education.
Alfie Kohn to speak on education
The Gerber Institute for Catholic Studies is pleased to announce that Alfie Kohn will be speaking in Wichita, Kansas, on Saturday, April 16, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School. Kohn’s talk will deal with his influential ideas on teaching and parenting as they relate to the Gerber Institute’s ongoing theme of reconciling differences.
Alfie Kohn
Alfie Kohn is the author of twelve books on education, parenting, and human behavior, including PUNISHED BY REWARDS (1993), BEYOND DISCIPLINE(1996), THE SCHOOLS OUR CHILDREN DESERVE (1999), UNCONDITIONAL PARENTING (2005), THE HOMEWORK MYTH (2006), and FEEL-BAD EDUCATION (due out this spring). He has written for most of the leading education periodicals and has appeared twice on “Oprah.” Time magazine described him as “perhaps the country’s most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades [and] test scores.” Kohn works with educators and parents across the country and speaks regularly at national conferences. He lives (actually) in the Boston area and (virtually) at www.alfiekohn.org.