January 22, 2007
Queens, N.Y. -
The mission of St. John’s University and the continuing work of
the Vincentian communities founded by St. Vincent de Paul will be
celebrated during a week of events, exhibits and activities on both
the Queens and Staten Island campuses.
From January 25 through February 1,
faculty, students, administrators and staff will participate in
service opportunities and book discussions, attend lectures and
luncheons. Some will receive awards. But all will be focused on the
theme, “respect + compassion = solidarity,” which is derived from
St.Vincent’s instruction to “Act with gentleness, respect and
compassion.”
University President Rev. Donald J. Harrington will
celebrate the
Founder’s Week Mass and present Recognition Awards at the
week’s opening event on the Queens campus on January 25. On Staten
Island, Rev. Michael Carroll, C.M., Executive Vice President for
Mission and Branch Campuses will celebrate the
Founder’s Week liturgy.
Attendees at the presentation,
“Give Me Your Tired and Your Poor,” on Monday, January 29 will
experience diverse views on immigration. After viewing the film,
The Line in the Sand: Stories from the US/Mexican Border,
those in Queens will hear personal reflections from students and a
keynote from Joan Rosenhauer, Coordinator of Special Projects at
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. On Staten Island,
Rosenhauer will speak and lead a panel discussion on global
solidarity.
Graduate students will get an opportunity to learn more about
the St. Vincent de Paul Legal Clinic Programs at a seminar,
“Solidarity Across the Professions” on January 30. Several
faculty members and graduate students will discuss their
interdisciplinary experiences.
On January 31, Rev. Timothy Lyons, C.M., recently named Chaplain
to St. John’s School of Law, will offer a Luncheon Conversation on
“St. Vincent de Paul: Our Ordinary Life as Pathway to
Solidarity” in the Presidential Room of the Kelleher Center on
Staten Island.
A highlight in the weeklong celebration will be a lecture by
Immaculee Ilibagiza on the Queens campus on January 31
entitled “Forgiveness and Reconciliation: A Path to Global
Solidarity.” Ms. Ilibagiza is the author of Left to Tell:
Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, a chronicle of
her family’s brutal killing and how her discovery of God’s
unconditional love enabled her to forgive their killers. The author
will be participating in a book signing in Queens on Friday,
January 26.
Later on the 31st, students will have the opportunity to see
Pay It Forward and to “Think of an Idea for World Change,
and put it into Action!” during a dinner and panel discussion in
Queens.
Founder’s Week on the Queens campus closes with
“Tunnel of Oppression: An Experience of Solidarity with Victims of
Injustice,” a program sponsored by Campus Ministry. During this
interactive experience, Resident Assistants will guide groups of
students through "scenes of oppression” displayed or performed by
other RAs. At the end of the tour, Campus Ministry staff will lead
students in a discussion on how it felt to witness such events
first-hand.
That same day, Staten Island’s Campus Book Club will address the
subject of immigration from immigrant’s perspective,
hosting a discussion of the book Enrique’s Journey: The
Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother
by Sonia Nazario. The 336-page book relates the true story of a
boy’s sometimes harrowing journey from Honduras to North Carolina
in search of his mother, with only her telephone number to assist
him in finding her.
Some Queens events will be by invitation only. They include a
Student Leaders luncheon hosted by Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Office James P. Pellow, Ed.D., and Provost
Julia A. Upton, RSM, Ph.D.; a
Faculty Research luncheon at which Fellows from the Vincentian
Center for Church and Society will present their research; and a
luncheon for administrators and staff at which Sr. Germaine
Price, DC, a former missionary will speak on “Solidarity in Global
Service to the Poor.”
Service opportunities will abound. For information about these
and other Founder’s Week activities, please check the Founder’s Week Web site.