July 24, 2012
Meghan Clark, Ph.D., Assistant Professor,
Theology and Religious Studies, has been appointed to the Board
of Directors of America Press Inc., which oversees America, the only
national Catholic weekly magazine in the United States. It was
founded by the Society of Jesus in 1909.
The appointment is “an immense honor,” said Dr. Clark, who
joined St. John's faculty in 2012. Noting the magazine’s influence
on the Catholic culture in which she was raised, Dr. Clark added,
"I grew up in a family where America magazine was always
present."
A moral theologian who specializes in social ethics, Dr. Clark
said she was appointed to bring a youthful voice to the board. Her
role, she added, is concerned with the mission and future of the
magazine.
"The big challenge now,” Dr. Clark said, “is how to engage new
generations of Catholics. America has a loyal following,
but my generation and the generation I teach engage media and the
Church differently from [the way Catholics did] in the past."
Dr. Clark emphasized that
Jeffrey Fagen, Ph.D., Dean of St.
John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Theology
and Religious Studies faculty have been “very supportive” of her
efforts. “St. John’s University is an extremely welcoming
institution,” she said. “I’ve found that people here really want
you to succeed.”