Georgetown Professor Receives Grant to Study Impact of Weather Changes on Animals

Georgetown University biology professor, Leslie Ries, is studying the “impact of climate change and natural disasters on the springtime emergence of plants, birds and insects.” Ries has received several grants from the National Science Foundation to research how monarch butterfly habitats have changed in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. These grants give Ries and her students the opportunity to study the impacts of climate change and natural disasters in order to determine how to best respond to these changes.

Monarch butterflies make a multigenerational migration from Canada and the U.S. to Mexico each year, which makes the perfect species to examine in order to better understand climate change. Monarchs have been slowly declining for the past 20 years, with reasons attributed to the increase of tropical storms and hurricanes. Ries “sees her research as vital in helping people understand the impacts of climate change and major weather events on complex ecological systems.”

To read more about the research by Ries, visit Georgetown news.

Georgetown University Hosts Liturgy of Penance for Sale of Enslaved People

ICYMI: Earlier this year, Georgetown University hosted a Liturgy of Remembrance, Contrition and Hope as a moment to express contrition for the institutional sin of selling 272 enslaved people to raise money for preserve the university in 1838.

“Now, nearly 200 years later, we cannot heal from this tragic history alone. Many have confessed and labored to atone for this sin, but mostly within the confines of our own religious houses and apostolic works. Because we are profoundly sorry, we stand before God—and before you, the descendants of those whom we enslaved—and we apologize for what we have done and what we have failed to do,” Father Timothy Kesicki, S.J., president, of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States said.

Learn more about the event by reading the full article on the America website.

 

Catholic Colleges Join Hunger Strikes for Farmworkers

John Carroll University, Georgetown University and University of Notre Dame have joined a rolling series of nationwide protests against fast-food chain Wendy’s. Students and alumni from the three universities have collaborated to participate in three sequential 48-hour fasts. Since March, students at colleges around the nation have been fasting in solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, an organization of farmworkers in Florida that work to improve farmworkers’ rights.

In 2011, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers began the Fair Food Program, a worker-driven partnership among farmers, farmworkers, and food companies that ensures a living wage and humane conditions for produce pickers. Currently, 14 major food retailers participate in the program, including Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Chipotle, and Wal-Mart. The program now protects thousands of farmworkers. Wendy’s has yet to join the Fair Food Program. Students are using the hunger strike to protest Wendy’s refusal to participate in the program.

Read the full article and description of student participation on the National Catholic Reporter website.

Georgetown University Hosts Event with Cardinal Peter Turkson

The Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University cordially invites you to “A Conversation with Cardinal Peter Turkson: Vatican Perspectives on Care for Creation, Economic Injustice, the Refugee Crisis and Peace” on Wednesday, May 31, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. at Georgetown University.

The event will feature a moderated conversation between Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect, Vatican Dicastery for Integral Human Development, and John Carr, Initiative Director, with responses from Arturo Chavez, President and CEO of Mexican-American Catholic College, and Amy Rauenhorst Goldman, CEO and Chair of GHR Foundation.

Pope Francis has chosen Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana to lead the new Vatican Dicastery on Integral Human Development. As the Pope’s key ally, Cardinal Turkson leads the Vatican’s teaching and advocacy on issues of justice and peace, economic inequality, and global solidarity. As a priest, bishop and Cardinal from Africa, Peter Turkson brings unique experience, knowledge and urgency to promoting and applying Catholic teaching on human life and dignity, a priority for the poor, and the pursuit of peace. Join us for this unique conversation and opportunity to ask questions of Pope Francis’ key collaborator in sharing his social mission and message throughout the world.

For more information, please visit the event website.

Video Conference: Supporting Undocumented Students in a New Political Landscape

Join Ignatian Solidarity Network on Thursday, February 16 at 3 PM EST for an online conversation with Jesuit college and university faculty and administrators on how to support students who are undocumented. A new political landscape in the U.S. has brought with it unique realities for people in the without documentation, including students at Jesuit colleges and universities. How are faculty and administrators responding to the changing reality facing these students?

Panelists include:

Jennifer Ayala, Ph.D.
Director of The Center for Undocumented Students
Saint Peter’s University

Anna J. Brown
Chair, Department of Political Science
Saint Peter’s University

Kevin Mahaney
Associate Director of Student Financial Services
Georgetown University

Arelis Palacios
Undocumented Students Advisor, Division of Student Affairs
Georgetown University

Joe Saucedo
Director, Department of Student Diversity & Multicultural Affairs
Loyola University Chicago

To learn more or to register, visit the Ignatian Solidarity Network website.

Catholic Colleges Honored by President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

Georgetown University won the White House’s Interfaith Community Service Award in the 2015 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, an honor that recognizes institutions of higher education that support exemplary community service programs and raise the visibility of effective practices in campus community partnerships. The Honor Roll’s Presidential Award is the highest federal recognition an institution can receive for its commitment to community, service-learning, and civic engagement. The award recognizes the work of three organizations at Georgetown, the Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching, and Service (CSJ), the Office of Campus Ministry, and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs.

Gonzaga University was also honored as a finalist by the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for their commitment to improving educational outcomes for children and youth. Of the over 776 higher education institutions named to the Honor Roll, only 16 were named finalists.  Gonzaga is recognized for their service addressing school readiness, strengthening schools, boost high school graduation rates and preparation for higher education.

Congratulations to Georgetown University and Gonzaga University for their work in community service!

Climate Change and Human Health Webinar

Have you wondered how climate change is impacting our health and what steps we can take to reduce these impacts? Catholic Climate Covenant invites you to register for their upcoming webinar:

The Growing Crisis: Climate Change’s Impacts on Human Health


   Tuesday, November 22 from 3:00-4:00 pm (EST)

The webinar will explore:

• Why climate change is an issue for people of faith.
• How climate change is impacting health.
• Steps we can take to reduce our impact on climate change and address health problems related to climate change.

Presenter: Laura Anderko, Ph.D., RN, the Robert and Kathleen Scanlon Chair in Values Based Health Care at Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies. She is a scholar and educator in the fields of epidemiology, public health, and environmental health.

REGISTER HERE

Georgetown University to Host Discussion for Latino Leaders on Immigration

On Wednesday, June 29, 2016, Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life will host a discussion on immigration led by and for young Latino leaders.

The Initiative’s event Immigration Experiences: Human, Political, and Economic Dimensions will explore the “ethical questions at the heart of immigration” from the perspective of Latino leaders and experts in the field. Three leaders will first give an account of their migration stories, followed by a panel discussion of the policy and economic issues around immigration. The panel speakers include:

• Luis Cardona, director, Street Outreach Network, Children, Youth, and Family Services, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services;
• Ashley Feasley, director of advocacy for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) and adjunct professor of law at Catholic University of America;
• Antonio Tijerino, president and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and executive producer of the Hispanic Heritage Awards.

After the panel José Miguel Pulido, founder of Catholic Latino Leadership Initiative, will give the closing remarks.

The event includes a reception from 6:00-6:30 pm, with the panel discussion beginning at 6:30 and ending at 8:00 pm. It will be held in the North Conference Room of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, DC.

How does your college or university explore the human dimensions of immigration? Let us know! 

Ford Foundation Study Shows Link Between Higher Education and Social Justice

The Ford Foundation, a secular philanthropic organization that seeks to promote the full human dignity of all persons through equitable sharing in knowledge, wealth, and resources, recently released a report studying the impact of their International Fellowship Program, finding that many of the IFP alumni returned to their home countries to either begin a new social justice program organization or expand upon the work of existing organizations.

In the report, entitled Social Justice and Sustainable Change: The Impacts of Higher Education, the Foundation shows their findings from their 2015 International Fellowships Program Alumni Tracking Study Report. The International Fellowships Program (IFP) supported “advanced studies for social change leaders from the worlds’ most vulnerable populations” through scholarships for higher education, offering fellowships to students from 2001 – 2013.  Some of these students studied at Catholic higher education institutions, including Boston College and Georgetown University.

Read more about the key findings here.

What does your college or university do to increase access to higher education and social justice around the world? Let us know! 

Catholic Higher Education and First Generation Students

In 2012, the Georgetown University Center on Education and the U.S. Department of Education found that almost a third of current undergraduates are considered first-generation college students. Driven by their faith-based mission, ACCU member institutions have developed a breadth of resources for first-generation students, as well as the administration, faculty, and staff who work with them.

In the Summer 2015 issue of Update, ACCU featured several success stories of Catholic colleges and universities’ service towards their first-generation and low-income students. ACCU also has dedicated a webpage to share information on serving first-generation students. Here are a few examples of programs ACCU members have instituted:

• St. Mary’s College (CA) offers a High Potential Sphere of Success program, a federally funded TRIO Student Support Services Program, which is designed to cultivate the success of first-generation and low-income students through leadership development, peer mentoring, and financial support.
• Silver Lake College of the Holy Family (WI) has adopted the Work College model, where all incoming residential freshman or transfer students will be required to work ten hours per week in a field related to their coursework, in exchange for $2,800 tuition credit per year.
• Notre Dame de Namur University (CA) supports its first-generation students through a Bill Hannon Foundation grant for their Gen 1 program, which provides financial and academic support, as well as mentoring.

Read more examples on the ACCU website.

What does your college or university do to support first generation and low income students? Let us know!