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DU News
Siena Center Addresses Sustainability Issues
During its 2008-2009 season, Dominican University’s Siena Center, established to engage critical issues of church and society in the light of faith and scholarship, will take a comprehensive look at sustainability in its many dimensions. The fall series will consider the broadest aspects of sustainability and the Christian tradition. How can we live a life that is balanced, to give everyone on the planet a fair share of resources? How does sustainability relate to the larger struggle for social justice and faithful witness in the world?
Fall highlights include Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim’s examination of how ancient native and other religious traditions have treated the earth as a sacred space. This year’s Mazzuchelli Lecture by Michael Himes will focus on the sacramental tradition within Catholicism, considering how it prepares us to be more respectful of the planet and the future. For the Albertus Magnus Lecture, “Ethics After Darwin,” Stephen Pope will explore what it means to be human in light of evolutionary science. And in a special event, campus favorite Mary Clemente Davlin, OP will consider the Journey Into Love (the title of her new book of reflections on Piers Plowman, the medieval allegorical poem), highlighting passages of Advent spirituality and a Thanksgiving spirit.
For a complete schedule, call (708) 714-9105 or visit www.siena.dom.edu.
Dominican Welcomes New University Librarian, Bella Karr Gerlich
Bella Karr Gerlich joined Dominican University as university librarian this July. She has relocated from Georgia College & State University, where she served as associate professor and associate university librarian.
Gerlich previously served in a number of positions at the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries, including heading the Arts and Special Collections department. She holds a doctorate in library and information sciences from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in public management from Carnegie Mellon.
“I am very excited about being here,” says Gerlich. “Dominican University aspires to be a premier institution, and the library will be an integral part of making that happen.” Gerlich says she is particularly attracted to the university’s mission, including the “desire to serve and educate students who make a difference in their communities.”
Gerlich plans to continue integrating library services into all facets of the university providing the resources, services and products needed by Dominican faculty, staff and students.
“This is a well-respected library that has had great leadership,” she says. “Initially, I am listening, learning and sharing ideas.”
— Bella Karr Gerlich
In Print: Sr. Clemente Davlin, OP on Piers
Plowman
Sr. Mary Clemente Davlin, OP, professor emerita of English, completed a labor of love this spring when she published a book of reflections from Piers Plowman, the profound, allegorical Middle English poem. A Journey Into Love: Meditating With Piers Plowman juxtaposes passages from the 14th-century poem with brief commentary and spiritual guidance. The book is enhanced with beautiful images of art and architecture from the poet ’s time.
Piers Plowman, often attributed to William Langland and compared with Chaucer’s famous Canterbury Tales, is one of the best-kept secrets in religious and spiritual literature, according to Sr. Davlin. The book-length poem concerns a man named Will who, while seeking adventure, falls asleep and experiences a series of dreams in which he learns about himself, his world and God.
Davlin has spent her adult life studying this epic poem—and it still provides new insights. “I wanted to show readers the spiritual aspects
of this masterpiece, as a way of helping them on their own spiritual journeys,” she says. “Although it was written 800 years ago, I think that the poem has profound applications to life today, with references to love, marriage, nature, poverty, human sexuality and the mysteries of faith.”
Research Expo Uncovers Abundance of Riches
Dominican University students put on a dazzling display of scholarship last April, when 200 undergraduates participated in the first annual Exposition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Investigations. Designed to showcase the best work of students across every major, the all-day event featured oral and poster presentations, panel discussions, an art exhibit and a play.
The expo was sponsored by the office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Investigations (URCI), a “mouthful” of a name designed to reflect its purpose “to promote undergraduate research beyond regular assignments in all disciplines, including the fine arts,” explains its director, professor of psychology Rebecca Pliske. Since Rosary College of Arts and Sciences Dean Jeffrey Carlson asked her to take the URCI reins a year ago, Pliske has supported a variety of initiatives that encourage undergraduates to extend their efforts beyond the classroom. Although the expo included both independent and in-class projects, Pliske plans to focus more heavily on independent works next year. Along with demonstrating the option of doing independent research, the inaugural expo served as a “wonderful educational opportunity for students immersed in their own majors to see the amazing work students are doing in other fields,” she says.
In Parmer Hall, students tackled such diverse topics as job loss from NAFTA, the effects of music and personality on working memory, body image and healthy lifestyles in children’s literature, the plight of emotional intelligence, and the social justice of Chicago’s environmental practices. Around the university, the O’Connor Gallery featured the annual juried student art exhibit, and an honor’s English class presented Chaucer’s A Miller’s Tale.
The expo “featured one brilliant student work after another and symbolized what we’re trying to do at the undergraduate level,” says Carlson. “It was the single best day I’ve had at the university in the six years I’ve been here.”
Women’s Studies
This fall, Dominican University launches a new undergraduate minor: the Study of Women and Gender. It’s especially fitting, given that the university originated with an all-female student body.
The new minor is unusual for its interdisciplinary approach—it is not embedded in any particular department. That will be an advantage, according to director Christina Perez, associate professor of sociology. The approach will “enrich our students’ educational experience, opening up more viewpoints and a more diverse understanding,” she says.
The women’s studies component will emphasize the contributions of women often discounted by traditional studies. The gender component reflects an ongoing reality, that “gender continues to be a salient way our lives are organized, for both men and women,” explains Perez. “It opens a deeper understanding of the limitations and opportunities in our lives.”
About a year ago, Rosary College of Arts and Sciences Dean Jeffrey Carlson called together faculty addressing gender and women’s studies issues in their courses. Although the group considered developing a major, they favored a minor because it needed no additional administrative structure and could be offered almost immediately. Two new courses, one foundational and one upper level, were developed; other courses that count toward the minor’s required 21 hours are already offered as electives in various majors. Department heads will be encouraged to develop new courses that support the minor.
Along with course work, the women studies and gender minor requires real-world experience, through independent research, internships, service-learning projects or study abroad. A number of campus speakers and events are also planned.
Early student response has been “tremendous,” says Perez. “So far we are very pleased.”
Sisters’ Secret Garden Blooms Again
During the 1960s, a team of Dominican University ’s resident sisters turned a tiny brick courtyard off Mazzuchelli Hall into a secret garden. It was a gentle, restful place tucked into the hub of campus. As the years passed, however, the retreat fell into disrepair, as sisters like Sr. Jeanne Crapo, OP sacrificed their gardening to busy schedules and health concerns like arthritis. As a decade passed, weeds overran the flowerbeds; idyll became eyesore.
This spring, however, River Forest Girl Scout Troop 4005 heard rumors of the secret garden—and earned their Bronze Award reclaiming it for the sisters. Each girl contributed at least 15 hours of service to the clean-up, from plant research to digging out stubborn roots. As they toiled, they discovered brick walkways that had been completely overgrown. They planted perennials and annuals. And they rescued Sr. Crapo’s long-neglected Queen Elizabeth rose bush. In keeping with Dominican’s own mission, their gift of service will bloom repeatedly.
Graduate School of Social Work Assists Local Young Men
Through a partnership with For Action In Togetherness Holdfast (FAITH) of Chicago, the Dominican University Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) is assisting young men as they transition from juvenile detention centers back into society. Working with the Rev. John H. Crawford, founder of FAITH and a network of nonprofit organizations and social service agencies on Chicago’s west side, GSSW students help recently incarcerated young men build life skills, job skills and self-esteem.
“GSSW students have been involved in community development activities around the world,” says Dean Mark Rodgers. “This program gives us the opportunity to focus on our own backyard as well. Our goal is to break the cycle of hopelessness that is endemic on Chicago’s west side.”
To that end, GSSW students encourage FAITH clients to get their GED certificates or to return to high school for graduation. The students are also developing programs to bring clients on campus, to introduce them to the advantages of a college education.
Journalist Stephen Kinzer Serves as Third Lund-Gill Chair
Stephen Kinzer is bringing the world to Dominican University this fall as the third holder of the university ’s Lund-Gill Chair, which was named for Sr. Candida Lund, OP and Sr. Cyrille Gill, OP. Each year, the Lund-Gill Chair in the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences brings to campus an individual of the highest moral and intellectual reputation who can address themes and issues at the heart of the liberal arts and sciences.
Kinzer, a reporter for the New York Times, has reported from 50 countries on five continents and written several books based on his international reporting. Between 1983 and 1989, Kinzer served as the Times’ bureau chief in Nicaragua, and from 1990 to 1996 he was posted in Germany where he served as the newspaper’s bureau chief in Bonn. After German unification, he became chief of the Berlin bureau, where he covered the emergence of post-Communist Europe. In 1996, Kinzer was named chief of the Times’ bureau in Istanbul, Turkey, from which he covered the newly independent nations of Central Asia and the Caucasus.
With a historian’s depth, Kinzer has written books on Central America’s guerilla war and US intervention in the 1980s, on the new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s and the legacy of US regime change throughout the world. His newest book, A Thousand Hills, is about Rwanda, and he is currently at work on a book on John Foster Dulles.
As Lund-Gill Chair, Kinzer will, in addition to teaching, deliver several lectures on topics ranging from the after-math of 9/11, international journalism to US intervention.
Master’s in Family Ministry Starts Strong
Dominican University’s new master’s program in family ministry and faith development is only a year old but is already attracting students from near and far, including England. The program, offered under the auspices of the School of Leadership and Continuing Studies (SLCS), is the first in the country to offer a master’s degree using a combination of experiential and online learning.
Using a cohort design, in which a group of students continue through the program together, the three-year master’s degree program is composed of an intensive one-week experience over the course of three summers, with fall and spring classes offered online. During the intensive summer sessions, students take advantage of opportunities in the city of Chicago such as activities parish, social service agencies, museums and summer festivals that support family and community life.
“The program responds to the Pastoral Initiative for Marriage and Family, which was initiated by the US Bishops in 2005 and will be released this fall, by emphasizing the vital role that the family plays in faith development,” says Kathy Heskin, director of the program and associate professor of theology and pastoral ministry.
The program is designed to provide leadership skills for individuals interested in pursuing or advancing careers in family ministry, youth and young adult ministry, care and bereavement ministry, religious education and social service agencies.
The first year of study revolves around personal perspectives of faith and family. The second year concentrates on social perspectives of faith and family and the third year explores faith and family from a global perspective.
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