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October 1, 2009 |
Nigerian Jesuit Uwem Akpan’s Say You’re One of Them is Oprah Winfrey’s latest book club selection. Akpan’s debut is the first time she has chosen a book of short stories.
“These stories left me stunned and profoundly moved,” Winfrey said.
Winfrey's is the biggest book club in the world, with nearly two million online members, and each of its selections has become a bestseller.
Akpan’s book, published in 2008, includes five stories, each set in an African country and narrated by a child.
Born in Nigeria, Akpan studied philosophy and English at Creighton University and Gonzaga University. He was ordained in 2003 and received his MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan in 2006.
Akpan won the 2009 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book, African Region. He currently serves at Christ the King Church, Ilasamaja-Lagos, Nigeria.
To read along with Oprah’s Book Club, visit www.oprah.com. Akpan’s web site for his book is at www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/sayyoureoneofthem/content/index.asp. [Source: oprah.com]
"The pope very much wanted to be involved with our new headquarters," says Jesuit Fr George Coyne of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to officially inaugurate the Vatican Observatory's new headquarters in Castel Gandolfo September 16.
The pope gave "a very beautiful prayer and blessing" for the staff and their new headquarters, said Coyne, former director of the Vatican Observatory.
The Vatican Observatory's headquarters had been located inside the papal palace at Castel Gandolfo since 1935. The new facility is located in a renovated monastery about one and a half miles from its previous location inside the papal palace.
Coyne said the pope looked at the exhibits and accepted the invitation of Br Guy Consolmagno SJ to hold a meteorite.
In order to prevent contamination, the pope used a white handkerchief to hold the meteorite, a fragment of a meteorite from Mars that fell near Alexandria, Egypt, in 1911.
The papal astronomers expanded their activities in recent years with their summer school for budding scientists and research-related events and "we were overusing our facilities in the papal palace," said Coyne.
Vatican Observatory web site: www.vaticanobservatory.org [Catholic News Service]
The H1N1 flu virus continues to spread on college campuses, with over 7,000 cases reported the week of September 12-18, according to the weekly report of the American College Health Association.
At the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States, the primary focus has been on prevention. Boston College provides its campus with e-mails, web postings, and posters on how best to avoid catching and spreading the virus. In addition, BC has established housekeeping teams to more frequently sanitize door handles, elevator buttons, and restroom faucets.
Creighton University’s Crisis Committee created an H1N1 Campus Health Information Line for faculty, staff, students, and their families to call and access current information and campus resources.
Many of the college and university web sites are updated with current information on the flu. Xavier University posts frequent updates (www.xavier.edu/flu/daily-updates.cfm), as does Loyola University New Orleans’ blog (http://blogs.loyno.edu/emergency-updates), and John Carroll University has posted its Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan (www.jcu.edu/p andemic).
Loyola University Chicago’s Wellness Center is using twitter (http://twitter.com/LoyolaWellness) to broadcast updates and messages to students, such as alerts about free flu shots.
Several schools, including the University of San Francisco and Saint Louis University, installed hand sanitizing stations across campus.
Schools also have various ways of managing the illness. At Saint Joseph’s University students who become ill are encouraged to go home to recuperate; however, the university is also setting up alternative housing for sick students who aren’t able to go home.
Canisius College and Le Moyne College have online tracking systems, where students can self-report their flu-like symptoms. Le Moyne shares the data with the county to better track the overall number of cases in the area. At Canisius, students get a call from a nurse to check on their recovery once they submit a report.
Most of the schools also have formal plans and tasks forces in place. The University of Scranton's H1N1 Task Force, composed of various departmental representatives, will coordinate the university’s efforts. Wheeling Jesuit University also has a pandemic flu team in place, which recently conducted an exercise that followed a mock pandemic outbreak. [American College Health Association, Boston College, Creighton University, Xavier University, John Carroll University, Loyola University New Orleans, Loyola University Chicago, University of San Francisco and Saint Louis University, Saint Joseph’s University Canisius College and Le Moyne College, University of Scranton, Wheeling Jesuit University]
Four Hundred Years of Canadian Jesuit History Now Under One RoofThe two Jesuit Provinces of Canada celebrated the opening of their new joint Jesuit Archive on September 22-23 in Montreal.
The archive is witness to the activities of Jesuits who worked in Canada and its missions since Jesuits arrived in Canada in 1611.
It includes rare books, artwork, documents, and publications relating to Canadian Jesuit and early Canadian history.
The archives of both English and French Canada were joined in one location to better serve historians and researchers.
Archive web site: www.jesuites.org/archives.htm
[Pictured: First page of Les Relations des Jésuites, 1642, courtesy Jesuits in Canada]
[Jesuits in Canada]
The September 2009 issue of National Jesuit News marked the last print edition of the 38-year-old publication by the Jesuit Conference.
NJN will continue as a blog at www.nationaljesuitnews.org with regularly updated news. The Province Columns will continue online in a newly designed section of www.jesuit.org for Jesuits only. [NJN]
Marquette Celebrates 100 Years of Catholic Coeducation
Marquette University became the first Catholic university in the world to admit women alongside men into its regular undergraduate program in its 1909 summer session.
During the 2009-10 school year, Marquette will celebrate the anniversary with a year’s worth of activities, including an alumnae memory project, guest speakers and lectures, and commemorative publications.
A weeklong series of speakers and programs begins October 5, including a Mother Teresa statue dedication and the conferral of an honorary degree upon Sister Helen Prejean CSJ.
A dedicated Centennial Celebration of Women web site (www.marquette.edu/women100) features profiles of women at Marquette today, an oral history project, digital archives, and a narrative history.
[Pictured: Marquette students at Pep Rally held September 22, 1944]
[Marquette University]
Loyola College Becomes Loyola University Maryland
Loyola College in Maryland celebrated its official transition to Loyola University Maryland on September 25 with a convocation that featured a keynote address by Georgetown University President John DeGioia PhD.
DeGioia and His Excellency Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore received Doctor of Humane Letters degrees, honoris causa—the first degrees awarded by Loyola University Maryland. [Loyola University Maryland]
Fordham Celebrates Opening of London Centre
Fordham University celebrated the opening of its London Centre at Heythrop College on September 16, with English actress Honor Blackman, a performance by the London Dramatic Academy, and a reception.
“The London Centre not only gives Fordham students unparalleled study abroad opportunities, it brings the best of Fordham to London,” said Fr Joseph McShane SJ, president of Fordham.
Fordham began its affiliation with Heythrop College, the Jesuit specialist philosophy and theology college of the University of London, in spring 2009. [Fordham University]
LMU Library Entrusted with Page from Gutenberg Bible
Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles, presented a leaf from one of the original Gutenberg Bibles to Loyola Marymount University President Fr Robert Lawton SJ at the dedication of the university’s new William H. Hannon Library in August.
The Biblia Latina printed by Johannes Gutenberg around 1452 is considered the beginning of the print era.
The text of the leaf is printed in two columns on each side of the page. It begins in chapter 33 of the Book of Isaiah, ending in mid-chapter 36. [Loyola Marymount University]
Holy Cross Finalizes Carbon Neutral Plan
Fr Michael McFarland SJ, president of Holy Cross, announced Holy Cross’s Climate Action Plan, which documents the college’s commitment to reducing campus greenhouse gas emissions and outlines initiatives designed to achieve an overall goal of climate neutrality. The plan calls for a 20 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2015.
Holy Cross has demonstrated a drop in greenhouse gas emissions since 2007 with the procurement of a hydroelectric energy source. Other initiatives on campus aimed at making Holy Cross more environmentally sustainable include the elimination of trays from the dining hall, which has reduced food waste, water, and energy use; a community garden that produces food for the dining hall; and the introduction of two Zipcars, including a hybrid vehicle.
Read the college’s Carbon Neutral Plan: www.holycross.edu/assets/pdfs/carbon_neutral_plan09.pdf
Visit the college’s Sustainability web site: www.holycross.edu/sustainability
Read Company’s article on Jesuit intuitions’ efforts to go green: www.companymagazine.org/v262/green-times.html
[Source: Holy Cross]
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