March Madness
Marquette University (Milwaukee), Saint Joseph's University (Philadelphia), and Gonzaga University (Spokane) were among the Jesuit schools that cracked the Sweet Sixteen round in this year's NCAA basketball tournament. Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) was there as well, losing by four points to Davidson in the second round.
Xavier University (Cincinnati) muscled its way to the Elite Eight, pulling off a sweet victory over West Virginia in overtime but losing to UCLA in the regional finals.
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Jesuit Refugee Service Journalism Prize
"They would have killed us if we did not escape, I am sure," said Zina, speaking about her two-year-old daughter, Mina, and herself. They had fled Iraq for Denmark, where Zina's husband, Salam, had landed a few years earlier. Now they were marking time in a detention center while resisting Denmark's efforts to revoke their asylum status and send them back to Iraq.
This family's compelling story, "The Politics of Fighting Windmills," written by Anastasia Stolovitskaya, won first prize in a journalism competition hosted by the Jesuit Refugee Service/Europe.
The competition, open to college students, has been sponsored by JRS/Europe for two years now in an attempt to heighten recognition of the plight of refugees and forced migrants in Europe.
The story is available in pdf format at www.companymagazine.org/JRSstory
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Immigration Conference
Shaina Aber, with the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, was among a number of presenters at a two-day immigration conference at Loyola High School in Los Angeles hosted by the Ignatian Solidarity Network this March.
Presenters and participants explored immigration through the lens of human dignity and personal experience in order to understand immigrants' experiences. They also considered legislative strategies and advocacy efforts that can improve the quality of life for immigrant families in the United States.
The event was moderated by Tony Plana, who portrays Ignacio, Betty's father in the TV series "Ugly Betty." Other speakers included Ruben Garcia, executive director of Annunciation House; Amalia Molina, author of The Power of Love, an account of her incarceration in an immigration detention facility; and Bishop Gabino Zavala, auxiliary bishop for Los Angeles and current bishop president of PAX Christi USA.
The Ignatian Solidarity Network web site hosts a number of post-conference resources, including transcripts of the talks, reflections of participants, and links to organizations and web sites: www.ignatiansolidarity.net
New President
Le Moyne College has named Dr. Fred Pestello as its thirteenth president, the first non-Jesuit president in Le Moyne's 62-year history.
Pestello, 55, comes to Le Moyne following a 24-year career at the University of Dayton, where he taught and chaired the sociology department and served as associate dean, provost, and senior VP for educational affairs.
Dr. Pestello has a PhD in sociology from the University of Akron-Kent State, a master's degree in the subject from the University of Akron, and a bachelor's degree in the subject from John Carroll University. He assumes his new post in July.
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Silent Tsunami
Jesuits in Haiti have called on the government to enact measures to fight the growing food crisis as world food prices soar and many Haitians are facing unprecedented impoverishment. In a statement this April, the Jesuits urged the government and the international community to "keep its promises and help the country rise out of the quagmire it has sunk into."
They also called on Haitian president Rene Preval to reform the nation's infrastructure to support economic and agricultural development. Since former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide's departure in 2004, the price of food staples have doubled, rising by 30 percent in the last six months alone.
-CNS
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Making the Grade
Supreme Court associate justice Clarence Thomas was invited to speak to the graduating class at Washington Jesuit Academy (WJA) in Washington, D.C., this spring. Thomas was invited because "he serves as an incredibly apt role model for our students," according to WJA's president William Whitaker. "Like almost a quarter of WJA students, Justice Thomas had no contact with his own father. Yet, with the devotion of extended family and his own diligence in school, Justice Thomas succeeded academically and rose to the top of the nation's legal system."
WJA educates sixth- through eighth-grade boys, almost all of whom are from at-risk backgrounds (83 percent come from single-parent households). The school's goal is to give its graduates the skills needed to succeed in high school and go on to college.
Campaign 2008: Jesuit Schools Are Venues for Candidates
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain held a town hall meeting at Xavier University in Cincinnati in June. Among the first changes he would institute as president, he said, was the closing of Guantanamo Bay and elimination of the use of torture when interrogating foreign detainees.
"Our administration will never torture another person in our custody," he said. "I will close Guantanamo Bay and move [the prisoners] to a federal or military prison facility in the United States."
Other topics he discussed during an hour with the audience of about 200 ranged from the sub-prime mortgage crisis to the price of oil.
"John F. Kennedy was the last person to successfully win the presidency and not carry the state of Ohio," said McCain.
Earlier in the campaign season, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama held a rally at Saint Peter's College in Jersey City. About 3,000 were able to listen to him inside; he also spoke to the 1,500 overflow crowd outside.
"We welcome him as we would welcome any presidential candidate who wishes to discuss and debate the ideas and events that are shaping our history," said Saint Peter's president Eugene Cornacchia, about Obama's January visit.
-Xavier University, Saint Peter's College
Saint Louis vs. St. Louis
Saint Louis University pitcher Brad Perkins was bearing down on a St. Louis Cardinal one day this spring. The university's baseball team and coach Darin Hendrickson traveled to Jupiter, Florida, to face the St. Louis Cardinals in a game during spring training.
The Billikens and the Cardinals were tied 2-2 in the early innings, but the Cardinals took off in the fourth with 10 runs. The final score of this seven-inning exhibition game was 15-2.
"I want to again express my appreciation to the entire St. Louis Cardinals organization for this opportunity," Hendrickson said. "I'm not taking any stock in the box score; this was just an opportunity for our young pitchers to face the quality of hitters here."
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Jesuit MBA Day of Service
Students enrolled in the 28 Jesuit universities' MBA programs took part in the second Jesuit National Day of Service this spring. Planned for various weekends, each university organized outreach and volunteer events for its community.
Marquette University worked with the homeless and an organization supplying low-income women with business clothing. University of Detroit Mercy students worked at local food banks. Some of the projects taken on by other schools included cleaning up public property and fixing up playgrounds, collecting and donating clothing (including clothing drives that specifically targeted business attire for job seekers), and collecting and distributing food donations.
A team from Fairfield University's School of Business took part in the Make-A-Wish Foundation's 5K "Walk for Wishes." Norm Solomon, dean of the business school there, said, "Our undergraduates participate in community service projects, and we also feel it's important that our graduate students do the same. It's about the spirit of generosity."
Commencement speakers at Jesuit colleges
and universities this spring included:
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Boston College
Historian David McCullough
Canisius College
Former Goldman Sachs director Daniel Stanton
College of the Holy Cross
Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs director Kevin Cahill
Creighton University
Omaha school superintendent Ken Bird
Fairfield University
Fairfield president Jeffrey von Arx, SJ
Fordham University
Journalist and interviewer Charlie Rose
Georgetown University
Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp
Gonzaga University
Jesuit Refugee Service staffer Gary Smith, SJ
John Carroll University
John Carroll's VP for student affairs Patrick Rombalski
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Le Moyne College
Congressman James Walsh (R-NY)
Loyola College in Maryland
Journalist Leslie Stahl
Loyola Marymount University
University chaplain Margaret Mary Dolan, RHSM
Loyola University Chicago
Social activist Minnijean Brown-Trickey
Loyola University New Orleans
Author Scott Turow
Marquette University
Georgetown professor Andrew Natsios
Regis University
Regis president Michael Sheeran, SJ
Rockhurst University
Rockhurst student Ashley Shrader
Saint Joseph's University
Swarthmore Investment Group founder James Nevels
Saint Louis University
FOX broadcaster
Joe Buck
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Saint Peter's College
Atlantic City casino development director Tom Carver
Santa Clara University
Venture capitalist and philanthropist B. J. Cassin
Seattle University
Sisters of Providence provincial Margaret Botch, SP
Spring Hill College
Seattle University president Stephen Sundborg, SJ
University of Detroit Mercy
Valedictorian Beth Ann Dalrymple
University of San Francisco
United States Global AIDS coordinator Mark Dybul
University of Scranton
Jesuit Conference education secretary Thomas Roach, SJ
Wheeling Jesuit University
Youngstown Diocese bishop George Murry, SJ
Xavier University
Cincinnati Pops conductor Erich Kunzel
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Margaret Mary Dolan
Loyola Marymout University
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Minnijean Brown-Trickey
Loyola University Chicago
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Scott Turow
Loyola University New Orleans
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Andrew Natsios
Marquette University
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Stephen Sundborg, SJ
Spring Hill College
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Page maintained by Company Magazine, editor@companymagazine.org. Copyright(c) 2008. Created: 8/31/2008 Updated: 8/31/2008