NEWS
FROM AROUND THE GROVE n Short Subjects CIT Discussions Continue Faculty and staff attended a January academic forum featuring the Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, who spoke about “Catholic Identities: Ideas, Institutions and Community,” as part of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition lecture series sponsored by the Office of Mission and Identity. Hehir is the Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Other speakers during the spring semester addressed the theme “Hispanic Presence in Our Nation and Our Church.” Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz of Drew University spoke on “The Power, Challenge and Pleasure of Diversity,” followed by “Resurrection on the Border: Mapping the Religious Terrain,” delivered by Roberto Goizueta of Boston College. Concluding the series in April is Jeanette Rodriguez of Seattle University, whose lecture is titled “Cultural/Poetic Memory as a Source for Religious Thought.” Visit www.stmarytx.edu/calendar for more details.
Lectures Explore Myriad Themes The Student Government Association and International Relations Society last fall hosted a lecture by Rabbi Melissa Weintraub, a prominent peace activist who works with Rabbis for Human Rights and is internationally known for her writings on Jewish interpretations of torture and for cofounding the JewishPalestinian
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Book TV Bus Stops By
Staff members and work-study students in the University’s Academic Imaging and Media Center paused for a photo after touring the C-SPAN2 Book TV bus, which stopped on campus Jan. 25. The bus travels the country informing the public about C-SPAN and Book TV programming, giving tours of its state-ofthe-art television studio on wheels. Several St. Mary’s faculty members were interviewed for possible Book TV segments during the visit. Encounter Program in Jerusalem. The graduate international relations program and the St. Mary’s Fund for Judeo-Christian Studies brought W. Patrick Lang, the former head of human and Middle East intelligence at the Defense Intelligence Agency, to campus for two public lectures on Iraq and Islam in February. Lang, a retired Army colonel, is president and CEO of a Washingtonbased international security and risk consulting firm. He is a frequent contributor to many national media
outlets, including CNN and National Public Radio. The highlight of the annual Business Week sessions in November was La Quinta Inn Keynote Lecture, given by the chief operating officer of La Madeleine Bakery, Café and Bistro. Rosalyn “Roz” Mallet, a 1977 alumna of St. Mary’s, delivered a realistic, inspirational talk to students about her life as a woman and an African American in the corporate world.
Mid-Year Commencement Grows
St. Mary’s University held commencement exercises for 349 graduate and undergraduate students Dec. 16 in the Bill Greehey Arena. The ceremony included students who had completed their degree work in both the summer and fall sessions. Some 200 students received bachelor’s degrees, and 148 received either master’s or doctorate degrees. Keynote speaker for the Commencement Exercises was Lt. Gen. John F. Regni, superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy and a St. Mary’s graduate.