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SPRING COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER John Carr, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, was awarded an Honorary Degree of Humane Letters before offering remarks to the Alvernia University Class of 2017 at Commencement this May.
Angelica Park bridge work completed Angelica Park renovations were completed early this spring. The improvements included additional street lighting throughout the park, enhanced pedestrian walkways and replacement of an aging bridge. “This is exciting news that will have a large impact on making Angelica Creek Park more accessible to those living in Reading,” said President Flynn. The new bridge can accommodate future access to BARTA buses, as well as emergency fire vehicles, which were previously restricted for weight.
In his role at Georgetown, Carr seeks to share Catholic social thought more broadly and reach out to a new generation of leaders to help them become “salt, light and leaven” in public life. He is also a Washington correspondent of America Magazine and writes its Washington Front column. Carr served for over 20 years as director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, represented the bishops before Congress, at the Vatican, across the U.S. and around the world. In addition, he assisted the bishops on a wide range of statements, including Faithful Citizenship, Communities of Salt and Light and documents on economic justice, healthcare, environment and climate change, criminal justice and the death penalty, religious liberty and war and peace.
EXPLORING SOCIAL JUSTICE
Clark named Head Football Coach Ralph Clark was named Alvernia’s inaugural head football coach earlier this spring. Alvernia football will officially kick off in fall 2018. Coach Clark comes to Alvernia from Seton Hill University with 19 years of experience, including serving as defensive coordinator at the NCAA Division I-FCS, Division II, and Division III levels, as well as a stint as a high school head coach. His coaching stops include Saint Francis (Pa.), Northeastern and Georgetown Universities. In addition to his role as Seton Hill’s defensive coordinator, Coach Clark also served as the Griffins’ recruiting coordinator and has significant high school recruiting experience with high academic expectations for student-athletes.
President Flynn spoke highly of Clark’s background and his enthusiasm for the university’s mission to be a “Distinctive Franciscan University” committed to the community. “It’s evident to me that there is a family component that connects everyone at Alvernia,” Clark said. “That is something that you do not find everywhere and quite frankly was important for me to see, because next to my faith, family is the most important thing to me, and it is something that I will be stressing to student-athletes as we begin recruiting. They’re not just joining a football program, they’re joining our family.”
Social justice has been a major area of focus for Alvernia’s Campus Ministry department this spring, beginning with an early semester immigration panel that offered differing viewpoints on paths to citizenship and information on the U.S. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. Other awareness and discussion events throughout the semester included equal pay, human trafficking and the immigration executive order. Students were challenged to take a mini citizenship test to win an American flag and to elevate the Lenten experience through Operation Rice Bowl.
Alvernia University Magazine
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