President's Peace Commission

Rev. Rudy Vela, S.M., opens this semester's President's Peace Commission program with an invocation. President of St. Mary's University, Dr. Charles L. Cotrell then introduces the panelists for this presentation: Rev. Joe Kozar, S.M., Ph.D., Assistant Rector at the University of Dayton; and Isabella R. Moyer, President of the International Marianist Lay Communities. Rev. Joe Kozar shares a YouTube video entitled "Blessed William Joseph Chaminade: His Life, His Legacy" and then provides a history of Father Chaminade and the Marianists. Ms. Moyer then explains the formation of the first Marianist Lay Community in Manitoba. She discusses the Marianist charism, as well as education, justice and peace, which the Lay Communities work toward, just as the professed Marianists do. A question and answer portion concludes this presentation. (76 minutes)

Dr. Kathleen Gallagher, Assistant Professor of International Relations at St. Mary's University, serves as the moderator of this panel presentation and begins by introducing the panelists: Dr. Larry Hufford is a professor of Political Science at St. Mary's University; Kiran Banes is an alum of St. Mary's University, is currently pursuing her doctorate degree, and is Skyped in from New York; and Alfredo Ortiz is also an alum of St. Mary's University and is currently Manager of Financial Services, Pact. Dr. Hufford begins by discussing the poor and the causes of poverty. Kieran shares two stories from her experiences in Bangladesh and Uganda. Alfredo discusses a protected corridor along the Ecuador-Colombia border. All advise the audience to become social change agents. A question and answer session concludes this presentation. (69 minutes)

Ana Olivares, student at St. Mary's University, serves as the moderator for this panel presentation and begins by introducing the panelists: Tere Dresner-Salinas is the Executive Director of Women's Global Connection; Rev. Charles "Kip" Stander, S.M., is the St. Mary's University Chaplain; and Rev. Gabriel Ng'ang'a Kirangah is the Deputy District Supervisor and Director of IMANI Marianists in Kenya. Ms. Dresner-Salinas begins by explaining Women's Global Connection -- WGC facilitates micro-lending-type programs, works for children orphaned by AIDS, provides a mother and infant care program, AIDS education, and girls' education in Africa. Rev. Gabriel is Skyped in for this panel, but the sound quality is poor. Father Kip speaks for a bit about the Maria House, microfinancing, and job creation work that the Marianists are doing in Kenya. Father Gabriel returns with much improved sound quality to discuss the IMANI Marianists. A question and answer session concludes this presentation. (60 minutes)

Rev. Richard Wosman, S.M., Visiting Assistant Professor of Education and Director of the Catholic School Leadership Program, serves as moderator for this panel presentation featuring Sister Grace Walle, F.M.I., D.Min., the St. Mary's School of Law Chaplain and Brother Richard Thompson, S.M., Director of Marianist Urban Students Programs in San Antonio. Sister Grace begins by explaining what a Marianist Sister is and what she does as the Law School Chaplain, as well as some of the service projects the Law School has. Brother Richard explains what Marianist Urban Students Programs are and how they provide leadership training, academic coaching, and personal mentoring. A question and answer session concludes this presentation. (48 minutes)

Asenath Sandy Davila, student at St. Mary's University, serves as moderator of this panel presentation and introduces the speakers: Dr. Andy Getz is an Assistant Professor of Theology and is the Miller Professor of Catholic Medical and Biomedical Ethics at St. Mary's University; and Sister Stephanie Morales, F.M.I., is a chaplain at Nix Health in San Antonio. Dr. Getz begins by explaining how in the last 100 years or so the medical field has changed so that "Doctor Knows Best" mentality is no longer acceptable, but patients' rights and preferences have become more important when deciding what treatment(s) to receive. Sister Stephanie discusses ways in which your wishes can be known (i.e., medical directives, do not resuscitate orders, etc.) so that you can exercise your right to die with dignity. A question and answer period concludes this presentation. (56 minutes)

Minita Santizo, Director of the Office of International Education at St. Mary's University, serves as the moderator for this panel presentation. She begins by introducing the speakers: Walter Pereda Ruiz, Manuel Emilio Hora Revilla and Alberto Ronal Gabriel Aguilar, all of the Asociacion Marianista de Accion Social (AMAS) in Peru. Joining these men Skyped in from Peru is Gabriel Hernandez a St. Mary's alum (B.S. 2009, MPA 2010) who has spent time with AMAS. Dr. Eva Bueno serves as translator for the three men in Peru. The men in Peru begin by explaining the history of Marianist work in Peru. The Marianists in Peru were approached by villagers of a mining community and were asked to determine what the villagers' rights were because they had not received any response from the mining companies nor the government. The Marianists learned that the mining companies were polluting the drinking water of the villagers in the La Libertad region of Peru. The Marianists are working to educate the villagers in the region about their rights and especially their environmental rights. Gabriel then continued the story by explaining how as a recent biochemistry major he went to Peru to teach farmers how to monitor the water quality on their own and how to take care of the water. A question and answer session concludes this presentation. (48 minutes)

Dr. Celine Jacquemin, Associate Professor of International Relations and Associate Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at St. Mary's University, moderates this panel presentation featuring guest speakers Molly Heineman, former Marianist Volunteer Program Teacher and Social Worker for M.I.R.A.C.L.E. Technical Institute in Karonga, Malawi; and, Vanessa Gonzales, Director of Education, San Antonio AIDS Foundation. Ms. Heineman begins by sharing a history of Malawi and how she became involved with the Marianist Volunteer Program while an undergraduate student at the University of Dayton. The Marianists have two schools in Malawi: Chaminade Secondary Boarding School for boys and M.I.R.A.C.L.E. an adult trade school and job skills training center. AIDS has created a "missing generation" in Malawi and much of Africa; grandparents are taking care of grandchildren because the "middle generation" have died of AIDS. Ms. Heineman talked about her experience as a life skills teacher at M.I.R.A.C.L.E. Ms. Gonzales then brought the discussion closer to home by discussing the history of San Antonio AIDS Foundation, what services SAAF offers, and what the AIDS situation is like in Bexar County. A question and answer session concludes this panel presentation. (61 minutes)

Sean Bourg, student at St. Mary's University, serves as moderator for this panel presentation. He begins by introducing the presenters: Kennedy Marie Granger (J.D., 2010) and Justin Yarborough are the co-founders of We Hear Your Voice; and Rev. James Henke, Global Fellow for Catholic Relief Services. Before beginning, Ms. Granger shows a brief video about the 2010 Haiti earthquake. She then explains how she had been trying to adopt three Haitian girls before the earthquake and when the earthquake occurred she was unable to get in touch with them, so she organized a trip to Haiti just a few days after the earthquake with the assistance of Justin Yarborough. She and Mr. Yarborough were able to locate the girls, who were all safe and healthy, and were able to bring some fresh supplies that the Law School had raised. Mr. Yarborough went on to explain how and why We Hear Your Voice was created. He also showed a portion of a documentary made by friends showing the impact of the earthquake and focusing on a brother and sister who are helping with reconstruction in their own unique ways. Father Henke shared how he visited Haiti in November (nearly 9 months after the earthquake) and explained the variety of ways Catholic Relief Services is working to help aid in recovery and reconstruction. A question and answer session concludes this presentation. (71 minutes)

Lauren Sanchez, Senior at St. Mary's University, serves as moderator for this presentation. She begins by introducing the featured presenter Rev. David Fleming, S.M., Ph.D. Father Fleming details the history of the Marianist work in India. The Marianists currently are working with two specific groups street children and their families and rural people in India. A film made by St. Mary's students who had visited India on an immersion trip was shown in part; the film was titled "Transformational Education: A Journey to India." Due to time constraints the entire film was not shown. A question and answer period concluded this presentation. (69 minutes)

Marcella Lesher introduces and presents the 2011 Art of Peace Award to Brother Michael Sullivan, S.M., D.M.A., professor of music at St. Mary's University. Projects Brother Mike has been involved with are discussed, including the Marianist Life Experience, Chaminade locations in France, and a piece he composed for a church dedication in Colorado. Bro. Mike's immersion trips were also discussed. An opera that Bro. Mike composed based on a short story by Diane Gonzalez Bertrand is discussed and portions of the opera are shared with the audience. A full jazz orchestra concludes the ceremony by playing the music for the final scene of the opera. (46 minutes)