CCFC Launches Academic-Community Collaboration in ‘United Pittsburgh’ Series
A new initiative developed by the Center for Catholic Faith and Culture (CCFC) combines academic courses with a free public speaker series and focuses on collaboration with the community, providing new insights into Catholic social teaching and promoting civic awareness among students, faculty and staff.
“United Pittsburgh contributes to Duquesne’s strategic imperative to become the region’s flagship institution for community engagement, and it embodies a Catholic and Spiritan commitment to work for the common good by listening to and learning from others,” Dr. Darlene Weaver, director of the CCFC, said.
Launched this semester, United Pittsburgh includes undergraduate and graduate courses offered through the theology department for students in any major. Courses are team-taught by University faculty and well-known social justice advocates from the community.
“The United Pittsburgh courses foster dialogue between Christian ethics and curricular material on a variety of social issues,” Weaver said. “The dialogue will help students understand what Christian ethics can contribute to understanding and addressing contemporary social issues impacting our region and elsewhere. Students will also learn how perspectives from secular disciplines can inform and enrich Christian ethical inquiry.”
Associate Professor Dr. Elisabeth Vasko and Terri Baltimore of the Hill House Association are leading the undergraduate course called Social Ethics and Racial Geographies, which examines the intersection of issues such as race, economic inequality and more. Pittsburgh leaders will give guest TED-like talks, in addition to Vasko and Baltimore.
The graduate course—Virtue, Christianity and the Two Kingdoms—presents key questions in relation to social justice issues as they play out in Pittsburgh’s local contexts. Associate Professor Dr. Elizabeth Cochran and the Rev. Paul Abernathy of FOCUS Pittsburgh are team instructors.
The 10-week United Pittsburgh public speaker series, which runs Monday, Feb. 4, through Monday, April 15, features prominent government, education, faith-based and community leaders discussing some of Pittsburgh’s most pressing challenges and meaningful solutions.
Rabbi James Gibson of Temple Sinai and the Rev. John C. Welch of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary kick off the series on Feb. 4 with an interfaith discussion on the theme Who is My Neighbor?. Bus transportation will be available to bring campus members to and from the Hill House Association’s Kaufman Center.
“The speaker series is a terrific opportunity to hear from a range of Pittsburgh leaders, to understand why citizens’ experience of Pittsburgh can vary greatly, and to learn about emerging opportunities to forge a more inclusive and equitable future for the region,” Weaver said. “It’s also a chance for our students to learn about potential career pathways focused on making a positive impact.”
Topics cover issues such as healing a community, the difference between charity and equity, and ways to work together, among others. Among the series’ 13 speakers are:
- Samuel W. Black, director of African-American Programs, Senator John Heinz History Center
- Grant Oliphant, president, The Heinz Endowments
- Tyian Battle, executive director, ACH Clear Pathways
- Mary Ellen Glasgow, dean of the School of Nursing.
The series concludes April 15 with a presentation by Duquesne President Ken Gormley and Carlow University President Dr. Suzanne Mellon titled What Can Universities Contribute to a United Pittsburgh. William Generett, Jr., vice president for community engagement at Duquesne, will serve as moderator.
Details about United Pittsburgh, the speaker series and registration are available online or by contacting the CCFC at 412.396.1595 or ccfc@duq.edu.