Board Retreat Focuses on Anti-Racism Examen
The University of Scranton Board of Trustees will hold its retreat on Feb. 16 on campus.
During the upcoming meeting, board members will focus on the Anti-Racism Examen, which is “designed to strengthen the link between personal reflection and institutional action,” according to the Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities (AJCU).
University President Joseph G. Marina, S.J., had a part in the creation of the AJCU Anti-Racism Examen in 2020, which, he said, like the daily Examen, “is rooted in both a sense of gratitude and honest self-examination.”
The board’s advanced reading will include the seminal letter, “Interracial Apostolate,” of Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., to American Jesuits in 1967. Fr. Marina recently quoted an excerpt from the letter – as “an avenue of ongoing learning” – in his reflection on Black History Month.
“Through the Examen project, I shared my own realizations in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd of discovering aspects and legacies of Black history beyond those I had previously known. I was reminded by the truth that however much knowledge we acquire, we all remain students. And so I am anxious to continue my learning,” Fr. Marina wrote in the reflection.
Speakers on the Anti-Racism Examen will include Robert Kelly, Ph.D., vice president and special assistant to the president, Loyola University Maryland, and Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos, assistant to the president for Mission and Integration, University of Detroit Mercy. Nancy Dallavalle, Ph.D., associate professor of religious students, Fairfield University, will also speak at the retreat about the newly revised Characteristics of Jesuit higher education.
Dr. Kelly provides leadership for the areas across Loyola University Maryland such as Mission & Identity, Intercollegiate Athletics, External Affairs and the Division for Student Development. Deeply immersed in both liberal arts and Jesuit education, he works closely with the president to coordinate oversight of the strategic plan. Dr. Kelly served in executive leadership roles at Union College, Loyola University Chicago and Seattle University. In addition to his bachelor’s degree in political science, Dr. Kelly received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and his master's degree from the University of Vermont. He has also served on Loyola’s board of trustees; and attended Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management (IEM).
Dr. Punsalan-Manlimos has played an active role in Jesuit education for more than 30 years, beginning at Ateneo de Manlia University, where she earned a bachelor’s in physics. She received her master’s in Theological Studies at the Loyola School of Theology in Quezon City and her doctorate in Systematic Theology at the University of Notre Dame. She began her teaching career at Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City, Philippines, one of five Jesuit universities in the country, where she was a member of the theology department and taught courses at the undergraduate level and in the Formation Institute for Religious Education (FIRE), a summer graduate program for religious educators and catechists. Dr. Punsalan-Manlimos was an associate professor in the Theology and Religious Studies Department at Seattle University for 15 years, the inaugural director of the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture and held the Malcolm and Mari Stamper Endowed Chair in Catholic Intellectual and Cultural Traditions. In addition, she directed the Catholic Studies Program in the College of Arts & Sciences.
Dr. Dallavalle has more than 13 years of experience at Fairfield University. She completed her bachelor’s in music at Benedictine College, enrolling in a Master of Arts in Theology program concentrating in Systematics, and obtaining her degree in 1983. She received her doctorate in theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1993. Dr. Dallavalle then joined the Religious Studies department at Fairfield University in Connecticut, working over the years as associate professor and chair of the Department of Religious Studies, associate professor of religious studies and university facilitator for Mission & Identity, vice president for Mission & Identity and special assistant to the provost.
