Under the Arch

GANNON UNIVERSITY TO WELCOME VANIER, FOUNDER OF L'ARCHE

Gannon University on July 24 will present its Ut Diligatis Invicem Award to the founder of L’Arche and of Faith and Light.

Dr. Jean Vanier will receive the award during a 7:30 p.m. ceremony in the Hammermill Center. The event, free and open to the public, includes a lecture by Vanier.

The Ut Diligatis Invicem Award takes its name from the motto of Gannon’s founder, Archbishop John Mark Gannon: “That You May Love One Another.” Gannon annually presents the award to individuals who demonstrate a strong commitment to their faith, who exemplify the Judeo-Christian ideals of unconditional love and respect for human dignity, and whose life’s work enriches their profession, society, and humankind.

Past recipients include Archbishop Desmund Tutu, Frederick Franck, Sister Helen Prejean, Helen Alvare, and Dr. Monika Hellwig.

More about L’Arche

In 1964, Vanier moved to Trosly-Breuil France, located northeast of Paris, bought a house he called “L’Arche”, and welcomed two handicapped men into his home. He thus became the founder of the L’Arche community.

The name “L’Arche” refers to the ark of Noah, “remind[ing] us of the first covenant between God and humanity.” L’Arche communities are centered on the relationships between developmentally challenged people and the assistants who live and work with them; such settings are intended to promote a higher level of dignity than is typically found in most institutions.

L’Arche has grown considerably in the 40 years since its inception. Today, there are more than 120 L’Arche communities on six continents and in 30 countries.

Even though L’Arche traces its roots to France, it has a connection to Gannon University. In 1971, Father George Strohmeyer, Gannon’s current chaplain, was among those to attend a lecture by Vanier in Toronto. Inspired by Vanier’s message, Strohmeyer later co-founded Erie’s L’Arche community. It is the oldest L’Arche community in the United States.

In 1981, Vanier stepped down as director of L’Arche in Trosly-Breuil, though he continues to live there and shares his daily life with others in a home called “Val Fleuri.”

More about Dr. Jean Vanier

At age 13, Dr. Vanier, with the approval of his father, Canadian Governor General Georges P. Vanier, applied and was admitted to the Royal Navy. In 1962, Vanier obtained a doctoral degree in philosophy at L’Institut Catholique in Paris and in 1964 founded L’Arche.

Vanier is deeply rooted in the Catholic tradition, is close to Pope John Paul II, and periodically meets with Vatican officials to further the mission of L’Arche throughout the world. He has received the Pope Paul VI Prize for his work on behalf of human development and progress and was the 2003 recipient of the Community of Christ International Peace Award.

Vanier now spends much of his time traveling to be with people of all faiths and traditions throughout the world, leading retreats for young people, holding conferences, and offering hope and reconciliation to some of the world’s more fragile countries.

He is the author of more than 20 books, including Jesus, the Gift of Love, Finding Peace, Becoming Human, Seeing Beyond Depression, An Ark for the Poor: The Story of L’Arche, and Community and Growth: Our Pilgrimage Together.

For more information on the event call 871-7434.

OUR FOLKS

Sympathy extended: please remember all in your prayers as regretfully we announce the death of:

R. Benjamin Wiley, Gannon Board of Incorporators 1980-81, Distinguished Pennsylvanian 1988, former Gannon basketball player, and Erie Conference member 1995-2004.
Fran Millis, husband of Marguerite Millis, accounts receivable/assistant loan clerk, Cashiers Office; and father of sophomore Zachary Millis and incoming freshman Alex Millis.

OUR EVENTS

Sunday-Monday, July 11-12 – Summer Orientation, session III.
Sunday-Monday, July 18-19 – Summer Orientation, session IV.
Friday-Sunday, July 23-25 – Schuster Theatre: Outdoor Shakespeare festival, Shakespeare Summer Nights. Shakespeare Summer Nights will present Twelfth Night and other related show performances. Twelfth Night will begin at 7 p.m., with green show performances beginning at 6 p.m. All events will be held in A.J.’s Way.
Saturday, July 24 – Ut Diligatis Invicem Award ceremony: Includes a lecture by the award recipient, Dr. Jean Vanier, founder of L’Arche. Offered at 7:30 p.m. in the Hammermill Center. More information to follow.
Sunday-Saturday, July 25-31 – Gannon Quality Engineering Design Summer Camp: All student positions in the camp are currently filled. Designed for students entering their junior or senior year of high school. Students will conduct experiments in measurement and design and will build electronics and robotics projects. Call ext. 7620 for more information.
“Our Events” is intended to serve as a random sample of campus events. For a more complete listing, refer to Eventcal.

CURRENT BIRTHDAYS

Chuck Murphy. John Coleman. Cynthia Stadler. Mei-Huei Tang. Robert Dobiesz. Joseph Lafaro. Virginia Arp. Virginia Dombrowski. Michael Tkach. Michael McSkimming. Robert Falkewitz. Debra Meszaros. John Young. David McDonald. Timothy Kelben. Rick DeDionisio. Larry Stevens. Bob Wallace. Carolyn Gaither. Benjamin Nagle. Joel Natalie. Dennis Dunne. Rashawn Pugh. Lorraine Curtis. Rev. Chris Hamlett. Penny Smith. Brian DePaoli. Carlos Mamani. Beth Pierce. Alan Millet. Ray Luniewski. Frances Grabski. Monica Karnes. Suzanne Hauber. Noel Laskowski. A.J. Miceli. Lisa Bohen. Donald Beckman. Melanie Gustafson Ropski. Richard Schauer. Mariagrazia Giannelli. Jeannie Kloecker. Mark Jubulis. Mike Vitale. John Kupetz. Margaret Juang. Michael Polon.

THE PRESIDENT'S SCHEDULE

Sunday, July 11 – Welcome Remarks at Summer Orientation, session III. Monday, July 12 – Welcome Remarks to Erie Regional Summer School of Excellence; Welcome Remarks to new resident directors. Thursday, July 15 – Downtown Improvement District Association Board meeting. Friday, July 16 – Civic Coordinating Committee (C-Cubed) retreat. Saturday, July 17 – TKE alumni reunion luncheon. Sunday, July 18 – Welcome Remarks at Summer Orientation, session IV.

DID YOU KNOW?

Deb Thaler will defend her dissertation on Thursday, July 15, from 1 to 3 p.m. in Palumbo Center room 3225. The title of her dissertation is “Psychological distress related to family adaptability and cohesion in resettled Bosnian refugees.” All are welcome to attend. Committee members are Linda Fleming, chair, Dave Tobin, member, and Leslie Hite, member.
Gannon faculty/administrators are invited to participate in Summer Orientation events. Two sessions remain: July 11-12 and 18-19. You and a spouse/guest are invited to attend the Sunday evening Parent Socials on July 11 and 18 in the Yehl Room from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. A picnic supper will be served in the Waldron Center at 5:15 p.m. on those dates. Members of your immediate family are also invited to attend, compliments of New Student Services. If interested in attending, call ext. 7597 by the Thursday preceding each picnic supper to make a reservation and request a ticket(s). A ticket will be required for each person attending.
Discover Presque Isle will be held Friday-Sunday, July 23-25. Volunteers are needed to sell frog buttons to visitors and to distribute brochures with information regarding the events. For more information call ext. 5618.
Under the Arch has reverted to its summer schedule and will be published on alternate Mondays. Under the Arch will be posted to the Gannon portal on those Mondays when it is issued. Please note that it always can be accessed from the university’s intranet, located at http://intranet.gannon.edu/.