Summer Classes/Events

Begin in May

By Janelle Cowgill

When Catholic University students leave for summer break this month, many faculty members will begin preparing for summer classes and events on campus, some beginning as early as mid-May and early June.

Campus events will include the alumni Reunions Weekend starting May 31 and a piano festival co-sponsored by the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, to be held May 22-25.

A couple of two-week sessions in June and July will be offered in Hispanic pastoral leadership — designed for lay people and members of religious communities interested in Hispanic ministry. Offered by CUA in conjunction with the Northeast Pastoral Institute, the sessions will be taught in Spanish.

Another religion-themed institute, titled “Spirituality and the Parish: Receiving Life From the Local Church,” will feature a dozen workshops and plenary sessions taught by CUA faculty. The June 1 event will draw religious education professionals from the Baltimore, Richmond, Arlington and Washington dioceses.

This is the third year CUA is offering this kind of spirituality-themed program during the summer. The program’s audience has increased from 30 participants the first year to about 100 last year; this year’s goal is to draw 120 participants. “The spirituality theme is especially attractive to this audience,” says Jessica Madrigal, director of CUA’s Office of Summer Sessions.

A four-day conference in early June sponsored by CUA’s Center for the Study of Early Christianity will address the theme of “The Early Christian Book.” Eight speakers will discuss the development of the scriptural canon, the history of book-burning, Bible translation and more.

Many outside groups are bringing their meetings to the CUA campus, as well. One of those is Miami University of Ohio, which will sponsor a series of panel discussions focusing on the relationship between media and politics. The panels will run from May 15 to May 22 and will include presentations by scholars and journalists. For example, a May 15 event in McMahon Hall entitled “The Bush Presidency and War” will include remarks from Walter Shapiro, political columnist for USA Today; John Kenneth White, CUA professor of political science; Janet Grissom, former assistant secretary of state; Don Gonyea, the White House correspondent for National Public Radio; and others. Members of the CUA community are invited to attend these sessions at no cost. For more information on the panel discussions at CUA, visit http://www.miami.muohio.edu/University_Advancement/AlumniRelations/Chapters/dcprogramevent.cfm.

Summer Classes for Everyone

In addition to the for-credit summer courses offered to college students, the Office of Summer Sessions has put together a schedule of workshops and pre-college programs covering everything from engineering to opera.

High school students interested in architecture, video production, engineering or opera singing will be able to attend classes under this pre-college program. Elementary-school children can enroll in activities such as the Lion Drummers World Percussion Seminar and KEYs to Empowering Youth, a four-day program of mentoring, career planning and confidence building for girls between the ages of 11 to 13.

CUA’s summer abroad programs will take interested students to places like Cuba, the Netherlands and Japan.

The Office of Summer Sessions also has helped develop several workshops in the field of education. Dozens of workshops and institutes will be offered for teachers seeking certification or re-certification. The Paraeducator Certificate Program is designed for public school instructional assistants and teacher’s aides.

Summer Sessions After Sept. 11

Even though groups like Miami University will hold their events on campus, recent events have caused some organizations that have used Catholic University in the past to move their events elsewhere, says Brian Hallahan, director of conferences and summer programs for the Office of Housing and Residential Services.

“The change stems from a combination of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks (and Washington, D.C., being one of the targets), the anthrax attacks at the Capitol and D.C. postal facilities, and the unstable economy — even though there are some signs it’s recovering,” Mr. Hallahan says. “People are using some caution until things become clear.”

Also, area hotels are discounting the cost of their conference facilities to attract groups. In years past, the U.S. State Department’s Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program rented CUA’s space during the summer to orient teachers coming and going on exchange. This year, though, the group will head to a local hotel.

“Hotels are being extremely aggressive [in reducing their fees],” Mr. Hallahan says. “There’s no way the government would have paid to go to a hotel for this meeting last year.”

The university’s aim is to appeal to both the Catholic University audience and groups not affiliated with the university who may never have thought of holding their events here or attending summer programs at CUA, says Ms. Madrigal. “We always look to add new special programs and increase CUA’s audience in our area; that’s the aspect of growing.”