Faith, reason symposium addresses global child welfar

Benedictine University's eighth annual Faith and Reason Symposium will present "Faith, Reason and Children: Issues in Global Child Welfare" from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 17, in Birck Hall, Room 112, on campus, 5700 College Road, Lisle.

The symposium will feature two panel discussions: "Child Health" from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and "Child and Society" from 1:30 to 4 p.m.; and a luncheon from noon to 1:15 p.m. featuring a lecture by keynote speaker Dr. James Garbarino, titled "Human Rights of the Child."

Garbarino is the Maude C. Clarke chairman in humanistic psychology and founding director of Loyola University Chicago's Center for the Human Rights of Children. As adviser and consultant on a range of national child development, mental health and abuse prevention issues, Garbarino has received numerous awards for his efforts advocating for some of the world's most vulnerable children.

Panelists in the morning include Benedictine faculty members Jean Marie Kauth, associate professor of humanities; Christine Fletcher, associate professor of theology; Georgeen Polyak, program director and chairman of the master of public health program; and Robin Rylaarsdam, professor of biological sciences.

In the afternoon, panelists are Tammy Sarver, professor of political science; Robert Rebman, adjunct faculty member in the Department of Undergraduate Business; Joyce Jeewek, associate professor of elementary education; and Garbarino.

The symposium is sponsored by the Department of History, Philosophy and Religious Studies and supported by a grant from the Center for Mission and Identity. It is free and open to the public. RSVP at ben.edu/faith, or contact Lynn Dransoff at ldransoff@ben.edu or (630) 829-6250.

For more information, contact Jean-Marie Kauth at jkauth@ben.edu or (630) 829-6272, or John Kloos at jkloos@ben.edu or (630) 829-6265.