March 29, 2007 • 7:00pm
Christian Brothers University Theatre

Featured Speaker • Dr.Jeanette Rodriguez

Dr. Rodriguez is a U.S. Hispanic/Latina theologian, Professor in and Chair of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Seattle University. She received her Ph.D. at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and is author of Our Lady of Guadalupe: Faith and Empowerment Among Mexican American Women, Stories We Live, and numerous articles on U.S. Hispanic theology, spirituality, and cultural memory. She also co-edited A Reader in Latina Feminist Theology with Dr. Maria Pilar Aquino and Daisy Machado.

Inspired by faith and the theologies of liberation, she directs her personal and professional commitments at the service of justice. This commitment takes the form of understanding, articulating and offering the insights of the lived-faith experience of U.S. Latinos/as to the larger theological enterprise. In 2002 she was the recipient of the U.S. Catholic Award.

2007 Student Peace Awardee • Rev Andre Johnson, University of Memphis

This award is given annually to a Mid-South university student, who best exemplifies the spirit and practice of nonviolence consistent with Dr. Vanderhaar’s life and work.

This year's Vanderhaar Student Peace Award recognizes Rev. Andre Johnson for his tireless work with peace and justice issues, including the Living Wage Campaign, working with inner city youth on conflict resolution, participating in local peace walks, and supporting peace education events at area schools. A University of Memphis student, Johnson is completing his doctoral dissertation in African-American rhetoric. Deeply committed to nonviolence in all aspects of life and in all age groups, Johnson’s witness to Gospel Values, as he works for peace with justice, also carries over to his vocation as pastor of Gifts of Life Ministries, a non-denominational church in midtown Memphis.
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2007 Vanderhaar Symposium Steering Committee
Leo Arnoult Arnoult
Lisa Bell
Barbara Frankle
Jacob Flowers
Dr. Pete Gathje
Dr. Scott Geis
Rev. Al Kirk
Carolyn Oldenburg
Deacon Curtiss Talley
Ray Terry
Janice Vanderhaar, Chair
Br. Rob Veselsky