Dennis Holtschneider – Educational Justice for All

“What Shall We Do: The Eroding Social Compact toward U.S. Higher Education”

Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., Ed.D., President of DePaul University, Chicago, IL will offer the keynote address at the 8th Biennial Vincentian Chair of Social Justice Conference October 26, 2013, St. John’s University

He is recognized as a national advocate for the advancement of missionbased education and is a leader in several national educational associations. He received his doctorate in educational administration, planning and social policy from Harvard University.

In the United States, education has historically served as a consistent and sustainable means of alleviating individual poverty and reducing social inequality. Today, while developing nations live on that same hope, the developed world has found that education has lost ground as a poverty reliever and social equalizer. The God-given dignity inherent in each person demands that all experience the liberating and enhancing influence of education as a basic human right. During this conference, we will reflect on the manner in which educational policy and practice have in the past—and must in the future—contribute to poverty alleviation, social advancement and human solidarity.

Program Highlights

1 p.m. Keynote “What Shall We Do: The Eroding Social Compact toward U.S. Higher Education”

Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., Ed.D., President of DePaul University, Chicago, IL is recognized as a national advocate for the advancement of missionbased education and is a leader in several national educational associations. He received his doctorate in educational administration, planning and social policy from Harvard University.

2 p.m. Vincentian Research Fellows Panel

“The Nexus of Poverty and Education: Children’s Rights and the Economic, Social and Political Implications of Poverty”

• Rosemary C. Salomone, Ph.D., J.D., Charles K. Wang Professor of Law, School of Law
• Charles M. A. Clark, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business
• Robert F. Pecorella, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Government and Politics, Director of the Institute of Core Studies, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• MaryEllen Freeley, Ed.D., Associate Professor, Administrative and Instructional Leadership, The School of Education

3:30 p.m. Roundtables

Roundtables are interdisciplinary, facilitated discussions on the panel topics and are designed to encourage participation. These exchanges will lead to consensus and recommendations on ways justice can be encouraged and fostered now. Each roundtable will consider, “What must be done to improve educational opportunity and to reduce poverty and social immobility?” Recommendations may focus on policy changes, advocacy and community awareness.

• Children’s Rights and Educational Policy in a Globalized World
• Why Poverty and Inequality Matter
• Market Myths and the Politics of Education: Inequality for All
• Effects of Poverty on the Education of Children

4:45 p.m. Plenary Summation Session: Educational Justice: An Unfinished Agenda

Each roundtable will summarize the ways that individuals and communities may commit to achieving educational justice for all, with special concern or those on the margins.

5:45 p.m. Liturgy

Presider:Rev. Gerard Luttenberger, C.M., Executive Vice President for Mission