2021-22 Hope Dialogues launch with guest address on intergenerational poverty by Catholic Charities’ Rob McCann
SPOKANE, Wash. -- “Lifeguards, Hikers and Mathematicians” is the compelling title of an address that Rob McCann, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington, will offer Thursday, Sept. 16, at 4:30 pm in Gonzaga University’s Cataldo Globe Room.
The lecture on the sobering realities and consequences of intergenerational poverty launches the School of Education’s 2021-22 “Hope Dialogues,” a lecture series presented by the School’s Office of a Pedagogy of Hope through Research and Practice.
The event is free to attend. McCann’s speech also will be broadcast online via Zoom and will be recorded and posted online at a later date.
McCann’s lecture will focus on the realities and consequences of intergenerational poverty with our community, the systems of oppression that help sustain it and how we fit into those systems.
“It's important to understand how these systems come about so we don’t engage in ways of thought and action that help support and sustain them,” said Dr. Yoli Gallardo, Dean of the School of Education. “Unless we truly understand the plight of others, it becomes too easy to dismiss their struggles.”
McCann, who earned both master’s and doctoral degrees in leadership studies from Gonzaga, hopes his speech will “help us find paths for hope and solutions” to the challenges of poverty.
Catholic Charities, a nonprofit organization that focuses on assisting those living in poverty across Eastern Washington in a variety of ways, is partnering with Gonzaga on the Gonzaga Family Haven, a 73-unit apartment complex for families experiencing homelessness. In partnership with the University and Gonzaga Preparatory School, students will have long-term volunteer opportunities to work with families overcoming crises.
In addition to Dr. McCann, The Office of a Pedagogy of Hope through Research and Practice is planning to host several guest speakers with topics focusing on race, LGBTQIA+ issues, trauma, learning disabilities, and more. Visit this website for more information on upcoming events.
About The Office of a Pedagogy of Hope through Research and Practice
The Office of a Pedagogy of Hope through Research and Practice is focused on the discernment of historical and contemporary issues in education. It exists as a space that invites students and educators to reflect on systems that marginalize and reimagine them to be fully inclusive, engaging all members of the community as active participants.
The Office of a Pedagogy of Hope through Research and Practice exists to serve all members of the educational community. Specifically, the office seeks to serve K-12 students and families by providing a forum for Gonzaga University students, faculty, and staff, along with other community members, opportunities to engage in critical questions about our current social context, a situation that is often dehumanizing and devaluing at best.
The Office of a Pedagogy of Hope is located in Suite 100 on the first floor of the J.M. and Jessie Rosauer Center for Education on the northeast side of Gonzaga's campus.