The School of Nursing will examine the roots of violence in an effort to prevent and minimize its impact on people and communities when it hosts the Sixth Annual Rita M. McGinley Symposium.
This year’s symposium, Exploring Social Justice for Vulnerable Populations: The Face of the Person Who has Experienced Violence, will be held on Thursday, Oct. 22, and Friday, Oct. 23, in the Power Center Ballroom. The theme was selected because of the apparent increase in violence in society. The event’s sub-themes include violence against women; the link between violence and mental illness; ideologically driven violence; and the face of the young black male.
“Tragically, many acts of violence aren’t random events,” said event organizer Sister Rosemary Donley, S.C., the Jacques Laval Chair for Justice for Vulnerable Populations. “They occur within close relationships across age, gender, race, class and economic structures. This year’s symposium will focus on the causes of violence and seek ways to prevent and alleviate its impact.”
Keynote speakers and their presentations at the symposium include:
- Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell, the Anna D. Wolf Chair at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing/national program director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars, The Role of the Health Care System in Bringing Social Justice to Traumatized Communities
- Dr. Edward P. Mulvey, professor of psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Addressing the Link Between Mental Disorder and Violence
- The Rev. John Sawicki, C.S.Sp., assistant professor of political science, Duquesne University, Vulnerable Populations in Violence: The Phenomenon of Women and Child Suicide Bombers
- Richard Garland, visiting instructor, Graduate School of Health, University of Pittsburgh, A Look at Violence in Our City.
Bethlehem Haven, whose mission is to provide a continuum of care for homeless women that leads to self-sufficiency, will be honored at the symposium with the Eileen Zungolo Spirit of Service Award, named for the late dean of nursing.
“Each year, we identify and honor a person or a program that helps those who are ‘the face of the person’ at the center of the symposium theme—in this case, the face that has experienced violence,” explained Sister Donley. “We selected Bethlehem Haven because they are our neighbors, and they are also a clinical partner of the nursing school. Their program and the work they do will be honored at the symposium.”
The McGinley Symposium provides a unique scholarly forum for nurses and health care professionals to address issues of social justice in health care. Continuing education credits are available. For more information, including cost, and to register, visit www.duq.edu/social-justice or call 412.396.5203.