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Alan Weyland, Brother Robert Schieler, and Dr. Greg Kopra
The second annual Symposium on Lasallian Research opened on Sunday, October 27, at the Twin Cities Campus of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.
The gathering included 66 educators and administrators from 17 Lasallian universities/colleges in six countries. The participants also included representatives from District and Regional Offices as well as high schools and the Institute in Rome. Four out of the five worldwide Lasallian Regions were represented: PARC, RELAL, RELEM, and RELAN. The symposium continued the work of the 2012 symposium by further refining perspectives on the nature and purpose of doing Lasallian Research, as well as examining a variety of current research initiatives and issues.
In his welcome, Brother William Mann, FSC, noted that attendance was almost double that of 2012 and now included an international presence. Later, in reflecting on the Symposium’s second year, General Councilor for RELAN Brother Robert Schieler, FSC, shared, “My hope is that this will affirm our Lasallian educational tradition and stimulate a culture of collaboration for research, which ultimately improves our ability to advocate for those whom we serve.”
The Symposium opened with speaker Dr. Susan Hines, SMU, Director of Faculty Development and Doctoral Professor, who revisited the 2012 Symposium’s white paper on its identified priority areas of research. The two-and-a-half day event included several presentations by members of new event sponsor the International Association of Lasallian Universities (IALU), as well as numerous breakout sessions that followed up on the 2012 priority areas.
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Brother Diego Muñoz, Director of Lasallian Resources and Research for the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools
Keynote speaker Brother Diego Munoz, Director of Lasallian Resources and Research for the Institute, closed the Symposium with a challenge to his audience and the task of doing Lasallian research: “We need to break down barriers, produce useful Lasallian knowledge, and interact with the global academic world…we have a story to be told.”
The Symposium was sponsored by SMU Institute for Lasallian Studies, IALU, and the Lasallian Region of North America. Organizer Dr. Roxanne Eubank announced that the 2014 Symposium will be held September 26 – 28 and will again be hosted by Saint Mary’s University.
Symposium presentations are available at http://lasallianresearch.weebly.com/presentations.html.
By Bob Carrejo, Communications Director for the District of New Orleans – Santa Fe[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]