Thursday, August 30, 2007

Irene Arellano Named Service Learning Coordinator at Texas Tech University

Congratulations to Irene Arellano, who has been named the Service Learning Coordinator at Texas Tech University!

The Service Learning Program is under the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, and is part of the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center.

She writes from Lubbock (her home town), that she is into her second week in the new position, and that she jumped right into the role by providing the training for the Service Learning Faculty Fellows. Sounds like she is off to a great start!

To contact Irene and wish her well in her new job:

Irene Arellano
Service Learning Coordinator
Teaching, Learning and Technology Center
Texas Tech University
Box 42044
Lubbock, Texas 79409
T 806.742.0133
F 806.742.0134
irene.arellano@ttu.edu

U.S. Public Service Academy In the News!




US Public Service Academy In the News
Time Magazine Includes Academy in Ten-Point National Service PlanAcademy Logo

In Time magazine's "Specials" section this week, Richard Stengel encourages the next president to embrace a national service platform. Stengel outlines ten key steps the next president should take to promote civic life. Point #9 is to establish the U.S. Public Service Academy. Please take a minute to read the article. As you may notice, of the ten excellent ideas listed the Academy is among the most advanced in terms of both conception and political support.
U.S. Public Service Academy
The Academy will be America's first national civilian college, the counterpart to our nation's military service academies. To learn more about how to become part of our movement to build the Academy, please visit our website: www.uspublicserviceacademy.org.
US Public Service Academy
Chris Myers Asch
Co-Founder
asch@uspublicserviceacademy.org
662-207-4744
US Public Service Academy
Shawn Raymond

Co-Founder
raymond@uspublicserviceacademy.org
713-899-9945

US Public Service Academy 1225 I Street NW Suite 600 Washington DC 20005

Monday, August 27, 2007

Late Summer Haystacks



Late summer haystacks...
Vincent van Gogh painted the original "Haystacks in Provence" in Arles, France, in June 1888. As in the previous years, Van Gogh followed the harvest closely, recording the farmers' work and the state of the fields.

Below, haystacks from the dairy across the county road from us.

First Day of Class - For Everyone!


Dr. Matthew Ogilvie teaching a small seminar on Moral Theology for the University of Dallas School of Ministry on the first day of classes for the fall 2007 semester.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

First Day of Class - For Everyone!


Photos from the first day of class on Saturday, 25 Aug 2007. My co-teacher, Dr. Daniel Luby, has taught for years at the University of Dallas as an adjunct instructor while working as the Director of the Division of Christian Formation for the Diocese of Fort Worth (Texas). However, now Dan has join the University full-time, and this was his first day teaching as the holder of the Tschoepe Chair of Homiletics in the School of Ministry.


And back home on the farm, it is also back-to-school for my nephew and niece, Joshua and Nora!

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Rev. Emil Neubert, S.M.


On Aug. 29, 2007, the Marianist Family marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Fr. Emile Neubert, SM (1878-1967). Fr. Neubert was director of the Marianist International Seminary in Fribourg, Switzerland, for over a quarter century and a member of the International Marian Academy. He was the most renowned and prolific Marianist writer on the subject of Mary and was characterized as the “foremost doctor of Mariology among the sons of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade.” This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the completion and acceptance of his noted doctoral dissertation in patristic theology on Mary in the pre-Nicene Church. This was the first doctoral dissertation centered on Mary in patrology and theology. Read a tribute to Fr. Neubert.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Bro. Daniel Sharpe, S.M.

Bro. Dan Sharpe (Marianist Residence, San Antonio), 83, who died 23 July 2007, in San Antonio. May he rest in peace. Bro. Dan had a lifelong devotion to education and ministered as a teacher and administrator for 40 years in St. Louis (Southside Catholic), San Antonio (Central Catholic and St. Mary’s University), Milwaukee (Don Bosco and St. Thomas More), Chicago (St. Michael’s) and Fort Worth (Nolan Catholic). He served in Provincial administration for eight years and helped establish the Marianist presence in Mexico. Visitation was 25 July 2007, 7:00 p.m. at the Marianist Residence in San Antonio. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated 26 July 2007 at 4:00 p.m. at the Marianist Residence. Fr. John Leies was the presider and homilist.
Read Bro. Dan’s obituary and reflections from Fr. John Leies.

John Dufilho and the Apples in Stereo Go On Tour!

US Tour Dates for the Apples in stereo

31 - Aug Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
02 - Sep Seattle, WA Bumbershoot Festival
13 - Sep Lexington, KY The Dame
14 - Sep Athens, OH The Union
15 - Sep Cranford, NJ Music Fest
16 - Sep Brooklyn, NY NY Music Hall
17 - Sep Boston, MA Middle East
19 - Sep Washington, DC 9:30 Club
20 - Sep Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
21 - Sep Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live
22 - Sep Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theater
23 - Sep Atlanta, GA Unplugged in the Park
25 - Sep Athens, GA 40 Watt Club
26 - Sep Gainesville, FL Common Grounds
27 - Sep Orlando, FL AKA Lounge
28 - Sep Fort Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
29 - Sep Tampa, FL Crowbar
30 - Sep Tallahassee, FL

Beta BarFor the latest tour dates and to download posters, go to yeproc.com

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Help Us Build the U.S. Public Service Academy


Help Us Build the U.S. Public Service Academy

The U.S. Public Service Academy will be America’s first national civilian university, a flagship institution designed to build a “more perfect union” by developing leaders of character dedicated to service in the public sector.

Modeled on the military service academies, the Public Service Academy will provide a rigorous undergraduate education followed by five years of civilian service to the country. It will develop young leaders with the character, intellect, and experience necessary to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. Join us as we build our generation’s defining public institution.

Bi-Partisan Call: Create U.S. Public Service Academy

March 22, 2007

Clinton, Specter, Moran and Shays Call for Creation of United States Public Service Academy



Washington, DC - At a press conference on Capitol Hill, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Representatives James Moran (D-VA) and Chris Shays (R-CT) today joined with public service leaders, educators and students to call for the creation of a U.S. Public Service Academy. The U.S. Public Service Academy Act (The PSA Act) will establish an undergraduate academy designed to cultivate a new generation of young leaders dedicated to public service. Modeled after the military service academies, the Public Service Academy will provide a four-year, federally-subsidized college education for more than 5,000 students a year in exchange for a five year commitment to public service following graduation.

"We face big challenges as a nation that will require an active leadership and citizenry. I have no doubt that Americans are ready, willing, and able to answer the call and that is exactly what this Academy would demonstrate every single day. The United States Public Service Academy will tap into the renewed sense of patriotism and civic obligation among our young people. I am proud to work with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle and both chambers of Congress to make this idea a reality," said Senator Clinton.

"I am pleased to cosponsor legislation to establish a U.S. Public Service Academy," Senator Specter said. "The academy would develop leaders with a strong foundation in civics and provide the country with a generation dedicated to public service."


"The U.S. Public Service Academy will be the premier training ground for the next generation of public servants. Our public sector faces a brain drain with the impending retirement of the Baby Boom generation. Based on the success of the U.S. military academies, we believe this institution will help close that gap, providing the foundation for the civil service leaders of tomorrow," said Representative Moran.

"We need a 'West Point' of public service, to encourage more young Americans to commit to a career in public service and the build the skills necessary to provide successful leadership in the public sector," Representative Shays said, who service as Co-Chair of the National Service Caucus. "I am so excited to work with Senators Clinton and Specter and Representative Moran to build bipartisan support for this powerful idea."

"The Academy is an historic opportunity to build an institution that will change the way young people perceive, prepare for, and pursue public service," said Chris Myers Asch, architect of Public Service Academy concept.


The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that more than two million teachers will be needed in classrooms across the country in the next decade. At the same time, more than 80 percent of the nation's 17,000 law enforcement agencies report that they cannot fill needed positions due to a lack of qualified candidates. Graduates of the Public Service Academy will help to fill these vacancies by serving their county for five years after graduation in areas such as civil service, the public sector, and other needed fields.

A recent study by the Higher Education Research Institute found that more than two-thirds of a college freshman class expressed a desire to serve others, though the rising cost of college tuition is a barrier to choosing a career in public service. The Public Service Academy will allow such students the opportunity to go to college and tap into the strong desire to serve that already exists among college students.

Prospective applicants to the Academy will follow a nomination process similar to that used for admission to the military academies where each senator and representative nominates candidates from their state for consideration.

Senators Clinton and Specter are joined in sponsoring the bill by Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Joseph Biden (D-DE), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX). Representative Moran and Shays are joined in sponsoring the House version of the bill by Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Tom Davis (R-VA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Sam Farr (D-CA), Charles Gonzales (D-TX), Al Green (D-TX), Gene Green (D-TX), Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Nick Lampson (D-TX), John Lewis (D-GA), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), and Bennie Thompson (D-MS). The PSA Act was first introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives during the 109th Congress.