A Celebration of Active Citizenship
Austin College Humanities Week, February 19-23, 2018 focuses on the benefits of humanities in education, and on topics of interest to students and educators studying humanities.
The kickoff event titled “An Education as Unique as You Are! The Humanities at AC” is offered as part of the College’s President’s Day Preview Event on February 19. Prospective Austin College families along with students, faculty, and staff are welcome for the talk beginning at 11 a.m. in Wright Campus Center, Room 245.
On Tuesday, the 2018 Cunningham Lectures are scheduled as part of the Humanities Week programming. Author Dr. Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty will speak about “The Problem of Wealth: A Christian Response to a Culture of Affluence.” The lectures will be at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. in Sherman Hall’s Hoxie Thompson Auditorium.
A screening of Bending the Arc will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 21 in Hoxie Thompson Auditorium. The film tells the story Dr. Paul Farmer, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, activist Ophelia Dahl, Todd McCormack, and investor Thomas White who began a movement in the 1980s that changed global health forever. They developed a community health model to treat diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS which has saved millions of lives in the developing world.
On Thursday, February 22, three outstanding alumni will discuss “How Humanities Majors are Transforming the World” at 5 p.m. in the Wright Campus Center, Room 231. Madison Messinger ’14 who is the Child Programs Team Lead at the North Texas Food Bank; Jenna Carl Jabara ’07 who is an immigration attorney with Lira Bravo; and Alison MacManus Maher ’02 who is a family services attorney with Mosaic will sit on the panel moderated by Max Grober, Dean of Humanities.
Finally, all members of the Austin College community are invited to paint a rock for the #ACRock Kindness Rocks Garden on Friday, February 23 on the lawn by Sherman Hall. Rocks and paint will be available from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The rocks will be placed in a designated garden on campus.
Throughout the week, a special exhibit of alumni portraits and profiles will be on display in the Wright Campus Center’s Johnson Gallery. Featuring alumni working in a range of careers, the exhibit illustrates the various and fulfilling jobs a student could expect with a humanities degree.
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 40 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of approximately 1,275 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.