National Interfaith Leader Eboo Patel to Speak at Alvernia University
Reading, Pa. (PRWEB) September 12, 2013 -- Eboo Patel was a self-proclaimed “angry youth”, who often wondered where all the “faith heroes” had gone. Absent were the Martin Luther Kings, Mahatma Ghandis and Dorthy Days that had left an impression on him. Today, as founder and president of a national organization that promotes inter-religious understanding and action on college campuses, he has become that faith hero to many. Patel will appear at Alvernia University on Sept. 18, at 7 p.m., to kick off the institution’s annual Literary Festival and deliver the keynote address at the schools’ Founders Day Lecture.
Patel serves as a member of the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships, is founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, and a regular contributor to the Washington Post, USA Today, CNN, Huffington Post, and NPR. He’s also author of award winning “Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation” and “Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America.”
Alvernia’s President Thomas F. Flynn, Ph.D., believes Patel’s messages about the need for interfaith cooperation are incredibly relevant in today’s world. “Dr. Patel shares our vision of renewed cooperation through interfaith dialog,” explained Flynn. “He embraces efforts to create authentic religious understanding to address the intense and often violent global struggles that are so pervasive in the world today.”
Students in Alvernia’s freshman Class of 2017 are reading “Acts of Faith” (2007) as part of their First Year Experience at the university.
About the Event:
Eboo Patel will speak on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m., in Alvernia’s Physical Education Center as part of the university’s annual Lecture Series. This event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the Holleran Center for Community Engagement at Alvernia.
ALVERNIA is a thriving university that empowers students through real-world learning to discover their passion for life, while providing the education to turn what they love into lifetimes of career success and personal fulfillment, helping them make the world a better place.
Situated on a scenic 121-acre suburban campus in historic Berks County, Pa., the university of more than 3,000 students is conveniently located near Philadelphia (60 miles) and within an easy drive of New York, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. With a College of Arts and Sciences and College of Professional Studies, Alvernia today offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and minors and a range of graduate programs at the master’s and doctoral levels through its School of Graduate and Adult Education. Satellite sites are located in Philadelphia and Schuylkill County. As one of only 22 Franciscan institutions in the country, Alvernia’s focus on caring for each other, the environment and the community are joined with a challenging educational experience to provide an unparalleled environment to grow, develop and mature as a person and professional.
Carey Manzolillo, Alvernia University, http://www.alvernia.edu/, 610-796-8281, [email protected]
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