University Professor of Faith and Culture
Thomas Landry will receive the Marianist Award at 5:15 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 13, in the Kennedy Union Ballroom. The University of Dayton presents the Marianist Award on an annual basis to a Roman Catholic whose scholarly work has made notable contributions to enriching Catholic intellectual traditions. The award presentation is in conjunction with his visit to campus to participate in the Marian Forum.
Thomas Landy is the founder and long-time executive director of Collegium, a summer faculty development program exploring faith and intellectual life. Although retired as Collegium’s executive director, Landy, a sociologist, continues to make substantial contributions to Catholic intellectual life. In addition to serving as director of the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at the College of Holy Cross, Landy also leads research for Catholics and Cultures, a web-based initiative, which he founded. The site is a rich resource for anyone interested in exploring “the religious lives and practices of lay Catholics in their particular cultural contexts around the world.”
Past Marianist Award winners
Brother McGrath's work reflects the rich diversity of faith rooted in the Incarnation, God's entrance into human history through Jesus Christ. His latest book, Madonnas of Color, provides an example of his contributions.
“Brother Mickey McGrath's art making gives expression to his faith in the continued presence of Christ in our world,” said Sandra Yocum, University Professor of Faith and Culture. “His vivid and colorful images give witness to the beauty and wonder in our world, especially in the lives and works of holy people from Mary, the Mother of God, to Dorothy Day and Thea Bowman.”
Upon his visit to campus, Brother McGrath and Darden Bradshaw, associate professor in art and design, engaged in an interview-style discussion on the role of art in the healing of communities as part of the Marian Forum. The annual forum provides opportunities for the UD community, the global Marianist community and the International Marian Research Institute to reflect more deeply about Mary and the wide range of topics related to Mariology.
Additionally, Brother McGrath coordinated a community mural painting project.
Dr. Kaveny serves as the Darald and Juliet Libby Professor at Boston College, which includes appointments in the department of theology and the law school. She is the first faculty member to hold such a joint appointment. A member of the Massachusetts Bar, Professor Kaveny clerked for the Honorable John T. Noonan Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and worked as an associate at the Boston law firm of Ropes & Gray in its health law group. She was the 2018-2019 Cary and Ann Maguire Chair in Ethics and American History at the Kluge Center of the Library of Congress.
Kaveny’s scholarship focuses on the relationship of law, religion, and morality. She has published over a hundred articles and essays concerning law, ethics, and medical ethics and four books: Law’s Virtues: Fostering Autonomy and Solidarity in American Society (Georgetown University Press, 2012); A Culture of Engagement: Law, Religion, and Morality (Georgetown University Press, 2016); Prophecy without Contempt: Religious Discourse in the Public Square (Harvard University Press, 2016); and Ethics at the Edges of Law: Christian Moralists and American Legal Thought (Oxford University Press, 2018). Her writing also reaches a broad audience through a regular column for Commonweal magazine.
Her teaching reflects her wide-ranging expertise. She teaches courses in contract law to first-year law students as well as seminars on the relationship between theology, philosophy, and law, such as “Faith, Morality, and Law,” “Mercy and Justice,” and “Complicity.”
Kaveny served as the president of the Society of Christian Ethics, the major professional society for scholars of Christian ethics and moral theology in North America. She currently is chair of the board of trustees of the Journal of Religious Ethics.
Dr. Shawn Copeland, professor of theology at Boston College, received the Marianist Award on Nov. 1, 2017 in the Kennedy Union Ballroom. After receiving the award, she gave her address: "Traces of the Cross: Theology and Social Suffering". Dr. Copeland's theological work focuses on questions concerning racism and exclusion among many other things - topics so relevant for us today. All are welcome.
In preparation for Dr. Copeland's visit to campus, the Forum for the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Today hosted informal discussions of some of Dr. Copeland's writing.
Dr. Copeland's lecture, "Traces of the Cross: Theology and Social Suffering" focused on how her theological work has been informed by her faith in the saving power of Christ in His self-giving love through his cross. The transformative power of the cross serves as a source of saving hope and a call to action for the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, to act in solidarity with society's vulnerable and marginalized persons, especially those suffering under the scourge of racism.