All full-time College and SGPP faculty as well as all staff are invited to attend University Convocation Day on Tuesday, August, 23, 2022 . It will be held on our Winona campus and livestreamed at our Minneapolis campus, with live Q and A and breakout discussions in-person at both sites. See here for a schedule for the day. Coffee and doughnuts will be served the morning of the Convocation at both locations. Lunch will be served the day of the Convocation at both locations. Please use this form to RSVP for the Convocation no later than August 16, 2022.
University Convocation is the official start to the academic year at the College and the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs. It provides the university community with the opportunity to gather and reflect on important topics and issues touching the core of our educational enterprise.
The day’s events will run from 9:00 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. The morning session will be highlighted by remarks from Father James Burns, president, Dr. Matthew Gerlach, interim provost and dean of faculties, and The Most Reverend Robert Barron, STD, bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, our keynote speaker.
Bishop Robert Barron is the newly inducted and ninth bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. He is an acclaimed author, speaker, and theologian. Bishop Barron was ordained a priest in 1986 in the Archdiocese of Chicago and appointed to the theological faculty of Mundelein Seminary in 1992. He has served as a visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. He was twice scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican. He served as the Rector/President of Mundelein Seminary University of St. Mary of the Lake from 2012 until 2015. On July 21, 2015, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Barron to be Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Bishop Robert Barron is the founder of the global media ministry Word on Fire, which reaches millions of people by utilizing the tools of new media to draw people into or back to the Catholic faith. He received a Master’s Degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in 1982 and a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Institut Catholique de Paris in 1992. We are honored to welcome him to the region and have him speak at our 2022 convocation.
In light of the increase in COVID-19 cases across the State of Minnesota, we are not requiring faculty or staff from the Minneapolis or Rochester campuses to travel to Winona for the day. You are, however, more than welcome to do so. We strongly encourage carpooling to reduce travel costs. For those Minneapolis campus faculty and staff who do not feel comfortable coming to Winona, we ask that you participate in a community viewing of the livestream of University Convocation in the University Center. Rochester campus faculty and staff are asked to view the University Convocation via the livestream as well if you are not comfortable traveling to Winona.
The afternoon session, which begins 12:30 p.m., will include facilitated conversations on the keynote.
Questions sometimes arise about who is expected to attend University Convocation. It would be wonderful if we could shut down all offices for the day and have everyone join the activities, but some offices/areas must remain open to take calls, respond to questions, and to make necessary preparations for the beginning of the semester. With this in mind, all full-time faculty members, academic administrators, program directors, and academic services staff are required to attend the University Convocation unless excused by their supervisor. All other staff members should also plan to attend unless otherwise instructed by their supervisors.
We look forward to seeing you on August 23rd. Please remember to wear your university name tag. If you have any questions about University Convocation Day, please contact your area vice president or Ann Merchlewitz at 507-457-1587.
