Loyola to host second annual Mission Week to celebrate Jesuit and Maryland heritage

Loyola University Maryland will host Mission Week, a series of events and activities related to Loyola’s mission, to celebrate the University’s Jesuit and Maryland heritage from March 17 to April 1, 2019.

Loyola will celebrate Maryland Day on March 22, honoring staff and administrators who have achieved key milestones at the institution. The Maryland Day Convocation will serve as the cornerstone of events and activities taking place during Mission Week.

The Maryland Day Convocation brings together members of the Loyola community, as well as the local community, for a celebration of awards and a speaker who can inspire and challenge the campus community.

This year's Convocation will feature the 60th Chaplain of the House of Representatives, Rev. Patrick Conroy, S.J., and be held on Friday, March 22, at 1:30 p.m. in McGuire Hall. Fr. Conroy, who was sworn in by the Speaker of the House in 2011, will receive the University’s Ignatian Citizenship Award. The Convocation will also feature a performance by the Cardinal Shehan School Choir, as well as other speeches and presentations by distinguished guests.

Before the Maryland Day Convocation, a Java & Juice with the Jesuits will be held from 11 a.m.-noon at the Ignatius House, and a Maryland Day Mass will be held at 12:10 p.m. at the Alumni Memorial Chapel to celebrate the milestone honorees.

Other Mission Week events that are free and open to the public are:

• Rev. Steven Spahn, S.J., affiliate faculty of theology and assistant to the director of mission integration, will celebrate Mass on Sunday, March 17, at 6 p.m. in Alumni Memorial Chapel.
• The 2019 Hanway Lecture in Global Studies and the Humanities Symposium Keynote Address, “Rites/Rights of Passage: Migration and Movement in Exit West,” will be held on Monday, March 18, at 7 p.m. at Reitz Arena.
• Marcia Chatelain, Ph.D., associate professor of history and African American studies at Georgetown University, will speak on Wednesday, March 20, from 3-4:15 p.m. in McGuire Hall East. During the crisis in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014, she led a social media response that helped shape curricular projects in K-12 settings. She also co-hosted the podcast, “Undisclosed: The Killing of Freddie Gray.”
• On Wednesday, March 20, at 7 p.m., “Festival Sing” will feature performances by Loyola singing groups—the Belles, Chimes, Greysounds, Chapel Choir, Gospel Choir, Repertory Choir, and Loyola Singers—in Alumni Memorial Chapel.
• The Ignatian Teach-In invites the community to get involved and help take action against the many issues facing today’s society. Issues discussed during the teach-in include gun violence, racial justice, mass incarceration, climate change, and immigration. The Ignatian Teach-In will be held on Thursday, March 21, with concurrent sessions in College Center Conference Rooms 105, 107, 113, 114, and McManus Theatre, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The event will culminate with Kaye Whitehead, Ph.D., professor of communication, hosting her widely popular radio show, “Today with Dr. Kaye,” from McManus Theatre. 
• The Building a Better World Through Business will feature an address, “The Art of Leadership, and the Business of Social Change,” by Bill Strickland, executive chairman of the Manchester Bidwell Corporation, on Tuesday, March 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the McManus Theatre.
• Michael Eric Dyson, Ph.D., sociology professor at Georgetown University and author of What Truth Sounds Like: Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America, will offer the Common Text Keynote on Monday, April 1, at 7 p.m. in McGuire Hall. Dyson, who has authored 19 books, is also a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, contributing editor of The New Republic, and of ESPN's The Undefeated website. A book signing will follow.

Learn more about Loyola's Mission Week.