This lecture series, as are indeed many Catholic campus ministries, is named after John Henry Cardinal Newman, the great English Church leader of the nineteenth century. Ordained as an Anglican priest, he was active in a movement to revive and reform the Anglican Church. Because of his study and research in his efforts to reform the Anglican Church, Newman eventually chose to become a member of the Catholic Church.
Newman demonstrated a profound commitment to intellectual excellence and to the faith. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, Cardinal Newman has been recognized as the patron of Catholic Campus Ministry, especially on secular campuses. The lecture series at the University of Rochester was created to celebrate the deep connection between faith and reason espoused by Cardinal Newman.
The first lecture delivered under this series occured on February 25, 1985, and was delivered by University of Rochester President and Catholic Newman Community member Dr. G. Dennis O'Brien. Over the years, speakers have included Dr. Curt Cadorette, now the John Henry Cardinal Newman Associate Professor of Roman Catholic Studies in the University of Rochester Department of Religion and Classics, and Sr. Helen Prejean.
During the spring 2004 term, as part of our celebration of 40 years of full-time Catholic campus ministry on this campus, three lectures were delivered under the heading of, "The World, Religion, and Faith". Speaking during the spring 2004 installments of the series were Dr. R. Scott Appleby, Director of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame; Rev. Dr. Charles E. Curran, Scurlock University Professor of Human Values at Southern Methodist University; and Dr. G. Dennis O'Brien, President Emeritus of the University of Rochester.