St. Xavier Summit speakers, 2016 How Do Economists Explain Growing Economic Polarization and How Can Educational Opportunity Reduce Its Impact? Presenter: Jim Jurgens Association: Retired Teacher, St. Xavier High School Description: This presentation will examine factors in American society and our changing global economy that are at least partially responsible for growing income inequality, and why expanding educational opportunity must be part of the solution to this problem. Should publically funded preschool become universal? Should all students have the opportunity for a two-year community college education? How can a college education become more affordable? These are questions we may want to discuss. Until he retired last June, Mr. Jurgens was a member of the St. X. Social Studies Department. During his 44-year career at St. X, he has taught Economics, Government, and U.S. History. He has participated in teacher training programs in Asia, Europe, and Central America. Location: room 3543 (maximum per session = 30) Experienced Realities of Urban Education in Cincinnati, Ohio: A Conversation of Persistence and Grit Combined with Hard Work and Rewarded Opportunity Create College-Bound Students in Four Years at Cristo Rey High Schools Presenter: Andrew Farfsing Association: Principal, DePaul Cristo Rey High School Description: Andy became the first principal of DePaul Cristo Rey High School in 2010. He spearheaded the processes that granted DPCR an Ohio charter and full accreditation from the Ohio Catholic School Accrediting Association. Under Andy’s academic leadership, DPCR students have grown in numbers, academic proficiency and college readiness. He presided at the school’s first graduation in May 2015, celebrating not only that milestone, but also the fact that every senior had been accepted to college. Prior to arriving at DPCR, Andy worked as a St. Xavier Summit speakers, 2016 teacher, coach and student activities director at Cincinnati’s La Salle High School. His teaching and leadership excellence were recognized with the student-selected La Salle Person of the Year Award in 2009 and the principal-selected Teacher of the Year Award in 2004. He holds bachelors and master’s degrees from Xavier University. Location: room 1512 (maximum per session = 30) Are White Males Losing Out on College? Presenter: Gary Sabourin Association: College Advisor, St. Xavier High School Description: There is a common perception that in this era of affirmative action in college admissions, white males are losing out. We will discuss whether or not this is the actual case. Mr. Sabourin has been a College Advisor at St. Xavier High School for the past 16 years. Prior to that, he served in the same capacity at The Summit Country Day School. Mr. Sabourin also had the good fortune to serve as a Hall Rector and an Instructor in the Freshman Writing Program at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. He is in his final year before retirement and he will bring the knowledge he has gained from 38 years in the field. Location: room 3540 (maximum per session = 30) Show Me the Money! Presenter: Meredith Shockley-Smith, PhD Association: Co-Director, Women’s and Gender Studies, Northern Kentucky University Description: The Wage Gap is real. But what does that mean? Are women paid less because they prefer lower-paying jobs? Is it because more women than men work part time? Or is it St. Xavier Summit speakers, 2016 because women are more often caregivers? Despite progress in the fight for gender equality in the workplace, women continue to face a variety of challenges. While we’ve made progress in breaking through the “glass ceiling,” we often face other challenges, including discrimination and sexism that contribute to the wage gap. Let’s talk about it! Dr. Meredith Shockley-Smith is a Lecturer and Co-Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program Northern Kentucky University. She received her PhD from the University of Cincinnati in Educational Studies. Her expertise lies in Black Feminist theory, Afrocentric theory, Critical Pedagogy, and Equity theory. Meredith has been teaching for ten years. Her passion for the subject matter has taken her beyond the college classroom into K-12 classrooms, as well as into business and community settings. Location: room 2518 (maximum per session = 30) Slavery by Another Name Presenter: John Ravenna Association: Director of Multicultural Initiatives, St. Xavier High School Description: Slavery By Another Name, is a documentary film that challenges one of Americans’ most cherished assumptions; that slavery in this country ended with Emancipation Proclamation. The film tells how as even as chattel slavery came to an end in the South after the Civil War, new systems of involuntary servitude took its place with shocking brutality. The film documents more than 80 years, thousands of African Americans, often guilty of no crime at all, were arrested, compelled to work without pay, repeatedly bought and sold, and coerced to do the bidding of white masters. Tolerated by both North and South, forced labor lasted well into the 20th century. After watching a 25 minute film clip we will discuss some reflection questions and have an open conversation. Location: room 3511 (maximum per session = 30) St. Xavier Summit speakers, 2016 Racism and the Imagination: Lessons from Stevie Wonder Presenter: Christopher Pramuk Association: Associate Professor of Theology, Xavier University Description: The year 2015 brought an explosion of race-related issues and tensions to the surface in the United States. This presentation explores the “gap” between racial and ethnic communities in American society through the music and remarkable life of Stevie Wonder. We'll explore how “seeing” and responding to others with empathy and understanding across the racial divide is a deeply spiritual matter as much as it is a visual one. Christopher Pramuk is Associate Professor of Theology at Xavier University, and the author of Hope Sings, So Beautiful: Graced Encounters Across the Color Line, an award-winning meditation on race relations in society and church, as well as several books on Thomas Merton. He began his teaching career at Regis Jesuit High School in Denver. Location: room 3167 (maximum per session = 45) Challenges Faced by Children in Poverty Presenter: Joe Wilmers Association: Retired Teacher and Social Worker, Cincinnati Public Schools Description: Mr. Wilmers will discuss the Power of One--How one St. X student can make a powerful difference as a positive role model/mentor in the life of an at-risk child. Mr. Wilmers retired from Cincinnati Public Schools after a 37 year career as teacher, counselor, administrator and school social worker. He has worked as CPS liaison with St Xavier High School for 20 years, engaging St X students with children at Washington Park and Winton Hills Academy. He currently volunteers with the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, Saturday Hoops, Assistance League, SCPA and Friends of Winton Hills Academy Foundation. Location: room 3120 (maximum per session = 30) St. Xavier Summit speakers, 2016 Can Money Keep You Out of Prison? Presenter: Bill Gallagher Association: Attorney and Partner, Arenstein and Gallagher Description: Mr. Gallagher is an attorney and Partner at Arenstein and Gallagher. He is a criminal defense lawyer with over 28 years in defending people accused of crimes. He is one of the founders of the Ohio Innocence Project which has secured the release of 23 people wrongfully incarcerated since its inception in 2003. Innocence Projects across the nation have helped free hundreds of men and women. Many have spent years and even decades in prison for crimes they did not commit. Almost all were poor at the time of their trials. We will discuss the role their economic status played in their wrongful incarceration and discuss solutions to prevent further occurrences. Location: room 1558 (maximum per session = 75) Responding to the Cry of the Earth and the Cry of the Poor Presenter: Tony Stieritz Association: Director, Archdiocese of Cincinnati Catholic Social Action Office Description: Pope Francis points out that the “gravest effects of all attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest.” Why is it that those who consume the least amount of the Earth’s resources are often the victims of the worst environmental crises? Let’s explore this kind of inequality in the world and how the Church urges us to address it together through better environmental stewardship and solidarity with the poor everywhere. Tony Stieritz directs the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Catholic Social Action Office, which supports parishes and St. Xavier Summit speakers, 2016 schools in Catholic Social Teaching faith formation and organized social ministry. The office also advocates around current issues championed by the Catholic Church as respect life, religious liberty, immigration reform, climate change, poverty, global solidarity and more. He currently chairs the Ohio Catholic bishops’ Social Concerns Department and serves on the City of Cincinnati Environmental Advisory Council. He has served as a consultant to the U.S. Catholic bishops’ Catholic Campaign for Human Development Subcommittee. Tony is a graduate of Xavier University and Carroll High School in Dayton. He, his wife, Jessica, and three sons, Luke, Jonah, and Sebastian live in Kennedy Heights and belong to Nativity Parish. Location: room 1505 (maximum per session = 30) Much Ado about Disabilities Presenter: Jason Harris Association: Founder & Spokesperson, Jason’s Connection Description: Jason Harris was diagnosed with a non-verbal learning disability in his pre- teens. He attended both an inclusionary and disabled focused school, after high school he attended the College of Mount St. Joseph where he was opened up to advocacy in his class Disability, Culture and Equity. He graduated with a Liberal Arts Degree and a Minor in Philosophy from the College of Mount St Joseph with Honors in December 2013. He is the founder of Jason’s Connection. He speaks to groups about Hidden and Invisible Disabilities and contributes articles and interviews people with diverse abilities from around the world to Jason’s Connection an online magazine.