Professional notes
Dr. Tom Fisch, School of Divinity, and Dr. Anne Klejment and Dr. Scott Wright, History Department, formed a panel on "Origins of Liturgical Renewal and Social Justice in the Early 20th Century United States" for the American Catholic Historical Association's spring meeting April 7-8 at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. Fisch's paper, "William Busch: The Father of the Liturgical Movement in the United States," examined the scholarly activities and networking of the St. Paul Seminary professor who began writing on liturgical renewal just after World War I. Fisch's work is the first major presentation on Busch and amends the prevailing interpretation that Virgil Michel, O.S.B., started liturgical renewal in the United States in the 1920s. Klejment's paper, "Father Paul Bussard and Early Liturgical Renewal," analyzed the efforts of one of Busch's students to popularize liturgical renewal from the mid-'20s through the early '40s. She analyzed Bussard's rationale for the movement and provided evidence of its modest but national influence. Wright continued his study of the local diocesan press and the problem of war in his paper, "Competing Loyalties – Ethnicity, Pope and Country: The Catholic Bulletin and the First World War." Wright analyzed the paper's shifting positions on the war from 1914 through 1918. Among his finding was a peace proposal of Pope Benedict XV similar to Wilson's 14 Points.
Dr. Janet Grochowski, Health and Human Performance Department, presented a paper, "Obesity, Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders: Summary of Current Findings," at the Oxford Round Table – International Nutrition meetings April 2-7.
Dr. David Penchansky, Theology Department, presented a paper, "The Conservatism of Pseudo-Solomon," at the regional meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. "Pseudo-Solomon" is the designation for the author of the biblical book "Wisdom of Solomon." This is part of a larger work Penchansky is writing – a book on the wisdom literature of the Bible. He is working on the book during his sabbatical.
Jessica Webb, John Paul II Hall director, and Victoria Svoboda, associate dean of students, served on the conference planning committee for the National Orientation Directors Association Region Five conference April 7-9 in Minneapolis. The conference hosted almost 250 undergraduate and graduate students and professional staff from the Upper Midwest in the field of orientation and transition. St. Thomas students Craig Chamberlain and Maggie Feldman, co-coordinators of orientation, presented a session, "Reflecting on Values: The Importance of Mission Statements in Orientation Programs." They also participated in an undergraduate case-study experience in which they were paired with undergraduate students from other institutions and given a limited amount of time to discuss and present a response to a difficult situation. Feldman and her partner from Des Moines' Grand View College were awarded the "Best Overall Presentation" title.
