|
 |
| NEWS RELEASE |
06-85 John Carroll University’s Poverty and Solidarity Program Presents Documentary Photo Exhibition, “The Homeless Look Like People to Me”
Cleveland, OH – The Poverty and Solidarity Program at John Carroll University will host a documentary photo exhibition entitled “The Homeless Look Like People to Me,” featuring the works of award-winning photographer and social activist Steve Cagan. The multi-faceted program of poverty studies is supported by a grant received from the McGregor Fund and is dedicated to greatly enhancing opportunities for students to learn about poverty, consistent with the social justice aspect of the John Carroll University mission. “These inaugural events of the Poverty and Solidarity Program provide us with the opportunity to see that the homeless, like all of us, possess an inherent dignity and worth, even when living under very difficult circumstances,” said Dr. James Lissemore, associate professor of biology and coordinator of the new program. “As a result, they don’t need our pity; they need our friendship and solidarity.” The program will also host a two-part lecture, beginning with Cagan’s discussion on “Photographing the Poor and Powerless: Some Ethical Considerations” to complement his photo exhibition. Cagan is known for his photographic work examining the effects of plant closings in Ohio communities, the daily life amidst revolutionary unrest in Nicaragua and El Salvador and the life led by working-class families in Cuba. The second presentation will be given by Brian Davis, executive director of Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH), called “The Faces of Homelessness.” Davis will be joined by Vonzella Johnson, current member of NEOCH. Davis is responsible for maintaining the mission of the coalition to end homelessness and empowering homeless men, women and children to reduce poverty. He also coordinates all advocacy, development, fundraising and public relations programs. Davis is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University in political science and history and has been with NEOCH since 1995. Johnson is a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, a student at Cleveland State University and a survivor of domestic violence. She is also living with HIV and mental illness. She volunteers with the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland and the Rape Crisis Center and lives for helping others. The photo exhibition begins Thursday, November 2, 2006 and will run through Tuesday, November 14, 2006. Hours are from noon – 4 p.m., Sunday thru Friday at the Dolan Science Center Art Gallery, room E135, Dolan Center for Science and Technology at John Carroll University. The lectures will take place on Wednesday, November 8 at 7 p.m. in the Donahue Auditorium, Dolan Center for Science and Technology at John Carroll University. Both events are free and open to the public. For more information about John Carroll University’s Poverty Initiative, visit www.jcu.edu/poverty. The McGregor Fund is a private foundation organized “to relieve the misfortunes and promote the well-being of mankind.” It was established by a $5,000 deed of gift from Tracy W. McGregor in 1925, and later augmented to nearly $10 million through subsequent gifts from Mr. McGregor and his wife, Katherine Whitney McGregor. Through their generosity, over the past 80 years the fund has provided more than $160 million in assistance to organizations serving the metropolitan Detroit area. John Carroll University, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is a liberal arts university grounded in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition. The university has some 3,350 plus undergraduates and just over 750 graduate students. U.S. News & World Report’s 2007 annual college guide ranks John Carroll University among the top five master’s-degree granting universities in the Midwest and second in average graduation rate. Originally founded as St. Ignatius College in 1886, the university was renamed in 1923 to honor America’s first Catholic bishop, John Carroll of Maryland. John Carroll is one of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities located in the United States. # # #
|