About the Alice Pope Shade Lecture
Each year, the Department of Religious Studies sponsors a lecture by nationally and internationally renowned religious scholars and leaders.
While religious faith is personal, it is never merely private. The lectures typically explore the role religion plays in various aspects of public life: civic, social, spiritual, political, moral, environmental, and in terms of the formation of individual character.
Lecturers are selected on the basis of their scholarship and their ability to engage students and members of the community meaningfully.
Greg Boyle
Feb. 24, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Degenstein Center Theater
Jesuit priest Gregory Boyle has dedicated his life to helping Los Angeles’ most marginalized individuals find a place in society’s ranks. Having witnessed the devastating impact of gang violence in the 1980s, Boyle founded Homeboy Industries, the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation and reentry program in the world. He and parish and community members adopted what was a radical approach at the time: treat gang members as human beings. Each year they welcome 10,000 people through its doors in downtown LA.
Boyle has become a beacon of hope around the world, inspiring others with his work. In 2017, he received the University of Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal and published his second book, Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship . President Obama selected Boyle as one of the Champions of Change, and in 2024, President Biden awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Past Speakers
- 2023–24: Bill Richards
- 2022–23: Irshad Manji
- 2021–22: J.C. Watts Jr.
- 2019–20: Mary Robinson
- 2018–19: Joe Lieberman
- 2017–18: Leymah Gbowee
- 2016–17: David Gregory-“An Unlikely Spiritual Journey”
- 2015–16: Dr. John L. Esposito
- 2013–2014: The Rev. Dr. William H. Willimon-“Thinking About Jesus in a Post-Christian World”
- 2012–13: The Yuval Ron Ensemble-“The Mystical Music of the Middle East”
- 2011–12: Robert Putnam-“American Grace: How Religion Unites Us and Divides Us”
- 2010–11: Dean Brackley-“Sustaining the Commitment to Social Justice”
- 2009–10: Charles Mathewes-“Faith, Irony, and Power: Niebuhrian Lessons for Liberal Education”
- 2008–09: Amy-Jill Levine-“The Scandal of a Jewish Jesus”
- 2007–08: John Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker-“The Emerging Alliance of Religion and Ecology”
- 2006–07: The Rev. Jim Wallis-“God’s Politics”
- 2005–06: Guillermo Cuéllar, Donna Peña, Rafael Malpica-Padilla, Bill Dexheimer-Pharris, and Tom Witt-“Hymns of Justice, Solidarity and Peace”
Alice Pope Shade Fund
Lectures are made possible by the Alice Pope Shade Fund, which was established in 1983 by Rebecca Shade Mignot ’54 to honor her mother, Alice. Mignot graduated from Susquehanna with a degree in music education.
