Campaign Closed

THE UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON, July 20 — A university press release announced Dayton has closed the books on its “Call to Lead” fund-raising and image-building campaign with nearly $158 million in gifts and commitments, according to a press release.

One of the goals of the program was to foster a stronger Catholic and Marianist identity for the university. Initiatives have included the establishment of a Ph.D. program in theology with a focus on the U.S. Catholic experience and a $2 million scholarship program for students from Marianist high schools around the country.

Scandal 101

BOSTON COLLEGE, July 26 — The Jesuit college has launched a series of programs for the next two years that will examine issues relating to the Church's sex-abuse scandals. The program will combine the college's educational and theological resources with other Catholic experts to provide a public forum for discussion.

The effort will include public lectures; seminars for the campus community, alumni and the general public; preparation of “issue papers” for scholars and the public; and the development of new undergraduate and graduate courses in ecclesiology, evangelization and sexuality.

College Fined

CHRONICLE.COM, July 25 — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to fine Manhattan College $111,199 for alleged violations of federal and state rules on hazardous-waste storage, reported the Web site of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The hazardous wastes include arsenic, paint, used fluorescent light bulbs, discarded computer monitors, ink, paint, photographic chemicals, oily rags and “unknown chemicals,” according to a statement from the environmental agency.

The complaint was issued after government officials declared as “insufficient” the responses made by the Christian Brothers’ Bronx, N.Y., college to letters sent in 2001.

Trusting God

THE WASHINGTON TIMES, July 25 — Signs proclaiming “In God We Trust” are going up in schools around Virginia under a state law that went into effect this summer, reported the Times.

Part of a national movement — and one that that picked up steam after Sept. 11 — Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah have similar laws. Mississippi was the first state to pass such a law in 2000, while South Carolina, like Virginia, adopted the mandate this year.

“In God We Trust” is the national motto, established by Congress in 1956.

Community Service

THE FLORIDA CATHOLIC, July 15 — By the time she received her diploma from the Academy of the Holy Names this spring in Tampa, Fla., Kristin Luttrell had logged 1,098 hours of community service, enough to fill the requirements of 14 seniors, reported St. Petersburg's diocesan newspaper.

“God says to whom much is given, much is expected,” Luttrell told the newspaper. “I feel he has given me so much and he wants me to give back something.”

The youngster learned this lesson in a new way after a mission trip to Central America in her sophomore year. “Until I went to Honduras, I didn't realize that's what God calls us to do,” she said. “I made a commitment that [helping others] was what I would fill my time with because that was what God wanted me to do.”