Abortion Protest

THE ILLINOIS LEADER, Oct. 28 — A scheduled lecture by pro-choice former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar at Chicago's St. Xavier University on “Centering Yourself in Public Life” has sparked protest.

St. Xavier's Web site noted that the lecture will focus on how Edgar stayed “purposeful and passionate about his job” as well as how he used “the moral compass that guides him in making personal and professional decisions.”

State Sen. Patrick O'Malley, a member of the board of the Sisters of Mercy's university, asked, “How does one remain ‘purposeful and passionate’ when looking the other way as innocent human life is taken?”

Pontifical Scholar

VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE, Oct. 30 — Pope John Paul II has named Kevin Ryan, founder of the Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character at Boston University's School of Education, to be a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

The Vatican news service reported that Ryan, 71, has focused his research since the 1960s on moral education and the development of personality.

He has written 18 books, including Reclaiming Our Schools: A Handbook for Teaching Character.

Going Coed

KVAI, Oct. 29 — Pennsylvania's Immaculata University will become coeducational in the fall of 2005, reported the ABC affiliate in Philadelphia.

The university in Chester County has been an all-women's school since its founding in 1920 by the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

School officials say the change was prompted by a shrinking pool of prospective students. They cited a report showing that just 4% of female high school students even consider attending an all-women's college.

Non-Fighting Irish

CHRONICLE.COM, Oct. 29 — The University of Notre Dame has received $50 million, its largest gift ever, in a bequest from Joan Kroc, the philanthropist and widow of the founder of McDonald's, Ray Kroc, reported the Web site of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The bequest will establish the Theodore M. Hesburgh Fund for Graduate Peace Studies in honor of the Holy Cross priest and former president of Notre Dame.

The endowment will support additional graduate faculty and staff members in the university's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, established in 1986 with the first of several gifts from Joan Kroc, who died in October.

Her overall donations to Notre Dame total $69.1 million.

Stepping Down

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Oct. 31 — Msgr. William Kerrwill step down next summer following a tenure of 12 years as president of the Sisters of Divine Providence's La Roche College in suburban Pittsburgh.

In addition to doubling the size of incoming classes and the construction of new campus buildings, Msgr. Kerr is credited with starting the Pacem in Terris program, named for Blessed Pope John XXIII's 1963 encyclical on world peace.

The program offers free college education to youths from war-torn or developing nations.

Living Room

THOMAS AQUINAS COLLEGE, Nov. 2 — The school in Santa Paula, Calif., broke ground Nov. 2 on its final residence hall, which is scheduled for completion next August.

The event marks the halfway point of the college's seven-year, $75 million campaign to expand the campus and increase the 33-year-old school's endowment.