In celebration of Black History Month, Penn State York is hosting two programs on Feb. 8. At noon, Sister Jane Wakahiu, executive director of the African Sisters Education Collaborative and project manager of the Sisters of Leadership Development Initiative at Marywood College, will speak on the topic of “Bridging Gaps through Education; and at 7 p.m., Preacher Moss brings his “End of Racism” comedy/lecture tour to campus. Both programs take place in the Community Room of the Joe and Rosie Ruhl Student Community Center, and are free and open to the public.
The African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC) is an innovative organization that has taken on the global challenge to bridge the cultural, technological, leadership and gender gaps through education. Sister Wakahui is working with ASEC to use higher education to empower women in places where their leadership will determine the fate of entire continents. In response to dire need in Africa, ASEC was initiated in 1999 by leaders of four congregations of “women religious” in Pennsylvania and the presidents of the colleges and universities founded by those congregations: Marywood University, Chestnut Hill College, Neumann University and Rosemont College.
Sister Wakahui will share her experiences and discuss the work being done by ASEC including online distance learning and service learning programs where American students teach for two weeks in the summer in Africa.
She earned a bachelor of education from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Kenya, a masters of arts from St. Bonaventure University, Olean, N.Y., and a doctorate in human development with specialization in higher education administration at Marywood University, Scranton, Pa.
This program is sponsored by the Penn State York Diversity Committee.
The evening presentation features something totally different with Preacher Moss and the “End of Racism” comedy/lecture tour.
Moss is charismatic and dynamic but does not have to demand great attention or time because his audiences come to cooperatively listen, laugh and in “special” moments, reflect. Viewed, respected and revered as a man of the people, his words carry life and just as importantly, they carry laughter.
“Understanding diversity and multiculturalism requires that we eliminate or reduce the anxiety of our ignorance and how to speak honestly when we can’t,” Moss said. He has been called the new prototype for the comedian of these times and the times to come.
A writer for "The Damon Wayans Show" and "Saturday Night Live," his comedy stylings are distinguished for being sculpted out of the everyday relevance of life and the rare glimpses of truth we value as reality. He is intellectual yet humble. “Speaking on truth," Moss has been playing to the hearts and minds of college students, faculty and administrators all over the country. With his insight on "racial understanding vs. racial interaction," he has quickly become one of the funniest social commentators on the college scene today. To learn more about him, visit http://bass-schuler.com/?p=436.
This program is sponsored by the Penn State York Office of Student Affairs.