Obama adviser and former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs to speak at SXU

SXU Voices and Visions Speaker Series lecture scheduled for Thurs., Oct. 20

Chicago (March 21, 2011) Robert Gibbs, longtime adviser to President Barack Obama and former White House press secretary, is the next featured lecturer in the SXU Voices and Visions Speaker Series. Gibbs will speak at 7 p.m. on Thurs., Oct. 20 in the Shannon Center at Saint Xavier University’s Chicago campus, 3700 W. 103rd St.

General admission tickets are $20 plus service charge. A limited number of $200 priority tickets are available, which include priority seating and admission to an exclusive post-lecture wine and cheese reception with Gibbs. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Mon, May 2. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling (866) 468-3401.

Gibbs has been an adviser and strategist to the President since the early days of Obama's 2004 Senate race and most recently served as White House press secretary. Gibbs is one of Obama's masterminds and he can speak with great authority and accuracy from a White House insider's perspective on many issues that have crossed the President's desk. His leadership of Obama's campaigns makes him a valuable commentator on the upcoming 2012 elections.

Gibbs joined Obama's 2004 U.S. Senate campaign as communications director in 2004 and held the same title at the onset of the 2008 presidential campaign until becoming Senior Strategist for Communications and Message during the general election. During the four years of intense campaigning and close contact, Gibbs became an integral part of Obama's team. According to The New York Times, Gibbs advised Obama on politics, strategy and messaging, and spent more time with him than any other adviser. Gibbs assumed the role of the Obama administration’s press secretary on January 20, 2009.

Gibbs also served as press secretary of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign and previously specialized in Senate campaigns, having served as communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and for four individual Senate campaigns. Gibbs also was the press secretary of Representative Bob Etheridge.

SXU students, faculty and staff may attend the lecture for free, but must reserve a ticket online. Tickets will be available on Mon., May 2. A valid Cougar Card must be presented the night of the lecture with the ticket. Prior to his lecture, Gibbs will participate in an exclusive classroom discussion with select SXU students.

The SXU Voices and Visions Speaker Series is sponsored by University Relations and in part by the Student Government Association. For more information about the event, please contact the Office of Special Events at (773) 298-3748 or specialevents@sxu.edu.

-SXU-

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Rick Ducat, Assistant Director of Media Relations
O: (773) 298-3325
C: (708) 306-0402
ducat@sxu.edu

FAFSA deadline is Fri., March 25; earliest cutoff in state history

FAFSA application required for MAP eligibility

The State of Illinois announced late this afternoon that eligibility for Illinois Monetary Assistance Program (MAP) will require FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) completion by Fri., March 25. This is the earliest cutoff in state history. We know many students were planning to submit your FAFSA after filing their 2010 taxes. If you cannot finish your taxes by Monday, we recommend that you file your FAFSA with estimated income for 2010.

Saint Xavier University wants to help you file your FAFSA as soon as possible. Your FAFSA can be filed online here. SXU’s school code is 001768. If you have questions, please call the Office of Admission’s toll-free number (800) 462-9288.

Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich to discuss “Newspapers in the New Age” at SXU

Lecture is scheduled for 11:30 a.m., Wed., March 30

Chicago (March 18, 2011) Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich will speak about journalism in the modern era on Wed., March 30 for Saint Xavier University’s Renaissance Academy’s 2011 John T. Farrell, Sr. Forum.

The lecture, titled “Newspapers in the New Age: And Anything Else You Want to Talk About," is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. in the Butler Reception Room, located in the Warde Academic Center at SXU’s Chicago campus, 3700 W. 103rd St. The event is free and open to the public.

Schmich has been a Chicago Tribune columnist since 1992. She attended Harvard on a Neiman Fellowship for journalism, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, received a Studs Terkel award and has been named Illinois Author of the Year by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English. Her column, “Wear Sunscreen,” became a bestselling book and CD. Schmich also is the current author of the long-lived “Brenda Starr” comic strip and has worked as a professional barrelhouse and ragtime piano player. Each December, Schmich hosts the "Songs of Good Cheer" holiday caroling parties at the Old Town School of Folk Music to raise money for the Tribune Holiday Fund charities.

-SXU-

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Rick Ducat, Assistant Director of Media Relations
O: (773) 298-3325
C: (708) 306-0402
ducat@sxu.edu

Two-time Academy Award-nominated Disney producer to hold Chicago premiere of new documentary at SXU

“Hand Held” explores heartbreaking plight of 400,000 Romanian orphans through lens of Pulitzer Prize-nominated photographer

Chicago (March, 2011) Saint Xavier University will host the Chicago premiere of Hand Held, a documentary exploring the plight of the 400,000 children in Romania’s orphanages after the fall of communism. Creators Don Hahn, award-winning producer and documentary filmmaker, and Michael Carroll, photographer and Romanian Children’s Relief founder, will attend the Sat., April 2 premiere.

The premiere is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at McGuire Hall, located at SXU’s Chicago campus, 3700 W. 103rd St. It is free and open to the public, and a short question-and-answer session will follow the film.

Hand Held is a documentary film produced and directed by Hahn, a two-time Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker who produced classic Disney films such as Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. The film examines Carroll’s exploration of one of the most appalling scenes of the 20th century – the overcrowded Romanian orphanages discovered in the wake of the collapse of that nation’s communist regime. Carroll documented the horror for The Boston Globe, The New York Times and other publications, meanwhile founding Romanian Children’s Relief to bring aid to the subjects in his lens. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his work.

Hand Held is sponsored by the Sweeney Family Annual Lecture and hosted by SXU’s Center for Religion and Public Discourse.

Media interested in interviewing Hahn or Carroll should contact Assistant Director of Media Relations Rick Ducat at (773) 298-3325 or ducat@sxu.edu.

-SXU-

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Rick Ducat, Assistant Director of Media Relations
O: (773) 298-3325
C: (708) 306-0402
ducat@sxu.edu

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to discuss her first 100 days in office at SXU

Free lecture is at 6:30 p.m. on Tues., April 5

Chicago (March 17, 2011) Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is the next guest speaker in Saint Xavier University’s Squeaky Weal lecture series on Tues., April 5.

Preckwinkle’s lecture, titled “The First 100 Days in Office,” is free and open to the public. It begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Butler Reception Room, located in the Warde Academic Center at SXU’s Chicago Campus, 3700 W. 103rd St.

Preckwinkle was elected Cook County Board President on Nov. 2, 2010. She has been a community leader for more than two decades and was elected as 4th Ward alderman after a grassroots campaign in 1991. Preckwinkle sponsored the Living Wage and Affordable Housing Ordinances and was a lead plaintiff in a lawsuit to institute a more racially equitable map of Chicago's ward boundaries. She also sponsored an ordinance that limits the establishment of payday loan stores and was a lead sponsor of the anti-smoking ordinance.

Preckwinkle received the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization “Best Alderman” Award in 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2005 and 2008, and the 1997 and 2009 Leon Despres Awards. She holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago. Preckwinkle taught high school history for ten years before being elected to the City Council and is married with two children.

This lecture is part of the annual Squeaky Weal Lecture Series, which aims to provide thoughtful discussion of public issues with a focus on their ethical dimensions and their impact on the common good. It is sponsored by SXU’s Center for Religion and Public Discourse. For more information, contact mareska@sxu.edu.

-SXU-

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Rick Ducat, Assistant Director of Media Relations
O: (773) 298-3325
C: (708) 306-0402
ducat@sxu.edu

Radio Alert - SXU's Anne Brennan discusses upcoming Catholic High School Admission Fair on Relevant Radio 950AM on March 15

SXU's Assistant Vice President for Admission, Recruitment and Enrollment Anne Brennan appeared live on Relevant Radio 950 AM at 9:30 a.m. on Tues., March 15. Brennan discussed SXU's upcoming Catholic High School Admission Fair on Thurs., April 7 with Monsignor Michael Boland.