Message from the Dean: June 2020 Alumni Newsletter
Dear SOE Billiken Alums,
I hope that this note finds you healthy and safe during this very difficult time in
our region, the nation, and the world. Obviously, given my privileged position, I
cannot understand the pain felt by those of you who are African American. Today, we
know that African Americans are more likely to be infected by COVID-19 and to die
as a result, are suffering disproportionate financial pain in our economic decline,
and now must again come face to face with disgraceful police brutality.
I don’t know the right words to say, except that saying nothing is not an option.
I want you to know I am sorry, I care, and I want to do everything I can to ensure
that our School of Education provides a space where you feel safe and valued. I want
to listen to you; I want you to be heard. I want to know what we can do for you. We
are all part of #OneSLU.
We will redouble our efforts in pursuit of our Jesuit mission, where we work with
and for our sisters and brothers to seek justice and improve lives. We, at Saint Louis
University, should heed the call to pursue racial justice. There are no easy answers,
but our faith can be an important lens through which to analyze these realities. Reverend
Bryan Massingale, of Fordham University, urges us here to face up to the real history of racial injustice in our country. Reverend Massingale
completes his essay realistically, but hopefully, arguing that good can ultimately
prevail, but often at a great price. We must be willing to work together – to do the
real and sustained work – to move collectively toward justice and equality.
This work requires the involvement of our entire community – students, staff, faculty,
and alumni. Please reach out to me to get involved!
In this edition of the newsletter, we highlight the 2020 School of Education Alumni
Merit Award winner, Alice F. Roach, Ed.D. Dr. Roach, a 2006 graduate of our School
of Education, has been an educator and leader for more than forty years! Today, she
continues to work in the St. Louis Public School District, and has received national
and local recognition for her ongoing work in service to students and schools throughout
her illustrious career.
We also highlight important work that our faculty and students are doing at the international
level. First of all, Amrita Chaturvedi, Ph.D. and two SLU alumni are among those leading The Kashi School Project. This project
is an initiative of the Kashi Initiative for Global Citizenship and Education, which
was created in Summer 2019 to deliver high-quality educational services to underprivileged
children living on the outskirts of Varanasi, India. Dr. Chaturvedi and her colleagues
built this program to bring children together in safe, protected spaces where they
can build sustainable futures. The project also offers the opportunity for cross-cultural
exchange, wherein students can go to India and experience and learn from the culture.
Another important international project is being explored by three School of Education
faculty members in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. This group, Jaime Welborn, Ph.D., Maureen Wikete Lee, Ph.D. and Merlene Gilb, Ed.D. , visited with leaders of the school of IDADEE, a children’s home with primary and
secondary schools that provide an education to local children. The SLU team noted
many similarities between the priorities of IDADEE school and the schools in and around
our SLU community; they are now exploring opportunities for SLU to make a positive
contribution.
As Billiken alumni, the world needs you more than ever to strive to shape the world
“as it ought to be,” being leaders in building a society which fights racism, celebrates
our common humanity, and encourages us all to be women and men working with and for
others.
Please let us know if there are ways we can support you; we are here for you.
Best wishes,
Gary W. Ritter, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Education