Posted January 16, 2013

As part of Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 27-Feb. 2), St. Joseph’s University’s Center for Catholic and Urban Education (CCEU) will host a lecture and inaugural awards ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 30 in the Wolfington Teletorium of Mandeville Hall, beginning at 6:15 p.m.

One of the two leaders in education to be honored is Christine L. Healey, a 2001 St. Joseph’s graduate and current board chair of the Catholic Partnership Schools (an organization of five Catholic schools in Camden, N.J.), executive director of the International Education Foundation and co-founder of We Can Do Better New Jersey.

Healey is considered an expert in school sustainability and governance. Beginning in 2001 she and her father, Robert Healey (SJU class of 1951) developed and now administer four educational foundations.

The other honoree is Sister Ellen T. Convey, I.H.M., principal of the Gesu School in Philadelphia since 1991.

She is noted for creating a nationally recognized model for an independent Catholic school that meets the specific needs of urban students.

Following the awards ceremony at 7 p.m., Sister Patricia McCann, R.S.M., director of archives of the Convent of Mercy in Pittsburgh, Pa., and former professor of church history at St. Vincent’s Seminary and College, will present “Pioneers and Prophets: Women Religious and the Transference of Tradition in Catholic Institutions.”

“Both Christine and Sister Ellen represent the rich tradition of educational innovation inherent in our Catholic schools,” says Anne Marie Borneman, senior fellow in the CCEU. “The efforts of these women on behalf of Catholic education ensures that children and families will have the opportunity to experience and benefit from a quality faith-based education into the future.”

The CCUE is a division of the Educational Leadership Institute of St. Joseph’s University and is dedicated to the ongoing existence and sustainability of Catholic schools in urban areas. The center champions Catholic education as an essential option for families committed to a values-based, quality schooling for their children. The CCUE is committed to continuing to provide a regular forum for communication, best practices and resource development for Catholic schools.