COV&R-Bulletin No. 9 (Oct. 1995)
A Note from the Executive Secretary
Our most recent annual conference, held at Loyola University of Chicago, was another excellent symposium. Many thanks to Andrew McKenna for his unstinting work as planner and organizer. Andrew applied for an NEH grant to fund the conference. The reports from NEH were quite positive, and it appears that we came close to gaining funding. The work that went into the application was enormous; even though the grant was not awarded, the work paid off in an outstanding conference. One of notable features of this quality was an overall integrity, in light of COV&R's objectives, which included a diversity of speakers and perspectives. For the first time we had sessions on women questions and ecclesiology. The Jewish-Christian dialogue was continued, and there were new and significant workshops on violence reduction and criminal law.
The announcement of the 1996 annual meeting at Stanford will be found in the Bulletin on p. 14. The theme is "Ethnic Conflict in International Perspective," with Robert Hamerton-Kelly as organizer. Please note that on the final day, Saturday, June 29, there will be multiple sections or groups on a a variety of topics. I will be the organizer of those sessions, so please send proposals for papers or sections to me. In the past, we have had groups focusing on Biblical studies and literature, and we have often had workshops on issues of ethics and practice. Deadline for all proposals is January 1, 1996.
We now have one new officer and two new members of the Advisory Board. Cesáreo Bandera of the University of North Carolina was elected president. Sandor Goodhart of Whitman College and Cheryl Kirk-Duggan of Meredith College were elected to the Advisory Board. Raymund Schwager, the outgoing president, has given us inestimable service as president, administratively, intellectually, and spiritually. He was selected for the Advisory Board in the slot left vacant by Cesáreo, so we will continue to have the advantage of his presence and wisdom in our deliberations. The two Advisory Board members whose terms ended, Charles Mabee and Mark Wallace, were both involved in the beginnings of COV&R. Both participated in the Bible, Narrative, and American Culture Seminar (BINAC), which was the forerunner of COV&R. Charles was the chair of BINAC and was instrumental in the founding of COV&R. Mark has been active in COV&R and is the coeditor, with Thee Smith, of Curing Violence. We thank them for their contribution and expect them to continue to help us see COV&R through its evolution in years to come.
James G. Williams
