Paul Farmer keynotes Mission Week

Events throughout the week celebrate the exploration of imagination

Dr. Paul Farmer, who has helped revolutionize medical care to the poorest people on earth, will present “Imagine a More Just World: Partnering with the Poor,” as part of Marquette University’s Mission Week 2011, 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10, in the Varsity Theatre, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave.

Tickets will be available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Jan. 31, in the Brooks Lounge of the Alumni Memorial Union, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave., Monday through Friday from noon to 11:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 11:30 p.m. A simulcast of the presentation will also be available in Weasler Auditorium, 1506 W. Wisconsin Ave.   

Farmer, a medial anthropologist and physician, has spent more than 30 years providing healthcare to the poor and underserved. He first traveled to Haiti as a young medical student to volunteer in the most disease-affected region of the poorest country in the western hemisphere. He continued his studies, earning doctorates in medicine and anthropology from Harvard University, and built a world-class medical facility in Haiti. To fund his work, he established the Boston-based charity Partners in Health, pioneering a community-based model of health care, and developed revolutionary treatments for AIDS, malaria and multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Farmer his written extensively on health and human rights and is the subject of Tracy Kidder’s acclaimed book, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World. His visit is being sponsored by Marquette’s offices of Mission and Ministry and Student Development, the colleges of Health Science and Nursing, and the Fleck Foundation.

About Mission Week 2011 
Each February Marquette reflects on its Catholic, Jesuit identity during Mission Week. This year’s theme is “IMAGINEGOD.” Throughout the week of February 6 the Marquette community will be invited to explore their imagination and experience how music, art, poetry, scholarship and reflection contribute to our understanding of God and the world. Events during the week that are free and open to the public include:

The Saint John’s Bible, Feb. 7-11
Alumni Memorial Union, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave.
The Saint John’s Bible is a work of art and theology that brings together the ancient techniques of calligraphy and illumination through an ecumenical Christian approach to the Bible. Marquette acquired four volumes of a Heritage Edition of the texts, which will be on display in the Alumni Memorial Union rotunda throughout the week. 

Finding Common Ground: Imagining Another Spiritual Path, Feb. 8, noon 
Johnston Hall, 1131 W. Wisconsin Ave., room 103
Join Margaret Coel, Journalism ’60, New York Times best-selling author of the acclaimed Wind River Mysteries Series, which is set among the Arapahos on Wyoming’s Wind River Reservation. Coel will share how her study of Arapaho spirituality has informed her writing and life.

Catholic Intellectual Tradition Lecture, Feb. 7, 7 p.m.
Alumni Memorial Union, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave., Monaghan Ballroom
Rev. David Tracy, S.T.L., S.T.D., a Roman Catholic theologian, will present “Naming God: Event, Form, Fragment.” He is the author of “The Analogical Imagination: Christian Theology and the Culture of Pluralism.”

Collage Concert of Marquette Musical Groups, Feb. 8, 4 p.m.
Alumni Memorial Union, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave., Monaghan Ballroom
Seven of the university’s instrumental and performing groups will perform for 10 minutes each, showcasing the wide variety of musical styles and genres that contribute to how we experience religions imagination.

Drum Circle, February 10, 11 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Alumni Memorial Union, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave., Marquette Place 
Participate in a celebration of creativity and connection by joining others in a drum circle using hand drums and other instruments to create and cultivate imaginative music. No experience necessary.

Information on these and additional Mission Week events is available on the university website. Media wishing to attend any of the Mission Week events should contact Andy Brodzeller in the Office of Marketing and Communication at (414) 288-0286 or andrew.brodzeller@marquette.edu.