Interfaith Scholar and Leader Eboo Patel gives free talks at St. Scholastica

DULUTH, MN - Eboo Patel, a national leader on interfaith collaboration and one of President Obama's advisors on faith issues, will give a free presentation at The College of St. Scholastica on Tuesday, Oct. 9.

As part of the College's Centennial celebration, Patel will give a talk titled "The Holiness of Common Ground" at 7:30 p.m. in the Mitchell Auditorium. The public is welcome. A signing of his most recent books, "Acts of Faith" and "The Sacred," will follow.

Patel is a leading voice for cultivating greater understanding and acceptance of diverse faith backgrounds, including on college campuses. Sister Mary Josephine Torborg, associate professor of theology and religious studies at St. Scholastica and chair of the College's Centennial subcommittee on faith communities, said Patel's appearance has required more than two years of planning.

"He has a way of discussing faith in a very non-threatening manner," said Torborg. "As a college and a community, we thought he would be a great catalyst and inspiration to move forward in interfaith collaborations.

"Our hope is that students graduate from the College with a knowledge of how to approach and lead interfaith dialogue, something that can be difficult to do."

Patel will also speak to St. Scholastica students earlier in the day on campus, and media coverage is welcome although the event is not open to the public. He will give a presentation titled "Acts of Faith" from noon to 1 p.m. in Mitchell Auditorium on campus. The audience primarily will be first-year students at St. Scholastica, who read his book "Acts of Faith" as their common first-year reading experience.

Patel is a member of President Obama's Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and was named by U.S. News & World Report as one of America's Best Leaders of 2009. He also is the founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), a Chicago-based organization building the global interfaith youth movement. Patel is a former Rhodes Scholar and has a Ph.D. in the sociology of religion from Oxford University.
For more information visit the Spotlight Box Office at spotlight.css.edu or call (218) 723-7000. Spotlight@css.edu is St. Scholastica's one-stop shop for arts and lectures information and tickets.