Encounter: Conversations on Catholic Social Tradition
Join us on Friday afternoons for lectures by distinguished scholars in the field of Catholic social teaching, who will share their insights and provide critical conversation on matters of justice and the common good.
All lectures will be at 4:00 p.m. in the Andrews Auditorium of Geddes Hall.
2025 Lectures (so far)
Here are the confirmed speakers for our 2025 Encounter series. Additional dates and speakers will be added as they are confirmed.
Meghan J. Clark, professor of moral theology at St John’s University (NY)
Friday, February 6, 2026, 4:00 p.m.
Geddes Hall, Andrews Auditorium
Meghan J. Clark, Ph.D, is a professor of moral theology at St John’s University (NY). At St. John’s, Dr. Clark engages students inside and outside the classroom on diverse topics in moral theology and Catholic social thought.
She is author of The Vision of Catholic Social Thought: the Virtue of Solidarity and the Praxis of Human Rights (Fortress Press, 2014) and co-editor of Public Theology and the Global Common Good: The Contribution of David Hollenbach (Orbis, 2106), both of which were awarded first place prizes from the Catholic Press Association Book Awards. She contributed the commentary on Caritas in Veritate in the 2nd edition of Modern Catholic Social Teaching: Commentaries and Interpretations (Georgetown University Press, 2017). Active in public theology, she is a columnist for US Catholic and has written for America, National Catholic Reporter, and other public outlets.
Traci C. West, Professor of Christian Ethics and African American Studies at Drew University Theological School (Madison, NJ).
Friday, March 27, 2026, 4:00 p.m.
Geddes Hall, Andrews Auditorium
Rev. Dr. Traci C. West is Professor of Christian Ethics and African American Studies at Drew University Theological School (Madison, NJ).
Traci is the author of Solidarity and Defiant Spirituality: Africana Lessons on Religion, Racism, and Ending Gender Violence (New York University Press, 2019), Disruptive Christian Ethics: When Racism and Women’s Lives Matter (Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), Wounds of the Spirit: Black Women, Violence, and Resistance Ethics (New York University Press, 1999), and the editor of Our Family Values: Same-sex Marriage and Religion (Praeger, 2006). She has also published many articles and book chapters on sexual, gender, and racial justice, gender-based intimate violence, and clergy ethics.
She has served on the editorial board of Journal for the Society of Christian Ethics, as co-editor of the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, on the Society of Christian Ethics Professional Conduct Committee, and the editorial board of T&T Clark Studies in Social Ethics, Ethnography, and Theology.