17th Annual McCusker Memorial Lecture

Dominican University Hosts 17th Annual McCusker Lecture



Dominican University’s Graduate School of
Library and Information Science (GSLIS) will host the 17th annual McCusker
Memorial Lecture presented by Sister Mary Paynter, OP, on Wednesday, October
16. The lecture, entitled “Educational Essentials on the American Frontier,”
will be held at 6 p.m. in the Martin Recital Hall, 7900 W. Division Street,
River Forest, followed by a reception at 7 p.m. 



The talk will take a look back at Father Samuel Mazzuchelli’s forward-thinking educational
ideas and ideals, which were remarkable at the time for their
avant-garde perspectives—whether he was creating schools for Native
Americans, and urging use of their own languages while employing native
women as directors, or encouraging young women in his academy to use the
latest scientific equipment he imported to the frontier from New York.

Paynter,
a member of the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, is vice-postulator for the Cause
of Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP. She earned her bachelor’s degree from
Dominican University, her Master of Arts and doctor of philosophy degrees from
the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and has completed post-doctoral work as a
French government fellow at the Sorbonne in Paris. She served as a professor of
English at Dominican University and Edgewood College in Madison, WI; an
academic dean of Dominican University; a member of the General Council of the
Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters; and a member and chair of the Dominican University
Board of Trustees. Paynter has has received numerous accolades including Dominican
University’s Caritas Veritas Award, the Sister Clemente Davlin Diversity
Leadership Award and an honorary doctorate.



The McCusker lecture is held annually in memory of Sr. Lauretta McCusker, a
former professor and founding dean of the school. The event is free and open to
the public. Reservations are required as seating is limited. To register, visit
gslis.dom.edu/events.