Speaker Presentation - Conversion of Heart

The Conception Abbey and Seminary Library will present speakers Dr. James Leek and Dr. Kenneth Klassen for a talk entitled, “Conversion of Heart: An education through wonder.” They will speak at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 13, in St. Maur Hall on the campus of Conception Abbey and Seminary College.
 
Leek and Klassen are past and present educators in public and Catholic schools. Their paths first crossed in discovering the Integrated Humanities Program at KU, initiated by John Senior and Dennis Quinn.
 
The Integrated Humanities program began as a two-year program for freshmen and sophomores at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. The program allowed students to discover the humanities in an immersive experience that transcended the classroom. Senior and Quinn discussed authors including Plato, St. Augustine, Chaucer, Homer, Cervantes and many others.
 
Two notable students, Archbishop Coakley of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and Bishop Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, frequently cite the influence of the program in their conversions to Catholicism. 
 
Reference and Outreach Librarian Fiona Holly has identified this as an opportunity for seminarians and guests to see how education can be more than just a means to a degree but can ignite a passion for living. 
 
“It is important for our seminarians to be exposed to people who, through various charisms and expressions, are searching for the true, the good, and the beautiful in their everyday lives,” Holly said. “These speakers found these ideals embodied in their education in the Integrated Humanities Program at KU, which sparked a conversion of heart for each of them.”
 
The evening will begin with a discussion of Chaucer’s work, “The Franklin’s Tale,” as a way to bring attendees into the experience of the Integrated Humanities Program. After the discussion, the two will offer a question-and-answer session about the program at KU and how it impacted them and their fellow classmates.
 
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Reference and Outreach Librarian Fiona Holly at fholly@conception.edu.