Holy Cross Political Science Professor to Deliver Annual Rodino Lecture on Liberal Arts

WORCESTER, Mass. – Judith A. Chubb, W. Arthur Garrity, Sr. Professor in Human Nature, Ethics, and Society and professor of political science will present this year’s Richard Rodino Lecture on the Aims of the Liberal Arts on Tuesday, February 16 at 4 p.m. in Rehm Library at the College of the Holy Cross. The talk, titled “Liberal Education as Transformative Praxis: Engaged Learning, Social Responsibility, and Global Citizenship” is free and open to the public.

In her talk, Chubb will address how the new Kenya summer study abroad program represents a Jesuit liberal arts education through the integration of theory and practice.  The program is the combination of a rigorous classroom experience with a community-based internship in an urban slum neighborhood.  The goal is to transform students' understanding of who they are and their responsibility toward the poor and disadvantaged in a globally interdependent world, through challenging many of the assumptions underlying the current relationship between the West and the developing world.

Chubb, a resident of Bolton, Mass., holds degrees from Bucknell University, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She joined the College in 1978 as an assistant professor of political science. She served as chair of the department from 1986-96 and has served on numerous major committees.  Chubb is a respected scholar in comparative politics and is regarded for her work in Italian, Russian, Chinese, and Indonesian politics. She is the author of two books on Italian politics from the post war period and has written numerous journal articles on Italian politics.

She has been awarded numerous fellowships and research grants for her scholarship and most recently she was named the W. Arthur Garrity Sr. Professor in Human Nature, Ethics and Society for her research and teaching at the College.  This rotating professorship was established in 2002 to honor the legacy of W. Arthur Garrity (19)’05.  Mr. Garrity saw the Holy Cross education as the search for truth, transcending material existence, and providing students with the tools to enable them to perform ethically in their future professions.  This professorship is awarded to Holy Cross faculty for a term of three years and recognizes a professor in the humanities for his/her achievements in relation to Mr. Garrity’s vision.  As part of the Garrity professorship Chubb designed the summer study abroad program in Kenya that concerns the themes of political violence, conflict resolution, and underdevelopment as a violation of human dignity.

The annual Rodino Lecture series is devoted to the memory of Richard Rodino, formerly of the English department at Holy Cross.