December 1997
Twomey Center celebrates 50 years of service, caring
The Twomey Center for Peace Through Justice will celebrate its 50 year anniversary on Wednesday, January 14, 1998, with a tribute to its founder and namesake the Rev. Louis J. Twomey, S.J. The Loyola community is invited to join in the celebration of the ministry and legacy of Twomey which begins at 7 p.m. in Room 308 of the law school with the premiere of a special anniversary video produced by the Rev. Michael Braden, S.J., and Mary I. Blue of the Department of Communications. Following the screening, local civil rights and labor relations activists who worked with Twomey will pay tribute to him with their stories on how Twomey's work influenced their lives. The program will conclude with a discussion titled "The Twomey Center: Today and Tomorrow." Following the program, a reception will be held at the Broadway Activities Center.
Twomey founded the Institute for Industrial Relations in 1947, later called the Institute of Human Relations. In 1991, the institute was renamed the Twomey Center for Peace Through Justice. In the last 50 years, through its work and many programs, the Twomey Center has addressed issues such as workers' rights, racism, poverty, economic development, and justice.
"We need to be a center that raises moral questions-just as Fr. Twomey did-about justice in our society," says Ted Quant, director of the Twomey Center. The center's mission is to continue to find innovative ways to promote and extend the message of justice and social change in the true spirit of its founder. Just as in the early days, the underlying theme of the center today is social justice education.
Today, the center sponsors and oversees a number of programs including the Crescent City Farmers Market, Bread for the World, Conflict Resolution, ECOnomics Institute, Twomey Training Center, Urban Partners as well as publishing Blueprint for Social Justice and running the Twomey Center Print Shop.
For more information about the Twomey Center and its 50 year celebration, please call the Rev. Ted Arroyo, S.J., at ext. 5830.