Leader, activist discusses role of non-profits in healthy communities

CHICAGO--  (May 6, 2013)   Activist and community leader  Serena Chen Low will present a lecture titled  “Breaking the Cycle of Domestic Violence - Social Service, Personal Responsibility and Public Consciousness” as part of the East-West Perspectives lecture series on Wed., May 15, 2013.  The lecture is free and open to the public, and takes place in the Fourth Floor Auditorium at East-West University, 816 S. Michigan Ave., in Chicago.  The event begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by the lecture at 6:00 p.m.

Serena Chen Low has been the Executive Director of Apna Ghar, Inc. (Our Home) for more than two years.  Ms. Low has devoted more than 20 years of her professional life to non-profit organizations serving the most vulnerable populations, women and children.  She is passionate in seeking systemic solutions to long standing issues such as family violence, health care, mental health and the sustainability of community non-profits. 

Her leadership and consulting for non-profit agencies has included the Glide Foundation, providing services to the homeless in San Francisco;  Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada;  Donaldina Cameron House, serving immigrants and domestic violence survivors in San Francisco’s Chinatown; and the Las Vegas chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum. Recently, she was honored with the 2013 Global Girls: Women and Girls Inspiring Change award.

Apna Ghar provides culturally-appropriate, multilingual services to survivors of domestic abuse, with a primary focus on South Asian and other immigrant communities. The goal of Apna Ghar services is to help survivors of domestic abuse attain safety and self-sufficiency, and to break the cycle of violence. Apna Ghar services include 24-hour crisis line, emergency shelter, legal advocacy, counseling, supervised child visitation, and community outreach.

East-West University is a private, not-for-profit, and non-denominational institution of higher learning in Chicago’s South Loop.  East-West is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), and provides affordable, quality higher education to students from all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.

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Bachelor of Science in Biology program begins this Fall

CHICAGO--  (April 2, 2013)   Today, the Illinois Board of Higher Education approved East-West University’s application to grant a Bachelor of Science in Biology degree beginning in Fall 2013.  The new program will prepare students in the life sciences to effectively pursue careers or graduate study in the biological, biomedical, environmental sciences, and healthcare professions.

“We are thrilled to have the approval of the Illinois Board of Higher Education to offer this new four year degree,” said East-West University Chancellor Dr. M. Wasiullah Khan.  “Many students benefit from East-West University’s inclusive mission, and our approach of offering quality, affordable higher education with personal attention in an atmosphere friendly to socio-economic diversity.  This degree will allow many of our students to go further with their science education while at East-West.”

The new program is part of a commitment by the University to prepare students in the critical STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields which are crucial to addressing shortages of skilled workers for jobs of the future.  East-West University has recently upgraded its facilities, technology and laboratories in Biology as well as Electronics Engineering.  The University will be adding one additional full-time faculty member with expertise in Chemistry or Biochemistry in the first year of the program, and a second full-time faculty member with a background in Molecular Genetics in its second year.

The new 17-story Student Life Center—currently under construction, and opening in September 2013—will feature additional state-of-the-art facilities, including a 240-bed residential capacity, an expanded library, new lecture halls, recreational facilities, and an auditorium.

East-West University is a private, not-for-profit, and non-denominational institution of higher learning in Chicago’s South Loop.  East-West is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), and provides affordable, quality higher education to students from all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.

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Author of Ramblers tells story of Loyola’s 1963 NCAA Championship

CHICAGO--  (April 4, 2013)   Former Atlantic Monthly and Chicago Reader writer Michael Lenehan will present a lecture entitled, “Ramblers: The Team that Changed the Color of College Basketball” as part of the East-West Perspectives lecture series on Wed., April 17, 2013 in the Fourth Floor Auditorium at East-West University, 816 S. Michigan Ave., in Chicago.  The event begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by the lecture at 6:00 p.m.  Admission is free, and the event is open to the public.

Michael Lenehan is a Chicago-based writer and editor who worked for many years as Chief Editorial Executive at the Chicago Reader. He has written for Chicago Magazine, the New York Times Book Review, and the Atlantic Monthly, where from 1983 to 1993 he was a contributing editor.  His Chicago Reader article on beekeeping won the Westinghouse Science Writing Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1979. His Atlantic Monthly article on dog training was a finalist in the 1986 National Magazine Awards. 

In his current book Ramblers, Lenehan takes what is on the surface a basketball story and reminds readers of the social-historical realities of the 1950s and 1960s that surrounded a team bringing historic changes to their sport.  Ramblers is actually a profound story about American history, sport, culture, and society converging at a dramatic crossroads.

A native of New Jersey, Mr. Lenehan graduated from the University of Notre Dame. He enjoys cooking, tennis, and Spring Green, Wisconsin. He resides in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood with his wife, Mary Williams. They have two grown children.

Please note:  The new starting time for this lecture is an hour earlier than past lectures in the Perspectives series.

East-West University is a private, not-for-profit, and non-denominational institution of higher learning in Chicago’s South Loop.  East-West is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), and provides affordable, quality higher education to students from all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.

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Acclaimed filmmaker and teacher cites documentary as a tool for social change

CHICAGO--  (Feb. 26, 2013)   Award-winning documentary filmmaker Suree Towfighnia will deliver a lecture entitled, “Through the Lens: The Role of Documentary in Society” as part of the East-West Perspectives lecture series on Tue., March 19, 2013 in the Fourth Floor Auditorium at East-West University, 816 S. Michigan Ave., in Chicago.  The event begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by the lecture at 6:00 p.m.  Admission is free, and the event is open to the public.

Suree Towfighnia is as an independent filmmaker and co-founder of Prairie Dust Films based in Chicago.  Her work as a director focuses on social and environmental justice themes under-represented in mainstream media.

Ms. Towfighnia is currently directing Crying Earth Rise Up, a feature documentary examining the human cost of uranium mining and its impact on water supply. Her previous feature, Standing Silent Nation, tracked a Native American family's struggle for economic empowerment on the Pine Ridge Reservation.  The film was broadcast nationally on PBS’ POV program and won many awards in domestic and international festivals.  Her award-winning thesis project film, Tampico, focused on a Chicago street performer who is the last person left to perform her family’s music.

Suree teaches master classes on media and documentary, and works as a teaching artist.  She co-founded the Lakota Media Project in 2003 to mentor and train Lakota girls and women to document their way of life.  She earned her MFA in Documentary from Columbia College Chicago, where she was technical coordinator and adjunct faculty. She received a BA in History and Latin American Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Please note:  The new starting time for this lecture is an hour earlier than past lectures in the Perspectives series.

East-West University is a private, not-for-profit, and non-denominational institution of higher learning in Chicago’s South Loop.  East-West is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), and provides affordable, quality higher education to students from all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.

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