RADNOR, Pa. (May 2, 2017)—On Thursday, April 27, Cabrini University launched the Center on Immigration, an academic, nonpartisan organization that promotes immigrant rights through research, education, and advocacy.
More than 150 attended the event which welcomed a panel of regional advocates to discuss the issues impacting immigrant communities, a dialogue that the Center will continue.
“Through the Center’s work, we will seek to transform the dominant narrative about immigration, amplify the voices and sentiments of those most directly impacted, and contest prevalent misconceptions,” said Abel Rodríguez, JD, Faculty Director of the Center and Assistant Professor of Religion, Law, and Social Justice. “At its core, the aim of the Center will be to work in solidarity with, and in service of, our immigrant communities.”
Established by a University founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and named in honor of the patron saint of immigrants, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the Center will further the legacy of St. Cabrini, showcase how students and faculty have helped extend the work of the Missionary Sisters, and provide dedicated resources to enhance the University’s commitment moving forward.
Supporting Cabrini’s Education of the Heart, the Center on Immigration will provide an additional opportunity for students to engage in the pursuit of social justice by seeking to advance the human rights and human dignity of people in migration.
“Perhaps there is no more important time and no more important place to be doing this work,” said Rodríguez. “I remain hopeful, in large part, because of some of the very able allies, including our panelists, who have joined us today. The Center will join their efforts.”
Panel participants included Erika Almirón, Executive Director of Juntos; Yolanda Flores, MSC, Family Program Coordinator at Cabrini Immigrant Services; John Grogan, Esq., Founding Partner at Langer, Grogan and Diver PC; Hernán Guaracao, Publisher & CEO of AL DÍA News Media and member of the Cabrini Board of Trustees; and Steven Larín, Esq., Senior Director of Legal Services & Immigration Policy at Nationalities Service Center. Luz B. Colon, Executive Director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs, also spoke at the event.
The Center on Immigration is the second of four academic centers to open during Cabrini’s 60th anniversary year.
For more information, visit cabrini.edu/immigration.
About Cabrini University
Founded in 1957 by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cabrini University is a Catholic institution that empowers students to become advocates of social change through an Education of the Heart, focusing on academic excellence, community engagement, and leadership development.
Cabrini enrolls approximately 1,300 undergraduates in more than 35 majors, pre-professional programs, concentrations, and minors on its serene 112-acre campus located 30 minutes from Philadelphia. The University also enrolls 900 students in graduate, doctoral, and professional studies programs at its main campus in Radnor, PA, and at five off-campus locations.