DATE: March 5, 2007
CONTACT: Melanie McDonald, Media Relations
PHONE: 574-284-4579
E-MAIL: mmcdonal@saintmarys.edu

Saint Mary’s College Names Honorary Degree Recipients

NOTRE DAME, Ind.— An advocate for Philadelphia’s homeless and a
prominent theologian will receive honorary degrees during commencement
festivities this year at Saint Mary’s College. The honorees are Sister
Mary Scullion, RSM, co-founder and executive director of Project
H.O.M.E., and Dr. Bernard McGinn of the University of Chicago Divinity
School. Commencement will be held at noon on Saturday, May 19 in front
of Le Mans Hall.

For nearly 30 years, Sister Mary Scullion has dedicated her life to
improving the lives of Philadelphia’s homeless and mentally ill. As
executive director of the nationally recognized organization Project
H.O.M.E. (Housing, Opportunities for employment, Medical care,
Education), Scullion works to break the cycle of homelessness and
poverty. Project H.O.M.E. has grown from an emergency winter shelter
when it opened in 1989 to 448 units of housing and two businesses that
provide employment to formerly homeless persons. Scullion is also
politically active. Through her efforts, the homeless now have the right
to vote. She also influenced a landmark federal court decision that
improved the fair housing rights of persons with disabilities. In 2002,
the city of Philadelphia awarded Scullion the Ford Foundation’s
prestigious Leadership for a Changing World Award.

Dr. Bernard McGinn is the Naomi Shenstone Donnelly Professor Emeritus at
the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he taught from 1969
until 2003. He is widely regarded as the preeminent scholar of mysticism
in the Western Christian tradition. McGinn is a fellow of the Medieval
Academy and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has served as
president of the American Society of Church History and of the American
Catholic Historical Association, and is currently president of the
Medieval Academy of America..

###
SMC05-24

For additional information, see the Countdown to Commencement Web site at
www.saintmarys.edu/Commencement/

Dr. Bernard McGinn, Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He will receive an honorary degree at the 2007 Saint Mary’s College Commencement ceremony.

Sister Mary Scullion, co-founder and executive director of Project H.O.M.E. in Philadelphia. She will receive an honorary degree at the 2007 Saint Mary’s College Commencement ceremony.