The Rev. Stanley L. Davis Jr., President and CEO of Interfaith Connections, a non-profit organization that promotes interfaith understanding, will be coming to Ashford University to lecture on “The Changing Face of Religion in America (And What We Can Do About It).” The presentation, part of Ashford’s Sister Cortona Phelan Lecture Series, will take place in the Mullany Theater on Monday, November 6, at 7 p.m.

Throughout his career, Davis has participated in the struggle for civil and human rights, including involvement in many activities that revolved around the formation of the Chicago Freedom Movement and the ministry of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He played a key role in easing tensions between civil rights activists and residents of the northwest side of Chicago during the open housing marches in the summer of 1966.

He is the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) liaison to the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ), as well as Executive Director Emeritus of the Chicago and Northern Illinois Region of NCCJ and Associate Director of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago.  NCCJ, founded in 1927 as The National Conference of Christians and Jews, is a civic, non-profit human relations organization dedicated to fighting bias, bigotry and racism in America.

For 25 years, Davis has worked on behalf of young people, leading the way in providing services for troubled adolescents at local, state, and national levels as an executive of the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago.

An ordained minister of the United Church of Christ, Davis received his B.A. from Juniata College and his Master of Divinity degree from Bethany Theological Seminary. 

The Cortona Lecture Series is named in honor of Sister Cortona Phelan, a visionary at Mount St Clare College. She served as both president of the College and as president of the Sisters of Saint Francis. The lecture on November 6 is free and open to the public.

For additional information about the lecture, contact Sister Hilary Mullany at 563.242.4023 ext. 1317.

Founded in 1918 as Mount St. Clare College in Clinton, Iowa, Ashford University is a coeducational institution regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, with programs in education, business, accounting, criminal and social justice, computer animation and graphic design, and other areas.  The University offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as a range of student activities and athletics, at its Clinton campus.  Online degree programs are available in education, organizational management, business administration, and psychology.  The University is known for its high quality yet highly affordable on-campus and online programs, with tuition fees among the lowest in the U.S. compared to other private institutions.  Its tagline is: “Higher Education Made Affordable”^SM.  For more information, please visit www.ashford.edu.