Mark Schnellbaecher, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Middle East Region Director, stationed in Beirut, will spend Tuesday, October 25, at Villanova University. Schnellbaecher will share his experience and perspective on the complex, changing reality in the Middle East and North Africa and CRS’ thinking on an appropriate response for a U.S. Catholic NGO operating in the region.
At 8:45 a.m. in Driscoll Hall Auditorium, there will be a Town Hall where Villanova students (and students from other universities, via YouTube), participating in the CRS Global Solidarity Network (GSN), will engage Schnellbaecher in conversation. Villanova Political Science Professor Catherine Warrick will join him. (All students and faculty are welcome). For information on the Fall GSN, “The Arab Spring: New Reality, New Response,” and to register your class, please visit this Web site.
From 2:30-3:45 p.m. in the Connelly Center’s Villanova Room, Schnellbacher will be the featured speaker in a symposium, open to the public, on “The Arab Spring: Transitions in the Middle East and North Africa.” Villanova Professors Hibba Abugideiri, Maghan Keita, and Catherine Warrick will address the topic from their areas of expertise.
A Faculty Workshop on “Teaching the Arab Spring: Critical Considerations and Resources,” will follow the symposium from 4 to 5:15 p.m. in the Connelly Center Presidents’ Lounge. After brief remarks by Schnellbaecher, Villanova Professors Frank Galgano, Silvia Nagy-Zekmi, and Sayed Omran, the floor will be open for discussion. Recommended resources for further study and teaching will be identified. Refreshments will be served. To register for the 4 p.m. Faculty Workshop, contact margaret.kowalsky@villanova.edu.
These events are sponsored by the Villanova University Partnership with CRS. For more information, contact margaret.kowalsky@villanova.edu.
Mark Schnellbaecher
Regional Director
Europe/Middle East
Mark Schnellbaecher has been the regional director for Catholic Relief Services in Europe and the Middle East since 2003. In his fifteen years with CRS, Mark has served in Thailand, Pakistan, Cambodia, Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia, and has also held several positions at CRS’ headquarters in Baltimore.
Mark is a graduate of Georgetown University and holds graduate degrees in theology and in public administration from Harvard University. A native of Saratoga Springs, New York, Mark currently lives in Beirut, where the CRS Europe/Middle East office is located.
