Programs and Events

Rabbi Laemmle is retiring in June

After serving the university for sixteen years, Rabbi Susan Laemmle will retire in June, 2008.  She served as the Hillel Rabbi from 1992 - 1996, and became the first Dean of Religious Life in July of 1996.  Rabbi Laemmle has worked tirelessly to bring religious life into mainstream life at USC and to encourage every student she has met to seek their own religious path.  Recognized religious groups have grown from a handful when she began to almost eighty groups today.  She has sought to encourage every major tradition so that each and every student can find their religious home on campus. 

In addition to encouraging students, she has also nurtured the group of clergy and others appointed by their particular traditions to lead these student groups, into the fold of the university.  This has provided an opportunity for these "Religious Directors" to get to know one another and about  each other's traditions and produced a collegial learning environment where common issues and concerns can be addressed.

She has mounted numerous programs touching on religion and values for faculty, staff and students.  She brought the tremendously successful What Matters to Me & Why program to USC in the fall of 2001 and it continues today with over 100 in attendance at every session.

She also revived the Baccalaureate Ceremony to the point of standing room only and began the tradition of inviting speakers from different faith traditions each year.  Student religious group delegations now lead the processional behind banners of their organization and President Sample, the Provost, and trustees are in attendance.  Further she established the Baccalaureate dinner in 1996 as a way for graduates to celebrate their achievement with their families and it is a sold-out event today.

All of her achievements are too numerous to mention here.  She will leave very big shoes to fill and she will be sorely missed.  We wish her well in this new adventure in life, retirement!


Interfaith Council 

The Interfaith Council is a group of 20 students who are chosen (by their peers) to represent the many traditions of spiritual belief and practice that have groups functioning at USC.  They take leadership in campus-wide interfaith programming, and in representing student religious organizations to Student Senate and other administrative bodies.  Student leader for the coming year is Steven Philp.   The Council meets weekly in the University Religious Center.

 

What Matters to Me & Why

The "What Matters to Me and Why" program is in its eighth year at USC, and encourages reflection about values, beliefs, and motivations. It aims to help students and others better understand the lives and inspirations of those who shape the University. Presenters are encouraged to talk about choices made, difficulties encountered, and commitments solidified. They are also free to choose any other topic that fits their definition of "what matters to me and why." Sessions are noon to 12:50 pm in the Ground Zero Coffeehouse. FREE LUNCH!

Fall 2008 Schedule:
  • September 3 - Scott Smith
  • October 8 - Frank Manis
  • November 5 - Mike Garrett
  • December 3 - Wayne Glass

A Typical Session:

Assembling and eating: When people arrive at a "What Matters to Me & Why" session shortly before or at noon on a particular Wednesday, they will find a light lunch waiting for them if they haven't brought their own lunch along. Before the session itself begins, participants will have a chance to get acquainted and visit informally. Members of the WMMW Committee will welcome people and help them feel comfortable.

Structure At noon or shortly thereafter, the Dean of Religious Life will welcome people and briefly orient them to the series. The WMMW Committee member hosting the session will introduce the presenter, who will speak for about twenty minutes. After that (or amidst the presentation, if the speaker chooses) others may raise questions or make comments. By the time the session draws to a close at 12:50, a lively discussion should be taking place. At that point, those who need to go off to a 1:00 p.m. class will leave, and others can linger to speak personally with the speaker and one another.

Content: Content will vary from speaker to speaker, but on the whole speakers are encouraged to approach even professional matters of teaching and research from a personal direction. Similarly, the sorts of questions asked and ensuing discussion will vary from session to session. However people are encouraged to frame their questions and comments in a direct, unguarded -- although also respectful -- way.

Location and Ambiance: Sessions will all take place in Ground Zero Coffee House. This is not a classroom, underlining the fact that learning takes place outside the formal classroom as much as inside it. In all cases the ambiance will be serious but not formal, earnest but not overbearing.

What Matters to Me & Why website