Sister Caroljean Willie, SC, PhD, will present “Changing Paradigms: A Time of Transformation” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 7, 2016, at Cecilian Hall in the Administration Building on the Seton Hill University hilltop campus. Sister Caroljean is a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati who has extensive experience working cross-culturally throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The program is part of the Sister Mary Schmidt, SC, Lecture Series, a joint project of the Sisters of Charity and Seton Hill University. The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, call 724-836-0406, ext. 6613 or visit www.scsh.org.

A Haitian proverb says, “We see from where we stand.” Paradigms are our lens on the ongoing work of creation. Shifting paradigms invite us to stand in a new place and be surprised by and challenged by what we did not see before. In her talk, Sister Caroljean (known to most as Sister Cj) will present the challenge of Pope Francis to “allow God to surprise us” during this Year of Mercy. “Situations can change; people can change. Be the first to bring good,” says Pope Francis. The transformation of our ever evolving, God-centered universe requires us to expand our love consciousness and look closely at our relationships. 

Sister Cj has been a dynamic presence at the United Nations where she served from 2007 to 2016. During that time she traveled to many countries of the world including South Korea where she visited with Korean Province of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. There she witnessed the sisters at work in 20 of their missions. Sister CJ served on the Committee for Social Development, the Committee for Sustainable Development, the Sub-Committee for the Eradication of Poverty, the Committee of Religious NGO’s, an interfaith collaborative, the Education Committee, the Working Group on Poverty and Climate Change, the Working Group on Sustainable Development and the Integrity of Earth and multiple task forces. Sister CJ delights and fascinates audiences with her world-wide experience, energy, and wit, and her perspective on how the shifting paradigms of today call us to transform ourselves and our world. 

The Sister Mary Schmidt Lecture Series is sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill and Seton Hill University in order to support the Catholic identity of Seton Hill University; engage the Sisters of Charity and Seton Hill University in learning and dialogue on timely topics of social and environmental justice with global impact; and develop an understanding of Catholic Social Teachings and how they pertain to this dialogue. 

Sister Mary Schmidt, SC, served as president of Seton Hill from 1971 through 1977. She also taught in the English Department at the University for more than 20 years and served as executive vice president and the director of Alumnae Relations. 

Seton Hill University is a coeducational Catholic university located in Greensburg, Pa. Founded by the Sisters of Charity in 1885, Seton Hill offers students the benefit of a long history of educational excellence in the liberal arts with more than 80 undergraduate programs and 12 graduate programs, an adult degree program, online courses, several advanced certifications, and academic partnerships with educational institutions around the globe. As a national leader in incorporating mobile technologies into teaching and learning, Seton Hill also supplies graduates with the skills they need to adapt to whatever careers they choose. For more information on Seton Hill's academic programs and technology initiatives, please visit www.setonhill.edu or call 1-800-826-6234.

The Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill is an international apostolic congregation of women religious who serve in five countries, 9 United States dioceses and four United States archdioceses. The Sisters of Charity minister primarily in the areas of education, health care, pastoral care, and social services. For additional information about the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill and their ministries, visit www.scsh.org.