Panel to conduct ‘Inter-Religious Dialogue’ Oct. 3 at Saint Mary’s University

WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary’s University is inviting the public to an “Inter-Religious Dialogue” Monday, Oct. 3.

Three guest speakers will discuss how Christianity, Islam and Judaism relate the dignity of the person to the intersection of faith, work and vocation.

Michael Naughton is the holder of the Alan W. Moss Endowed Chair in Catholic Social Thought at the University of Saint Thomas. He is also the director of the John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought, at the Center for Catholic Studies, which examines Catholic social thought in relationship to business theory and practice.

Brian Shapiro, associate professor in the Accounting Department of Saint Thomas, co-teaches with Naughton on the senior capstone theology course on the intersection of faith and management. He is an active member of Bet Shalom, a Reform Jewish Congregation in Minnetonka.

Tamim Saidi, born in Afghanistan, was forced to escape Pakistan as a teenager and came to the U.S. in 1990. He is vice president of the Islamic Resource Group and a vice president and founding member of the Northwest Islamic Community Center. He also participates in a writers group for EngageMN.com, a local group with a mission to improve the understanding of Minnesotans about their Muslim neighbors and Islam.

The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Figliulo Recital Hall, located in the SMU Performance Center.

Co-sponsors include SMU’s Offices of Campus Ministry and Academic Affairs, the Office for Mission, the Theology Department and Student Activities.

For more information, contact Dennis Gallagher at (507) 457-6936.

Speaker to address business ethics, story of incarceration Oct. 5 at SMU

WINONA, Minn. — Jerome Mayne, a former mortgage-banking executive and white-collar criminal, and renowned motivational speaker, will present “Professional Ethics” Wednesday, Oct. 5, at Saint Mary’s University.

The event — free and open to the public — is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Salvi Lecture Hall, located on the third floor of Saint Mary’s Hall.

Using humor, Mayne will share his personal experience in the finance world and of his incarceration for white-collar crime. Mayne hopes his story inspires students and business professionals to use their own morality to make the right decisions — even when the right decisions aren’t easy.

Mayne’s presentation is co-sponsored by SMU’s offices of Campus Ministry, Student Life and Student Activities, the Business Department and the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.

For more information, contact Dennis Gallagher at (507) 457-6936 or dgallagh@smumn.edu.