IN THE 1960s,
Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged an entire
generation of people to effectsocial change and challenge racial
injustice. One young man who heeded King’s advice now passes on those
lessons to University of Dayton students. Father Paul Marshall, S.M.,
is quick to point out that the Marianist philosophy aligns with the
social justice movement of the ’60s.
“I was drawn to ministry and attracted
by
the Marianist brothers at my high school, who were promoting racial
justice when it was not valued. They were changing the face of
Catholicism, and that attracted me to join. They were fun-loving,
prayerful men,” explainsMarshall. “It was easy to see myself following
this inclination to serve God within that group.”
Since becoming
the University’s rector in 2005, Marshall has helped establish the
Marianist Educational Associates Program, which develops a corps of lay
faculty and administrators dedicated to preserving UD’s Marianist
heritage.
“Part of my role is to serve as one of the
major voices
that galvanizes the wishes and dreams of the Marianist brothers and
sisters for UD, working as a liaison between the president’s office and
the vowed Marianists,” he says.
Spreading a message of hope and collaboration? King would be proud.
