The Face of the Person Who Has Experienced Disaster

The 17th annual McGinley-Rice Symposium on Justice for Vulnerable Populations will explore "The Face of the Person Who Has Experienced Disaster" on October 22, 2026 at Duquesne University's Power Center in Pittsburgh, PA. 

Submit Abstract

• The abstract word limit is 250 words.
• Abstracts must be submitted online by Monday, August 18, 2026.
• The lead author/presenter will be notified of the decision of the Review Committee om a rolling basis, and must confirm participation in the Symposium.
• All abstracts will be blinded for peer review.
• All presenter's names and abstract titles will be included in the Symposium program booklet and website.
• All presenter's are required to be paid registrants of the conference.
• Contact hours will be available for nursing, social work, and psychology.
• For questions, assistance, and further information, email Jill%20Speer.

Duquesne University School of Nursing is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nursing Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. 

Contact hours will be available, with more details to be released soon.

Duquesne University, School of Nursing is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

The 2026 McGinley-Rice Symposium is a one-day event which includes meals as part of the fees: Thursday (breakfast, lunch and a reception). The Symposium is free to current Duquesne University students, faculty, staff and those with religious affiliation. For those outside of these designations, the following fees apply:

Sponsorship updates are pending and will be released soon.

Each year, the Symposium looks into the face of a specific vulnerable population and views the world through their eyes, including:

• The Face of the Person Who Has Been Abused
• The Face of the Person Who is Incarcerated
• The Face of the Person Who is Socially Isolated
• The Face of the Person Who is Poor
• The Face of the Person Who is Hungry
• The Face of the Person Who is Homeless
• The Face of the Person Who Has Been Trafficked
• The Face of the Person with an Addiction
• The Face of the Person with a Disability
• The Face of the Person Who Has Experienced Violence
• The Face of Mental Illness
• The Face of the Child
• The Face of the Veteran
• The Face of the Immigrant
• The Face of the Elderly
• The Face of the Person with Dementia

If you would like to learn more about a past symposium, please contact Sr. Rosemary Donley.

The host committee is pending review and will be released soon. 

 

Addressing injustice is a key aspect of Duquesne University's heritage and character. The Jacques Laval Endowed Chair in Justice for Vulnerable Populations underscores our commitment to provide a nursing education for the mind, heart and spirit.

Duquesne's commitment to helping those most in need is advanced through the efforts of Sister Rosemary Donley. The faculty of the School of Nursing has identified health care disparities among the elderly, poor, disadvantaged and other marginalized groups as its research priority.

Reflecting on the mission of the Laval chair, Sister Donley says that its intent is to ground nursing actions in justice and to assist others to work in the community and at the policy level to lessen the impact of injustice. She believes that nurses have phenomenal opportunities to express the works of justice by: increasing the level of understanding of the justice tradition and its particular application to vulnerable populations; acting to decrease vulnerability; and working collectively to identify and change the structures which perpetuate injustice.

Sister Donley is a leader in nursing education, research and public service whose career has been devoted to providing better care for the underprivileged and the chronically ill. 

A native Pittsburgher and member of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, she has taught health policy at The Catholic University of America for more than three decades, and has served as that institution's executive vice president, chief operating officer and dean of nursing. In addition, she was instrumental in developing and teaching community health nursing graduate courses, which focused on the care of vulnerable populations, including inner city residents, immigrants and refugees.

As holder of the Laval Chair, Sister Donley teaches and conducts research related to health care access and quality for underserved persons and communities. Her responsibilities include developing community partnerships, and organizing academic colloquia such as the annual McGinley-Rice Symposium. 

The Laval Chair is endowed through a bequest from the estate of the late Thomas F. Bogovich, a 1953 Duquesne business graduate and retired Penn Hills funeral director. It is named for a 17th-century Spiritan priest and physician who dedicated himself to caring for freed slaves on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.

Born in France in 1803, the Rev. Jacques Laval, C.S.Sp., was a physician for many years before joining the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, the order that founded Duquesne University. As a Spiritan priest he volunteered for a missionary venture to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, where he dedicated himself to helping the island's newly freed African slaves.