16th Annual McGinley-Rice Symposium on Justice for Vulnerable Populations

October 23, 2025 - Duquesne University's Power Center

The McGinley-Rice Symposium on Justice for Vulnerable Populations is a unique scholarly forum for nurses and other health care professionals to address issues of justice in health care. Organized annually by the holder of the Jacques Laval Endowed Chair in Justice for Vulnerable Populations at the Duquesne University School of Nursing, the McGinley-Rice Symposium is an expression of the mission of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, the Catholic missionary order that founded Duquesne and assists needy and marginalized persons throughout the world.

Symposium Information

Program Schedule

8:00 a.m	Registration Shepperson Suite
8:30 - 9:00 a.m.	Welcome Conference Rooms B and C Sr. Rosemary Donley, PhD, APRN, BC, FAAN Professor & Jacques Laval Chair for Vulnerable Populations Duquesne University School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, Pa. Mary Ellen Glasgow, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, ANEF, FAAN Dean & Professor, School of Nursing Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa. Fr. Raymond French, C.S.Sp. Vice President for Mission and Identity Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa.
9:00 - 10:00 a.m.	Keynote Address Conference Rooms B and C Protecting Our Children: The Path Forward Angela Karakachian, PhD, RN Assistant Professor, Duquesne University School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, Pa. Bullying through the Lifespan Dr. Laura Crothers, DEd, NCSP Professor, Duquesne University School of Education, Pittsburgh, Pa. Moderator Ruth Irwin, PhD, RN, CSN
10:15 - 11:15 a.m.	Plenary Panel Conference Rooms B and C Observing Children for Abuse Samantha Norris, MSN, RN, CPEN, SANE-P Emergency Department UPMC Childrens. Hospital, Pittsburgh Pa. Bethany Hallam Council Member at Large for Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, Pa. Moderator Rebecca Kronk, PhD, MSN, CRNP, FAAN, CNE, ANEF
11:20 - 12:30 p.m.	Plenary Panel Conference Room A How Safe is Grandma? Brendan Hanley Deputy Director, Allegheny County Area of Aging Pittsburgh, Pa. ¿Cómo está usted? Monica Ruiz Casa San Jose Pittsburgh, Pa. Mental Health Professionals Working with Trauma and Experiencing Vicarious Trauma Sarah E. Dalton, PhD Associate Professor, Counselor Education Department, College of Professional Counseling, The Chicago School Chicago, Il. Moderator Mary Esther Van Shura, EdD
12:40 - 1:30 p.m.	Lunch and the Presentation of the Eileen Zungolo Spirit of Service Award Conference Rooms B and C Posters will be available for viewing during this time in the Shepperson Suite Prayer Mary Ellen Glasgow, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, ANEF, FAAN Dean & Professor, School of Nursing Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa. Bishop Mark Eckman Diocese of Pittsburgh Jack McGinley, Esq Susan Rauscher 2025 Eileen Zungolo Spirit of Service Award Marianne Cornetti American Opera Singer
1:45 - 2:45 p.m.	Keynote Address Conference Room A Pennsylvania's Most Vulnerable Children in an Era of Diversity, Data and Denialism Rachel Berger, MD, MPH Medical Director, Pennsylvania Office of Children, Youth and Families Moderator Kathleen Sekula, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, FAAFS, FAAN
2:50 - 3:50 p.m.	Keynote Address Conference Rooms A Advocating for Children who are Abused Michelle Clayton, MD, MPH Director of the Child Advocacy program, UPMC Moderator Rick Zoucha, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, CTN-A, FTNSS, FAAN
3:55 - 4:55 p.m.	Breakout Sessions Conference Rooms A, B, or C Please choose one* of the sessions below* Session 1a: Abuse is a Public Health Problem Institutional Violence in Healthcare: Disability Theory, Justice, and Abuse Prevention Jamie Kojiro, MLIS Student University of Pittsburgh Institutional Neglect and Abuse: A Lack of Support for Second Victims Michael Neft, PhD, DNP, MHA, RN, CRNA, FNAP, FAANA, FAAN Clinical Professor/Director, Duquesne University School of Nursing Session 1b: Lack of Reporting in Elder Abuse Prevention of Elderly Abuse: What can we do? Faina Linkov, PhD, MPH Associate Professor, Duquense University Elder Abuse and Neglect: An under-recognized problem Patricia Watts Kelley, PhD, FNP-BC, GNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing Session 1c: Children of All Ages are Victims of Abuse Mandated to Report, Called to Support: Navigating Child Abuse Reporting with Trauma-Informed Care Shenoa Dale, CPNP, SANE-A, SANE-P Child Advocacy Center and Adolescent Medicine, UPMC Children’s Hospital What is the Cause and Effect of Abuse and its Impact on Socialization? Jean Augustine Former Member of the House of Commons of Canada
4:55 - 5:00 p.m.	Closing Remarks Sr. Rosemary Donley, S.C., PhD, APRN-BC, FAAN Professor & the Jacques Laval Chair for Vulnerable Populations Duquesne University School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, Pa. Benediction Fr. William Christy, C.S.Sp. University Chaplain & Director of Spiritan Campus Ministry Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa.
5:00 p.m.	Reception and Poster Session

Contact Hours

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. Contact hours will be offered for nursing, psychology, and social work. Up to six (6) hours will be available if the entirety of the program is attended and the evaluation is submitted by the deadline.

No partial credit will be offered.

Symposium Fees

The 2025 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:

Days	Amount
Thursday	$175
Duquesne Alumni	$175
Current Duquesne University students, faculty, staff	No Charge

Previous Symposium Topics

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 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.

Host Committee

Sixteenth Annual McGinley-Rice Host Committee

Rev. Paul T. Abernathy

CEO

Neighborhood Resilience Project

Marianne Cornetti

Chair Western Behavioral Health Foundation

Richard H. Beigi, MD, MSc.

President, UPMC Mercy and

UPMC Magee-Womens Hospitals

Pam Golden

Executive Director

Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation

Deborah Brodine

President, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital

President, UPMC Senior Services

Diane Hupp, DNP

President

Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, UPMC

Fred Brown

President and CEO

The Forbes Funds

Scott Lammie

Board Treasurer

UPMC Health Plan (ret)

Diana A. Bucco

President

The Buhl Foundation

John Lovelace

Public Health Leader

Marisol Valentine

Executive Director

McAuley Ministries Foundation

Susan Rauscher

Executive Director

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Pittsburgh

Karen Wolk Feinstein, PhD

President and Chief Executive Officer

The Jewish Healthcare Foundation

Lisa Schroeder

President and CEO

The Pittsburgh Foundation

Bobbi Watt Geer, PhD

President and Chief Executive Officer

United Way of Southwestern PA

Kristy Trautmann

Executive Director

FISA Foundation

William Generett Jr., Esq.

Vice President for Community Engagement

Duquesne University

James Taylor, PhD

Chief Diversity, Inclusion and Talent

Management Officer

UPMC

The Laval Chair

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.

Questions

For questions, assistance and further information, please contact us

Sr. Rosemary Donley, PhD, APRN, FAAN

Jacques Laval Endowed Chair in Justice for Vulnerable Populations

donleyrFREEDUQUESNE%20
534 Fisher Hall, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15282

Jill Speer

Assistant to the Dean

School of Nursing

(412) 396-6553
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540 Fisher Hall, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15282

The Face of the Person Who Has Been Abused