The Gerber Institute for Catholic Studies at Newman University will host Timothy Kirk, Ph.D. speaking on the topic of Health Care Ethics at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 11 in the Dugan-Gorges Conference Center on the campus of Newman University. The event is free and open to the public.
Kirk’s lecture will explore ethics in relation to today’s health care. Kirk’s work in this area is extensive. He is assistant professor of philosophy at the City University of New York-York College, and specializes in the philosophy of nursing and health care ethics with an emphasis on hospice and palliative care.
Kirk is also an executive board member of the International Philosophy of Nursing Society, chair of the Hospice and Palliative Care Affinity Group for the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, and vice chair of the ethics committee of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Kirk earned his doctorate in philosophy at Villanova University in 2004, and is now pursuing his master’s of public health (MPH) degree at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. He lives in New York City with his wife, Jen.
The topic of end-of-life issues will also be explored as Newman University presents Wit, a play written by Margaret Edson that offers a poignant and at times amusing look at how end-of-life care is dealt with as seen through the eyes of a renowned English professor diagnosed with terminal cancer. The play will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 – 20, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Nov. 20. All shows will be in the Performance Hall inside the De Mattias Fine Arts Center on the Newman campus. Tickets are $8 general public, $5 college age or below students with ID, and free to Newman students with ID. Tickets will be available at the door before each performance. For more information, contact Deanne Zogelman at 942-4291, ext. 2196 or [email protected].
In addition to his public lecture, Kirk will meet with Newman nursing students to discuss the play and the larger issues of ethical palliative care. He will also make a presentation on these issues to area health care professionals.
For more information about the Gerber Institute for Catholic Studies contact Associate Professor of Philosophy Jamey Findling, Ph.D., at [email protected] or 316-942-4291, ext. 2798, or visit www.gerberinstitute.org.
