The Collegian

Issue date: 2/28/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Julie McAvoy Billie and John Maguire enjoyed lunch and conversation with Kristin Mathe '06 (left) and other students from Campus Ministry last week while they were visiting Saint Mary's campus as Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows.

Last week, Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows, John and Billie Maguire dropped in on Saint Mary's classes, attended events, and engaged in conversations with students, faculty, and administration. "We are not doing an assessment of SMC," said Billie. "But there may be ways in which we may find we can be helpful in offering suggestions or sharing experiences with the faculty and administration."

The Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows (WWVF) is a program that was started by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey. The program assembles a roster of 120 established public figures that are then chosen by different Liberal Arts Colleges to visit their campus. "[These visitors] serve as a pair of new eyes that sometimes can see things that people who are there all the time don't necessarily notice," said John.

"Given our own histories in children's advocacy, social justice, and civil rights, we almost always are invited to a campus in January or February," said John Maguire. "Our friendship with Martin Luther King Jr. lets us relate to events surrounding the King celebrations [in January] and Black History Month in February."

John Maguire's work focuses on the relationship between moral and religious thought and contemporary human rights, social justice and education issues. Billie said, "Because of John's 28 years as a college president, many colleges are interested in him talking to the board or the president of the college about issues that he might have had some experience with."

Lillian (Billie) Maguire, a teacher and curriculum coordinator, is an advocate for children's issues and discussed women's issues, religion, community organizing, and education. "What's good for children is good for everyone," said Billie. "Being an advocate for children means you are very involved in the community."

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