June 1, 2010

The Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center will host several events this summer.

Although many students and faculty have departed, The Catholic University of America will host more than 8,000 visitors throughout the summer.

As of the end of May, more than 60 organizations had reserved space on campus for events this summer, up from about 48 at the same time last year, according to Director for Conferences and Pryzbyla Management Amélie Brogden. She says the number of reservations has been steadily increasing each year since she began working at CUA in 2004.

Brogden and her staff work year-round to reserve spaces for events sponsored by on- and off-campus groups. During the summer, more space is freed up for conferences and events. Residence halls serve as housing for conference guests and approximately 150 college interns who come to Washington, D.C., to work.

Excellent customer service is one reason for the popularity of CUA as a guest venue, according to Brogden. Eighty-six percent of organizations who rent space from the university return for future events. CUA's Washington, D.C., location and proximity to the Brookland-CUA Metrorail stop are also attractive to potential guests.

The Office of Conferences and Pryzbyla Management works closely with other campus departments such as facilities, housing, athletics, public safety and dining services to provide a quality experience for visitors.

"We work really hard," says Brogden. "It takes a concerted campus effort. We could not offer what we offer without the rest of the university's involvement."

Among the many organizations coming this summer that have rented space at CUA in the past is nearby Providence Hospital, which is hosting its annual awards and dinner on campus June 26. The event is expected to draw 600 people. At the end of May, more than 1,800 athletes and volunteers came to CUA for Special Olympics District of Columbia's summer games, held on campus for the last 10 consecutive years. Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind is holding its sixth annual summer camp at CUA.

Some other events to be held on campus this summer include:

  • The Summer Institute of Catholic Social Thought, sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Catholic Higher Education, a division of The Cardinal Newman Society, and the Society of Catholic Social Scientists, will be held June 7-11. The aim of the institute is to provide Catholic faculty and graduate students in the social sciences and related disciplines a basic grounding in Catholic social thought to help them incorporate the academic social sciences into a Catholic worldview.
  • Approximately 500 people will visit on June 30 for orientation for AFS Intercultural Programs, which provide intercultural learning and volunteer opportunities for students, young adults, teachers and families through international exchange.
  • The American Scientific Affiliation will hold its 65th annual meeting on "Science, Faith and Public Policy" July 30-Aug. 2. The group is a fellowship of men and women of science, and disciplines that can relate to science, who share a common fidelity to God and a commitment to integrity in the practice of science.
  • The Electron-Ion Collider Collaboration will hold a meeting on campus July 29-31. The event is co-sponsored by CUA's Department of Physics. The collaboration involves more than 100 physicists from more than 20 laboratories and universities from around the world who are working to create a new facility in the United States to study particles that bind all the observable matter in the world.
  • A one-week professional program titled "Drama and Music: Powerful Tools for Teaching Reading and Writing" will be held Aug. 2-6. The program, sponsored by CUA, is designed for teachers, literacy coaches and administrators who wish to learn positive, practical, and proven ways to integrate the arts with classroom curriculum instruction through a strategy known as Curriculum-Based Readers Theatre. This strategy is the topic of the book Dramatizing the Content With Curriculum-Based Readers Theatre, written by Rosalind Flynn, CUA adjunct professor of drama and a presenter at the institute.

For more information on how to host an event at CUA, visit http://conferences.cua.edu .  For a complete list of events being held on campus this summer, visit http://events.cua.edu .

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