Loyola Marymount University will serve as the university partner and host for the Opus Prize, a $1 million, faith-based award given annually to recognize humanitarian heroes of any faith tradition, anywhere in the world, who are solving persistent social problems in their communities.
The 2011 winner will be announced in November at a public ceremony hosted by LMU on its campus in Westchester.
The Opus Prize identifies and honors organizations that are unsung, yet are providing exceptional and unique responses to difficult social problems such as poverty, illiteracy, hunger, disease and injustice in the world’s poorest communities. Beyond supporting the humanitarian efforts, the Opus Prize also seeks to inspire people to pursue service to others.
David W. Burcham, LMU president, chaired the 10-member selection jury, which met Jan. 31 at LMU to recommend finalists for the honor. The foundation makes the final choice in early fall from among the three recommended by the jury.
The next steps in the selection process involve faculty and students this summer, who make site visits and assessments of the nominees. The year-long process is intended to serve as a learning experience that asks members of the university community to think globally about social justice.
The Opus Prize Foundation, a private philanthropic organization, funds the Opus Prize. Each year, the foundation selects a Catholic university and as partners with it to select nominees, finalists, and then a winner of the $1 million prize, as well as a runner-up organization, which receives $100,000.
The foundation awarded its first prize in 2004 as a tangible way to support people who are committed to transforming the lives of others and to inspire the next generation’s involvement in humanitarian and social work careers The foundation supports the idea that its funds are best used by entrepreneurial organizations that, while nurturing the disadvantaged, teach them to fish, rather than just providing them with food.
The other jurors for the 2011 award are: Salam Al-Marayati, president, Muslim Public Affairs Council; R. Chad Dreier, chairman of LMU Board of Trustees; Antonia Hernandez, president and CEO, California Community Foundation; Steve Hilton, president and CEO, Hilton Foundation; J.D. Hokoyama, president and CEO, Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics; Joshua Holo, dean and associate professor, Hebrew Union College; Dolores Huerta, president, Dolores Huerta Foundation and co-founder, United Farm Workers of America; Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles; and Constance L. Rice, co-director, Advancement Project.
The 2010 winners were Sister Betrice Chipeta, who runs an orphanage in Karonga, Malawi, and and John Halligan, S.J., who operates a center for the poor in Quito, Ecuador. Chipeta provides food distribution, infant formula, childcare and a food-growing program for the community. Halligan began by ministering to shoeshine boys but now provides food, shelter and health care, as well as job training and a home construction cooperative to Quito’s poorest families.
Prior university partners include Fordham University, University of St. Thomas, Seattle University, Catholic University of America, University of Notre Dame, Marquette University
January 31, 2011
News Contact: Peter M. Warren | 310.338.2389 | peter.warren@lmu.edu
