news on the hill Dr. Henson’s ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ The Joseph and Maureen McGowan Prize for Faculty Development sends one full-time faculty member per year to the Harris-Manchester College Summer Institute at Oxford University. In 2012, Dr. Gail Henson, professor in the School of Comm- unication, was selected as the recipient of the weeklong stay, during which she researched aging and end-of-life issues. The following is her account of her time at Oxford: “The magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away,” the Beatles sang years ago. These words characterize the deep magic, mystery and mischief possible through the 2012 Jay and Maureen McGowan Prize at Harris-Manchester College at The University of Oxford. The McGowan Prize is a time to meet scholars from around the world and to interact with researchers at Oxford, spend- ing 40 hours immersed in research. I was one of a cohort of 40 scholars from Puerto Rico, South Korea, India, England and the United States. It was a time to revel in Oxford’s rich religious and literary history, as well as the anticipation of the Summer Olympics. One of the fellows of Harris-Manchester, Sir Roger Bannister, was to carry the Olympic torch one of the days I was there. The opportunity furthered the research and program de- velopment on aging and end-of-life care that I have been engaged in since 2004, when I had a sabbatical with Hosparus, specifi- cally addressing the question, “What is a good death?” I have focused on the communication, psychosocial and spiritual care aspects of aging and end-of-life, both in my academic work and in pro bono work with the local hospice organization and the Oates Pastoral Care Institute, an online institute for chap- lains, clergy, caregivers, social workers and nurses. The Joseph and Maureen McGowan Prize provided an op- portunity to look at conflicting values and goals in care for the aging population on a global scale, as well as to become steeped in spiritual perspectives on the end of life. Oxford offers im- measurably rich resources on theological and religious ap- proaches to aging and spiritual care of life, including St. Robert Bellarmine’s beautiful work on dying well. I immersed myself 20 BellarMine Magazine
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