Garaventa Center

The Garaventa Center for Catholic Intellectual Life and American Culture was dedicated in June 2005 with a gift from the Garaventa family of Concord, California.  The mission of the Center is rooted in the identity of the University as a Catholic, Holy Cross, and American institution of higher learning.

The Garaventa Center is a thriving enterprise on campus that brings people together around our mission as a Catholic university.  Through lectures, conferences, symposiums, art exhibits, and concerts, the Center explores the Catholic intellectual tradition from an array of perspectives and disciplines.  

Recent speakers and artists hosted on The Bluff by the Garaventa Center include:

      Helen Alvare, Vatican advisor
      Michael Behe and Jack Haught, Intelligent Design vs. Evolution dialogue
      Alice Cahana, Holocaust survivor and artist
      Timothy Carney, U.S. Ambassador
      Elias Chacour, Archbishop of Galilee
      Jim Towey, Director of White House Faith-based and Community Initiatives
      Sr. Helen Prejean, human rights activist and author of Dead Man Walking
      Jonathan Kozol, author of Amazing Grace
      Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court Justice

The Garaventa Center has a strong interdisciplinary focus and the Garaventa Center strives to deepen the conversation on campus about what it means to be a Catholic in America. Your generous support will help fund our many endeavors in this regard. If you would like to make a gift to the Garaventa Center, please call (503) 943-7702 or email us at powell@up.edu.