Each year, the Institute invites a renowned scholar to give an original public address on a topic related to faith and giving. The public lecture includes a question-and-answer session and an opportunity to interact with the speaker, allowing the community to engage him or her in thoughtful discussion on the ways religion or faith informs philanthropic practices.
(Title Forthcoming)
Dr. Ingrid Mattson
On Thursday, March 25, 2010, Dr. Ingrid Mattson will give the seventh annual Thomas H. Lake Lecture on prioritizing giving needs, including ideas from a Muslim perspective.
Dr. Ingrid Mattson is Director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Director of Islamic Chaplaincy and Professor at the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, CT. Born in Canada, Dr. Mattson she studied Philosophy at the University of Waterloo, Ontario (B.A. ’87). From 1987-1988 she lived in Pakistan where she worked with Afghan refugee women. She earned her Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago in 1999. Her research is focused on Islamic law and society; among her articles are studies on slavery, poverty and Islamic legal theory. In 2001 she was elected Vice-President of ISNA and in 2006 she was elected President of the organization. Dr. Mattson is the first convert to Islam and the first female to lead the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).
Donations of Ill-Gotten Gain: A Jewish Legal Approach
Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Ph.D.
On Thursday, March 26, 2009, Rabbi Elliot Dorff, PhD, presented the sixth annual Thomas H. Lake Lecture on Faith & Giving. His lecture was titled "Donations of Ill-Gotten Gain: A Jewish Legal Approach."
Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff, Ph.D., is Rector and Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. A Past President of the Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles and currently Co-Chair of the Task Force on Serving the Vulnerable of the Jewish Federation Council of Los Angeles, Rabbi Dorff has been actively involved in philanthropic efforts. He has also written extensively on these topics, including chapters in three of his books, To Do the Right and the Good: A Jewish Approach to Modern Social Ethics (winner of the National Jewish Book Award in 2002); The Way Into Tikkun Olam (Fixing the World) (Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in 2005); and The Jewish Approach to Repairing the World (Tikkun Olam): A Brief Introduction for Christians (2008).
