By Abbey Rodriguez
Whitworth University’s Weyerhaeuser Center for Christian Faith and Learning will welcome Lydia Dugdale to campus on Nov. 2 to explore what it means to die well.
Dugdale is an associate professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and director of the Columbia Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. She is also the author of the book: “The Lost Art of Dying,” which considers the importance of dying with dignity and intentionally dignifying end-of-life care. She is also affiliated with the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
Dugdale was invited to campus because “We live in a culture that sidelines death, compartmentalizing it and sterilizing it,” said Dr. David Henreckson, the director of the Weyerhaeuser Center. Henreckson hopes that Dugdale will help us ponder the attitude we have when considering our own death and the death of others. He believes that Dugdale will help us cultivate a more meaningful understanding of “what it might mean to live out shalom in end-of-life care,” said Henreckson.
Dugdale is one of five speakers the center will be hosting this year. The goal of hosting speakers is “to lift up exemplars who carry out their work with distinctively Christian virtues and practices,” said Henreckson. Henreckson explains that the center tries to encompass a wide variety of majors and interests to create opportunities for diverse learning. The center also focuses on creating spaces for students to integrate faith and learning, a vital part of Whitworth’s mission. Bringing Lydia Dugdale and other speakers to campus helps fulfill this mission.
The event will take place at 7:00 p.m. in Weyerhaeuser Hall 107. Dugdale encourages those interested in her work to read her book or check out her podcasts or online lectures prior to the event on Nov. 2.