2009 Kuyper Lecture
15th Annual Kuyper Lecture
Paper from the 2009 Kuyper Lecture
Lecture: "Seeking Justice: The Imperiled Promise of Healthcare Reform" (PDF, 30 pages)
by Clarke E. Cochran, Ph.D., Vice President, Mission Integration, Covenant Health System, Lubbock, Texas; Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, Texas Tech University
The lecture took place Thursday, October 22, 2009, at the Hall of States Building in Washington, DC.
The lecturer
Clarke E. Cochran is Vice President for Mission Integration at Covenant Health System in Lubbock, Texas. For three decades he was Professor of Political Science at Texas Tech University, where he specialized in religion and politics, political philosophy, and healthcare policy. From 2003-08 he served as a member of Hope Ministries in Philadelphia, a cosponsor of Catholic Health East. In 1998-99 he was Research Fellow in the Erasmus Institute at the University of Notre Dame, and in spring 2001 he held the Shannon Chair in Catholic Studies at Nazareth College.
Dr. Cochran’s most recent book, written with his son David Carroll Cochran, is The Catholic Vote: A Guide for the Perplexed (Orbis Books, 2008). He is also the author of numerous journal and magazine articles, including articles on healthcare policy in the Public Justice Report, a publication of the Center for Public Justice from 1977-2007. He is a deacon in the Catholic Church.
Dr. Cochran’s lecture comes at a time when, in his view, the U.S. healthcare system teeters on the brink of collapse. Reform proposals from the Obama administration and from both parties in Congress promise rescue and greater justice, he says, but they fail to confront the deepest sources on the healthcare crisis, and cannot achieve long-term public justice. Churches and faith-based institutions, therefore, will be required to adopt an unfamiliar, prophetic role both internally and externally in order to serve as midwives of a sound, just, and sustainable healthcare system for the American people.
The co-sponsors
The 2009 Kuyper Lecture was sponsored by the Center for Public Justice (more about CPJ here) and the Washington Institute for Public Policy and Service at Nyack College, D.C.
The Washington Institute is a faith-based, nonpartisan academic and para-academic center dedicated to preparing people for governmental and nonprofit service. Its aim is to nurture commitment to justice in the service of the common good. The institute aims to function as a "safe" place where differing views can be addressed wtih civility, respect, honesty, and trust and where helpful solutions can be sought to the challenges of contemporary society. Its program includes public lectures, symposia, and workshops; a graduate program is in development.
