Loyola University Maryland welcomes Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas, gold medal Olympic gymnast, for the 28th annual Sister Cleophas Costello Lecture on Thursday, November 8, 2018, at 7:30 p.m. in McGuire Hall on the Evergreen campus. The lecture, “Girl on Fire: A Conversation with Gabby Douglas,” is a question and answer session moderated by Loyola’s assistant vice president and director of athletics, Donna Woodruff. Douglas will answer questions fielded through community participation prior to the event.
At age 16, Douglas was selected to compete in the 2012 summer Olympics in London as a member of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Gymnastics team. She became the first African-American woman, as well as the first woman of color of any nationality, to win an Olympic gold medal as the All-Around Individual Champion. She also became the first American gymnast to win gold in both the all-around individual and team competitions. Her autobiography, Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith, is a New York Times bestseller.
Woodruff joined Loyola in 2017 and has more than 20 years of experience in collegiate athletics. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the University of Pennsylvania, where she played lacrosse and field hockey. She continued her career at UPenn as a coach until she moved to administrative positions at Villanova University and Stony Brook University.
To submit a question for consideration, you may post your question to Twitter using the hashtag #Cleophas2018 or submit your question via the website.
Ticket information:
Mount Saint Agnes College alumnae and Loyola alumni will be able to purchase tickets on Tuesday, Sept. 4 for $20. A limited number of tickets will become available to Loyola students, faculty, and staff on Monday, Oct. 1. General public will go on sale on Monday, Oct. 8 for $20.
For additional event and ticket information, please contact the office of alumni relations at 410-617-2475 or alumni@loyola.edu, or visit loyola.edu/cleophas.
About the Sister Cleophas Costello Lecture Series:
Founded in the late 1970s and named in honor of the late Sister Mary Cleophas Costello, RSM, former president of Mount Saint Agnes College, which joined with Loyola University Maryland in 1971, the Sister Cleophas Costello Lecture features prominent women who embody the ideals Sr. Cleophas espoused, including scholarship, leadership, and artistic ability. Previous Sister Cleophas Costello lecturers have included authors Amy Tan, Mary Higgins Clark, and Piper Kerman, poet Maya Angelou, musicians Mary Chapin-Carpenter and Marin Alsop, and child safety activist Elizabeth Smart.
