Spring and Winter Break Humanitarian Trips

The Institute has coordinated with the departments of nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy and the schools of Education and Law to sponsor service trips to areas of need in Nicaragua and Barbados.

In Nicaragua, students built an additional classroom for a school in a poverty-stricken community, planted vegetable gardens, and dug irrigation ditches next to the school to help provide nutritious meals for the schoolchildren. Student nurse provided hygienic training and care to patients in rural clinics, and students in the master of arts in teaching program organized a three-day training program for Nicaraguan teachers.

In Barbados, students painted the inside of a battered women’s shelter and helped make residents more employable by training them in Web site design and Internet technology. Forensic nursing students provided training to shelter staff, local police, judges and court personnel. Occupational and physical therapy students provided training sessions for occupational and physical therapy professionals in Barbados.
Watch a video about the March 2009 trip on the University's YouTube channel

The Schweitzer Museum

The institute houses a memorial museum and welcomes visitors to experience highlights from the life of this history-making humanitarian. The museum traces Dr. Schweitzer’s life as a young man in Gunsbach through his later years in Gabon with unforgettable photographs, works of art created by Schweitzer’s colleagues in Africa and artifacts from his years at Lambarene. All pieces are captioned to deliver a clear history.


Schweitzer Awards

The committee for the Schweitzer Awards Program recommends the parameters for giving awards in the thematic areas of the goals of the Schweitzer Institute: peace, humanitarian values and health. Careful consideration is given to the design and scope of the awards as well as the recipients. Awards may be given to people who have contributed on a local, national, and international basis or who are "up and coming" leaders. It is assumed that each recipient will visit campus to meet with students.

Conferences

Oscar Arias’ United Nations Conference Committee
The June 13, 2007, conference held at the United Nations was a celebration of Dr. Arias’ 20th anniversary of his Nobel Peace Prize and emphasized the current state of Central American affairs. Its goal was to draw attention to Central America and the issues currently facing the region. The committee was entrusted with promoting the conference to colleagues and determining content.

50th Anniversary of Albert Schweitzer’s Call to End Nuclear Testing Conference Committee
This conference held at Quinnipiac on Sept. 26, 2007, commemorated the 50th anniversary of Dr. Schweitzer’s “Declaration of Conscience” speech to end nuclear testing. Learn more

The Rehabilitation Conference
The Albert Schweitzer Institute held a Rehabilitation Conference April 8-9, 2005. The 1997 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Jody Williams, was the keynote speaker and participated in some of the panel discussions. The conference attempted to answer the following question: what are the unmet needs of persons with physical disabilities in the Northeastern United States, Central America, and the English speaking Caribbean, and how can persons with physical disabilities in these areas be helped to function better in their daily lives?

The Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Values Conference
The Albert Schweitzer Institute hosted the Humanitarian Values Conference Oct. 28-29, 2005, with keynote speaker Jane Goodall. The goal of the conference was to revive interest and knowledge about Albert Schweitzer and the humanitarian values he promoted.