provided to The Santiva Chronicle
Dr. Peter Blaze Corcoran, Professor Emeritus at Florida Gulf Coast University, will give an illustrated talk about the life of Frances Perkins – a feminist, working mother and the first female U.S. Secretary of Labor – at the FISH of SANCAP Friendly Faces Luncheon at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13 at the Sanibel Recreation Center, 3880 Sanibel Captiva Rd. A complimentary lunch will be provided by Sanibel Deli. There will be games and giveaways, too.
“We’re excited to continue our 2024 event with Dr. Peter Blaze Corcoran, a Professor Emeritus of Environmental Studies and Environmental Education at Florida Gulf Coast University,” said FISH Senior Services Director Erika Broyles. “His presentation is sure to interest many and we hope you’ll join us.”
In his talk, Corcoran will share Perkins’ faith-based activist journey and her continuing legacy. Inspired by her Mount Holyoke College education and her Episcopal faith, Perkins envisioned and fought for social justice, fair and safe conditions of labor, and the alleviation of poverty.
She was the first woman in American history to serve as a Cabinet Secretary. In 1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed her to serve and she held that post through his entire presidency. She was the architect of the New Deal and was the force behind the minimum wage, the 40-hour work week, workers compensation, unemployment insurance, workplace safety regulation, child labor protection and Social Security.
Perkins faced daunting challenges in her personal and public life. She turned to her deep conviction to social justice and her faith to help face the burdens of family and work. In 2009, the Episcopal Church General Convention recognized her as a public servant and prophetic witness and established May 13 as her Feast Day.
Corcoran has been active with the Frances Perkins Center, located in Newcastle, Maine; and he will also provide updates on the the center’s local and nationwide work at the FISH Friendly Faces Luncheon.
Corcoran has been a faculty member at College of the Atlantic, Swarthmore College and Bates College. He has held appointments as a visiting professor at universities in Australia, The Netherlands, Fiji, Malaysia and Kenya. He has also long served as a Research Fellow at the Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development at University of Peace, San Jose, Costa Rica.
He continues to be active as a scholar on a range of topics in educational and environmental studies through various chapters, journal articles, and lectures. His most recent book is Envisioning Futures for Environmental and Sustainability Education, Wageningen Academic Publishers (2017). He lives on Sanibel and in Pemaquid, Maine.
For more information on the FISH Friendly Faces Luncheon or to register, contact FISH Senior Services Director Erika Broyles at 239-472-4775. To learn more about FISH, click here to visit its website.
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