Mark Kadel to present Feb. 19 Whitworth Great Decisions Lecture on Syrian refugee crisis

Mark Kadel, director of World Relief Spokane, will present a lecture, “The Untold Story of the Syrian Refugee Crisis,” at Whitworth University on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in Weyerhaeuser Hall’s Robinson Teaching Theatre. The lecture is free and open to the public.

This is the first of five lectures in Whitworth’s 57th annual Great Decisions Lecture Series. For the series, Whitworth faculty members select noted guest speakers, who come to campus and address important socio-political issues taking place around the world.

Kadel has spent more than 20 years working with persecuted refugees and individuals. Kadel currently oversees the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Spokane. He previously supervised World Relief offices in High Point, N.C., and in other parts of that state.

World Relief is a humanitarian, disaster-relief and economic-development service arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, with 24 offices around the United States. To date, Kadel says World Relief has helped resettle roughly 6,000 refugees in the Inland Northwest over the past 15 years. Among those 6,000 individuals, 96 percent come from nations where the gospel is forbidden.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students, offers 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Stephanee Newman, program assistant in political science and sociology, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4512 or snewman@whitworth.edu.

Lucas Beechinor, media relations manager, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or lbeechinor@whitworth.edu.