What key people are saying about UNIFA
"UNIFA continues to progress and expand its service. Very inspiring!"
"Human dignity and education without exclusion. Exemplary!"
William P. Quigley is a law professor and Director of the Law Clinic and the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center at Loyola University New Orleans. He was named the Pope Paul VI National Teacher of Peace by Pax Christi USA in 2003.
"So proud to be connected to this important work!"
Paul Farmer, M.D., Ph.D, co-founder of Partners in Health, President of the Board of Partnership for Education, Democracy and Health in Haiti/Friends of UNIFA.
“I can’t think of any better way to spend my time during my sabbatical year than to work with a university whose mission is to empower students to work for social justice.”
Erin Daly, Professor of Law at Widener University Delaware Law School, served as Interim Dean and Vice Dean of the Delaware Law School in 2013-2015. On sabbatical during 2015-2016, Professor Daly served as the Vice President for Institutional Development at UNIFA.
"While UNIFA has no political agenda, it does have a strong social justice mission…We have found the students to be enthusiastic, diligent, and happy to have the opportunity to study law; they are dedicated to using their legal skills to help those less fortunate. They are also extremely grateful to those who share their time and expertise with them, and very receptive to learning. We have found our time at UNIFA to be profoundly meaningful; spending time with these students and the UNIFA faculty is an experience that will stay with you forever.”
Erin Daly, Widener University Delaware Law School, Bill Quigley, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
“I can’t think of any better way to spend my time during my sabbatical year than to work with a university whose mission is to empower students to work for social justice.”
Erin Daly, Professor of Law at Widener University Delaware Law School, served as Interim Dean and Vice Dean of the Delaware Law School in 2013-2015. On sabbatical during 2015-2016, Professor Daly served as the Vice President for Institutional Development at UNIFA.
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| Nursing students role-play nurse to patient discussion about HIV |
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Law student asks question during lecture |
Erin Daly, Widener University Delaware Law School, Bill Quigley, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
"Great news and forward movement!"
Walter Riley, attorney, Received the National Lawyers Guild's 2015 Law for the People Award, Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, Bay Area Free South Africa Movement, Board Member of Global Exchange, Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute, Berkeley Jazz School, and a Co-Chair of the John George Democratic Club.
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Admissions Exams 2016 |
"…a
testament to vision and persistence!"
"A great inspiration to us all, in a genuine drive and ‘quest towards inclusive education. # Inclusive Education & a better quality of life for ALL."
Mpho K. Mothoagae, Lecturer, Institute for African Renaissance Studies, University of South Africa
"Congratulations, Mildred, on the start of another academic year! More students whose lives will be touched by you, and who will go on to change the face of health in Haiti!"
Marisa D. Nadas, M.D., Board Member, EqualHealth (formerly Physicians for Haiti), Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Women’s Health Advisor for Partners in Health in Haiti.
"Yes, a remarkable achievement - gives us
all hope!"
Frank Garcia, Professor, Boston College Law School
"Amazing what vision, perseverance and courage can
accomplish."
Excerpts from Professor Erin Daly's
Convocation Keynote address
Convocation Keynote address
February 19, 2016
UNIFA
Academic Year 2015-2016
"But UNIFA is not an island. You are not isolated here, but linked — tied to the communities that you come from, to your surroundings here in Tabarre, and to other educational and professional institutions around the country — to hospitals (where you do your internships), to legal professional organizations, to many different places here and, increasingly, abroad — with professors who come here to teach and to participate in conferences. Moreover, you’re linked through technology to faculty and researchers potentially throughout the world.
"And it’s this vision, this ambition, this capacity for growth, to always get better that makes UNIFA such a special place. There’s a momentum here, an energy, a dedication to the art of the possible, that you don’t see that often, either here or in other countries.
"This is a place that is unique in another sense as well. It’s the only institution that I know of that is founded on the idea of human dignity. It’s inscribed in the sign that stands just outside. « Si n pa sove diyite n, diyite n ap sove kite n. » If we don’t safeguard our dignity, we will lose it. It’s an idea that is very simple, but very important. An idea that, for you, is not at all new..."
"In Haiti, the best reference is in the phrase “tout moun se moun.” But what does this mean? You already know. Each person is a person. That is, each person has value, and each person’s value or worth is the same. The equal worth of each person, everywhere in the world. It’s important, but it’s not just an abstract principle or idea. It’s not just a philosophical principle. In judicial opinions, it’s linked to the full development of the personality, to each person’s ability to realize his or her potential, to become all that one can. And they say, in these legal opinions, that each person has the same right to develop his or her personality as every other person.
"So dignity is the essential element that permits us to develop, to grow. It’s not a thing, like a jewel or something we keep inside a safe. We don’t say, “I have my dignity, now that’s done!” Dignity is always a work in progress, as we seek to develop our talents, our intellectual capacity, our spirit; to learn what we are capable of. And to develop just as much as any other person. That’s why we always need to safeguard our dignity — because we don’t ever want to lose the ability to grow.
"And that’s also why the idea of human dignity is at the heart of this university. The administration here has confidence not only in who you are, but in what you will become — as students, as professionals, and as participants and contributors to civil society, throughout this wonderful country of yours."
"And that’s also why the idea of human dignity is at the heart of this university. The administration here has confidence not only in who you are, but in what you will become — as students, as professionals, and as participants and contributors to civil society, throughout this wonderful country of yours."
