Ottawa University

Fighting a Disease; Challenging a Stigma
      Female Minister with AIDS to Speak at Local Cultural Event

OTTAWA, Kansas - On Wednesday, February 28 and March 1, 2007, Ottawa University will host nationally renowned Baptist minister Reverend Rae Lewis Thornton during its annual Hostetter-DeFries Family Endowed Cultural Event.  Rev. Thornton is scheduled to speak at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday and 11:00 a.m. on Thursday in the Ottawa University Chapel, 1001 South Cedar Street, Ottawa, Kansas.

In 1986, at the young age of 23, Rev. Thornton learned that she was Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive during a routine blood drive visit in Washington D.C.  Now living with full-blown AIDS (Acquired Immune -Deficiency Syndrome), Rae travels the country to educate our nation's youth and adult population about the disease, as well as common stereotypes and myths surrounding who and how one can become infected.  She uses her own life experiences to demonstrate that AIDS is a non-discriminatory disease, and challenges her audience members to take control of their health.

Rae's AIDS education efforts and unique story have earned her a voice on such nationally syndicated news and entertainment programs as "Nightline" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show."  She has also been featured in stories in Emerge and Ebony magazines, appearing on the cover of Ebony's December 1994 issue and being named one of America's 57 Most Intriguing People by the magazine in 2002.  In addition, Rae received an Emmy Award as a contributing editor for a series of first-person stories on living with AIDS featured on WBBM-TV, a CBS owned and operated television station. 

Prior to Rae's motivational speaking career, she served as Senator Carol Mosley Braun's 1992 Senatorial Campaign Advance Coordinator, was the Illinois State Youth Coordinator for the 1988 Dukakis Presidential Campaign, and was the National Youth Director for Jesse Jackson's 1984 and 1988 Presidential Campaigns.  Due to her failing health, she was forced to retire from her political efforts in 1993.

Licensed as a Baptist minister in July 2000 at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois, by the Rev. Clay Evans, Rae now serves as an associate minister with the church.  She received a Master of Divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in June 2003 and was the recipient of the Arthur Hays Fellowship in Church History.  She is currently a PhD candidate at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.

Rev. Thornton's visit to Ottawa University is funded by the DeFries Family Endowed Cultural Fund, which was established in 1999 by Dr. Stanley and Alice Jo (Hostetter) DeFries. The goal of the fund and annual cultural event is to host guest speakers who have contributed significantly to the social, artistic or cultural improvement of society.  Past speakers have included baseball legend Buck O'Neil, Senator George McGovern, and former FBI Director William S. Sessions.  Alumni of the University, Dr. and Mrs. DeFries have been closely tied to OU for over 40 years in teaching, administrative, and trustee roles. 

Founded in 1865, Ottawa University is a comprehensive, not-for-profit educational institution affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Ottawa University's educational mission brings together a residential campus in Ottawa, Kansas, and adult campuses in Kansas City, Missouri; Phoenix, Mesa and Tempe, Arizona; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Jeffersonville, Indiana; as well as multiple international instructional sites.  For more information, visit http://www.ottawa.edu/.

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