Adelphi University Presents “Richard Steckel: Yearning for Peace”

April 13, 2015 - PRLog -- The Adelphi University Exhibitions Program is pleased to present a captivating exhibition entitled Yearning for Peace featuring 40 photographs by Dr. Richard Steckel, M.S.W. ’66. This series of photographs is a celebration of what makes us human and bind our futures together. This yearlong exhibition will be on view in the Adelphi University Manhattan Center Gallery, 75 Varick Street, New York, NY, from Sunday, April 26, 2015 through Sunday, August 28, 2016. A reception will be held on Thursday, April 30 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. All are welcome

Yearning for Peace showcases portraits of children from around the world. This exhibition is part of a larger venture by Steckel, entitled, The Milestones Project. The Project represents a vision and mission that seeks to identify the milestones in human lives and the commonalities of the human condition that unite us.  Dr. Steckel seeks to illuminate them in his work to provide a mapping of our development and our possibilities as a species.  In doing so, we can begin to realize the ways in which the yearning for peace is universal.

The exhibition provides a visual anchor to the Changing Nature of War and Peace series at Adelphi this year.  This initiative represents a year-long series of events that focus on historical, present and future areas of war, conflict and peace—both nationally and internationally. The mission is to support the creation of an educational dialogue, through multidisciplinary means, among Adelphi’s students, faculty, staff and the community that Adelphi serves.  It is intended to develop a discourse about peace and human rights, how individuals are able to impact related events, and to provide opportunities for reflection and—where appropriate—action.

Dr. Richard Steckel, co-founder and executive producer of the Milestones Project, is internationally recognized as a consultant and speaker on nonprofit social enterprise and for-profit social marketing. He and his wife Michele “Shelli” Steckel conceived The Milestones Project in 1998 and have since traveled the world capturing the images and stories of more than 70,000 children in 35 countries. A major funding of the project has been provided by entrepreneur and philanthropist, Jonah Engler.

In addition to his work on behalf of The Milestones Project, he also co-founded Say Cheese Production in 2015 with his wife. Dr. Steckel was also the founder of the consulting firm AddVenture Network. He has co-authored seven books on social enterprise including best-selling books such as Filthy Rich: Turning Nonprofit Fantasies Into Cold, Hard Cash (revised second edition, 2001), Making Money While Making a Difference: How to Profit with a Nonprofit Partner (1999), and In Search of America’s Best Nonprofits (1997), Cold Cash for Warm Hearts: 101 Best Social Marketing Initiatives (2004). His new book Universal Yearnings: We all Crave Connections will be published in 2016. He served as executive director of the Denver Children’s Museum (1976-1984) and has also guest-taught at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, University of Maryland, Daniels school of Business (Denver University), and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

The Steckels have produced over a dozen nationally acclaimed photography-based educational resources with the Milestones Project. Milestones books received the CBC 2005 Notable Book Award and the Milestones Project was honored at the United Nations (2003 Global Peace & Tolerance Award). Photographic events of the themed Milestones Project work have been viewed at 11 international airports. The Steckels were chosen Purpose Prize Fellows (2007); Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Service Award recipients (2008); and received the National Education Association’s Human & Civil Rights Award on July 2, 2008. Their work was featured in Time Magazine (August 13, 2007)

To view glimpses of the works online, please visit art-galleries.adelphi.edu. Manhattan Center is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Find us on Facebook under “Adelphi Galleries”.

About Adelphi University: Adelphi is a world-class, modern university with excellent and highly relevant programs where students prepare for lives of active citizenship and professional careers. Through its schools and programs—College of Arts and Sciences, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Honors College, Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, College of Nursing and Public Health and the School of Social Work—the coeducational university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as professional and educational programs for adults. As a nationally-ranked, doctoral research university, Adelphi University currently enrolls nearly 8,000 students from 43 states and 45 foreign countries. With its main campus in Garden City and its centers in Manhattan, Suffolk County, and Poughkeepsie, the University, chartered in 1896, maintains a commitment to liberal studies, in tandem with rigorous professional preparation and active citizenship.