Monday, November 07, 2016

Lorraine Perry, founder and coordinator of the Healing Arts Program of the Lower Cape Fear Hospice, will be recognized as an Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholar with a ceremony and reception on Nov. 10.

Since 2002, UNCW’s Honors Scholars College and Randall Library have bestowed this honor annually to an individual who has made a significant difference to the families of the Cape Fear region through humanitarian efforts, personifying the ideals of the late Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer.

Perry was nominated for her long-standing commitment to providing services through the Healing Arts Program at Lower Cape Fear Hospice and developing creative programs to promote personal well-being for patients and their families. She initially founded the Healing Arts Program at New Hanover Hospital in 1979 before it was housed at hospice.

She has been previously recognized as Volunteer of the Year by the Cape Fear Arts Council and a Cape Fear Woman of Achievement by the YWCA. She also received the North Carolina Governor’s Award for the Arts.

She holds a B.F.A. in art education from Sarah Lawrence College, as well as a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a certificate in gerontology and a master’s degree in liberal arts from UNCW.

Trained as an expressive arts therapist, she uses her skills to implement innovative programs that help patients and families develop an understanding of themselves, an important part of the healing process.

“My work is based on the premise that families, medical systems, community and the patient work together to foster the creative process,” Perry said. “By promoting personal well-being while bringing about imaginative and enlightened solutions, the healing arts process is a means of awakening creativity in an authentic and safe environment.”

The Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholars program is the legacy of the Albert Schweitzer International Prizes. From 1973 to 1993, the prizes were awarded on the UNCW campus to recognize people who contributed significantly in the areas of medicine, the humanities, music and humanitarian efforts – areas where Schweitzer excelled.

**The campus community is invited to a ceremony honoring Perry at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10 in the Lumina Theater in the Fisher Student Center.

--Caroline Cropp
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