Conclusion

Intellectual Tradition ◽

Catholic Colleges ◽

Faculty Recruitment ◽

Catholic University ◽

Circle Model

This chapter rehearses the arguments of the book, reaffirms the importance of the open circle model, and sees gains for Catholic higher education through academic freedom (as explained in chapter 8), engaging religious pluralism while teaching and researching Catholicism as an intellectual tradition. The chapter explains why the phrase “Catholic intellectual tradition” is used. It returns to the critical importance of the three north stars: Jesus (existential component of love and justice), Mary his mother (education, formation, and wisdom), and John Henry Newman (the continuing relevance of his Idea of a Catholic University). For Catholic colleges and universities to avoid going secular, as have most of the major mainline Protestant universities in the United States, the chapter underscores the critical importance of leadership, faculty recruitment and formation, and the Catholic intellectual tradition.

Theology in the Catholic University

The Future of Catholic Higher Education ◽

10.1093/oso/9780197568880.003.0014 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 185-200

Author(s):

James L. Heft

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Moral Education ◽

Religious Studies ◽

Unique Contribution ◽

Catholic Colleges And Universities

Catholic Colleges ◽

Catholic Theology ◽

Ex Corde Ecclesiae ◽

Catholic University ◽

Major secular universities do not teach theology; they teach religious studies, if they teach anything about religion at all. It is impossible to imagine a Catholic university without theology. Four characteristics of Catholic theology show the unique contribution the discipline makes to Catholic higher education. False dichotomies are identified: critical or catechetical and faith or reason. This chapter describes the dramatic changes over the past sixty years in who teaches theology and what is taught to lay students at Catholic universities. Theologians need to address effectively the problem of widespread religious illiteracy among most college students. The Vatican document on Catholic higher education, Ex corde ecclesiae, offers a broad and demanding vision of the type of theological and moral education necessary for Catholic colleges and universities. The expectations of Catholic theologians in the academy and beyond it are daunting.

Seed That Falls on Fertile Ground (Matthew 13:1–9): Catholic Higher Education and the Renewal of Agrarianism

Horizons ◽

10.1017/hor.2015.51 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 38-69

Author(s):

Elizabeth Groppe

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Biodiversity Loss ◽

The United States ◽

Water Shortages ◽

Catholic Colleges ◽

Agricultural Knowledge ◽

Catholic Culture ◽

Whole Person

Agriculture in the United States today faces myriad challenges, including soil erosion, biodiversity loss, climate change, water shortages, dependence on harmful chemicals, and a breach in the intergenerational transmission of agricultural knowledge. The scope and scale of the agricultural problems facing our nation today are an indication that we need a new culture of theager(“field” in Latin)—a fundamentally new way of understanding and enacting our relationship to the land and the production of food. Catholic colleges and universities can make a vital contribution to this renewal through new agrarian curricular and research programs grounded in Catholicism's sacramental epistemology, analogical metaphysics, interdisciplinary search for wisdom, and respect for the spiritual significance of agricultural and manual labor. In turn, the incorporation of agrarian practice, education, and research within Catholic institutions of higher education can contribute to the education of the whole person that is fundamental to Catholic pedagogy, the cultivation of the virtue of humility, and the enrichment of Catholic liturgical practice and Catholic culture.

The Church and Catholic Higher Education

Horizons ◽

10.1017/s0360966900019691 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 7-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

David J. O'Brien

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

The United States ◽

Catholic Colleges ◽

The University ◽

Public Church ◽

The Church ◽

Ongoing Dialogue

AbstractRecurrent debates about the church and higher education in the United States involve differing understandings of the nature and purpose of the church as well as differing understandings of the university. Catholic colleges and universities remain important but underutilized resources for the American church as it pursues its mission. Institutional, communitarian and servant models of the church must be examined more rigorously before they are used to prescribe changes in higher education. None is without problems. In a pluralistic and free society, a public church,” self-consciously mediating the tensions between Christian integrity, Catholic unity, and civic responsibility, provides an altogether appropriate stance for Catholic colleges and universities as well. It points not to a neat resolution of outstanding difficulties but to ongoing dialogue among the publics to which both church and higher education must address themselves.

The Mission of Catholic Higher Education in the Age of the Corporatized University

10.5422/fordham/9780823289967.003.0002 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 11-46

Author(s):

Gerald J. Beyer

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

The United States ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Catholic Colleges ◽

Business World ◽

Social Tradition ◽

The University ◽

Contemporary Context

This chapter problematizes the contemporary context in which Catholic colleges and universities operate in the United States, namely, that of corporatized higher education. It describes the corporatization of the modern University and its negative consequences, locating this phenomenon within the ascendancy of neoliberalism. The author argues that the corporatization of the university has infected higher education with hyperindividualistic practices and models imported from the business world, essentially creating a clash of values with the Catholic social tradition. This phenomenon hinders the ability of Catholic institutions to fulfil their mission, which includes creating an environment imbued with values and principles of CST such as respect for human rights, solidarity, and justice. This final section of this chapter introduces the reader to the values and principles of CST, which should inform the policies and practices of Catholic institutions and counteract the values of corporatized education.

Defining Catholic Higher Education in Positive Terms

Journal of Catholic Education ◽

10.15365/joce.2202012019 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-25

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Catholic Identity ◽

Catholic Colleges ◽

Academic Literature ◽

Catholic History

Debates about Catholic higher education in the United States sometimes focus too much on what Catholic colleges and universities should not do, rather than what they should do. This article attempts to reframe those debates away from the negative expressions of Catholic identity (i.e., denying guests a right to speak on campus based on their stance on abortion) and toward more positive expressions, like promoting scholarship on Catholic history, culture, and theology. It reviews some key academic literature that approaches Catholic identity from this positive, proactive perspective, and attempts to categorize that literature into common, identifiable themes.

Introduction: Catholic Higher Education in 1900

Contending with Modernity ◽

10.1093/oso/9780195098280.003.0004 ◽

1996 ◽

Author(s):

Philip Gleason

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

United States ◽

Twentieth Century ◽

Women's Colleges ◽

The United States ◽

Turn Of The Century ◽

Catholic Colleges ◽

Universities And Colleges ◽

Age Range

A great many Catholic colleges existed in the United States at the opening of the twentieth century. Exactly how many it is impossible to say with certainty because any answer presupposes agreement on the answer to a prior question: “What should be counted as a college?” The Catholic Directory for 1900 listed 10 universities, 178 “colleges for boys,” 109 seminaries, and 662 “academies for girls.” According to this count, there were no Catholic women’s colleges at that time, although the College of Notre Dame of Maryland graduated its first baccalaureate class in 1899 and is included among the 128 colleges for women listed in U.S. Commissioner of Education’s Report for 1899-1900. The same Report, however, listed only 62 Catholic institutions among the 480 included under the heading: “Universities and colleges for men and for both sexes.” No doubt some Catholic colleges simply failed to provide the information necessary to appear in the Commissioner’s Report. But their failure to do so is in itself significant; and even assuming that is what happened, it still leaves an enormous gap between the Commissioner’s figures and the 188 colleges and universities reported in the Catholic Directory. Moreover, many of the “colleges for boys” could, with equal justice, have been called academies, since elementary- and secondary-level students made up the majority of their student bodies. As the case of Notre Dame of Maryland indicates, Catholic “academies for girls” were beginning to upgrade themselves to collegiate status. Had the word college been more freely applied to non-Catholic institutions for women at an earlier date, a good many of these academies would probably have called themselves colleges long before, for they did not differ all that much from the “colleges for boys” in terms of curricular offerings and age-range of students. While the situation of Catholic institutions was particularly murky, the question “What makes a college a college?” engaged the attention of practically everyone involved in secondary and collegiate education at the turn of the century.

Introduction

10.5422/fordham/9780823289967.003.0001 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Gerald J. Beyer

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Catholic Social Teaching ◽

The United States ◽

Social Teaching ◽

Catholic Colleges ◽

Responsible Investment ◽

Diversity And Inclusion ◽

Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽

The University

The introduction describes the author’s purpose, aims, and methodology of the book and why it should matter to all who care about Catholic higher education. The author discusses his own indebtedness to Catholic higher education and acknowledges that Catholic colleges and universities in the United States serve students and society in laudable ways. However, the introduction presents the thesis of the book: many Catholic institutions of higher education have failed to embody the values of the Gospel and the principles of Catholic social teaching (CST) in some important institutional policies and practices. Just Universities argues that the corporatization of the university undermines the fidelity of Catholic higher education to its mission by hindering efforts to promote worker justice on campus, equitable admissions, financial aid, and retention policies, just diversity and inclusion policies, and socially responsible investment and stewardship of resources. The author acknowledges the argument of the book represents one perspective and is intended to generate more sustained conversation about ways that Catholic social teaching should shape the life of Catholic institutions of higher learning.

Gender and LGBTQ Equality in the University

10.5422/fordham/9780823289967.003.0007 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 207-248

Author(s):

Gerald J. Beyer

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

Catholic Colleges ◽

Participation Of Women ◽

Full Participation ◽

Social Tradition ◽

The University

This chapter advances the argument that the Catholic social tradition, which includes the work of feminist theologians and ethicists, can point toward greater equity for women in the academy. This chapter also discusses the continuing need to create more inclusive campus communities for LGBTQ persons. The author contends that the issues that women face because of their gender and the LGBTQ community's ongoing struggle for equality are not the same and warrant more extensive treatment than can be offered in this book. However, the chapter aims to offer some insights about how CST can promote the dignity, equality, and full participation of women and LGBTQ persons in Catholic higher education. Ways in which Catholic colleges and universities have promoted equity and full participation of women and LGBTQ persons on their campuses are considered. The concluding section confronts the problem of sexual violence in campus, which the author contends is a severe affront to a person’s autonomy and right to fully participate in a community.

Humility and Courage

The Future of Catholic Higher Education ◽

10.1093/oso/9780197568880.003.0012 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 161-171

Author(s):

James L. Heft

Keyword(s):

Academic Freedom ◽

Catholic Church ◽

Religious Tradition ◽

Charles Taylor ◽

Intellectual Tradition ◽

Catholic Colleges ◽

The 1960S ◽

Policies And Practices

Examples of the ways in which Catholic philosopher Charles Taylor interacts with his peers and critics show both humility and courage. Taking the time to understand what other scholars have written, listening carefully to criticism, and responding respectfully and candidly to them are all indications of a humble maturity that too many faculty lack. Given that the academy today is typically more secular in its culture than that of the surrounding local colleges leads many faculty who are religious to censor themselves in ways that indicate a lack of courage—fearing that if a religious tradition influences one’s research, then that research is no longer academically respectable. Given that most Catholic colleges and universities established policies of academic freedom and tenure only in the 1960s, faculty today are quick to defend these policies and practices in ways that make it more difficult to see the value of the Catholic intellectual tradition and a positive and appropriately independent relationship with the global Catholic Church.

Theorizing a Catholic Hispanic-Serving Institution (C-HSI) Identity Through Latinx Theological Lenses of Lo Cotidiano and Traditioning

Journal of Catholic Education ◽

10.15365/joce.2402022021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 20-42

Author(s):

Gina A. Garcia ◽

◽

John DeCostanza Jr. ◽

Jaqueline Romo ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Ways Of Knowing ◽

The United States ◽

Catholic Identity ◽

Student Diversity ◽

Catholic Colleges ◽

Hispanic Serving Institution ◽

Hispanic Serving

As the students entering U.S. colleges and universities become increasingly diverse, the number of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI's) continues to increase. Catholic colleges and universities, similarly, are seeing an increase in student diversity on campus, with an emergence of Catholic HSIs as well. As the number of Catholic colleges and universities in the United States that are HSI-eligible increases they must grapple with what it means to be both Catholic and Hispanic-serving. The purpose of this article is to propose a U.S. Catholic HSI (C- HSI) identity that brings together the extensive literatures on Catholic identity and HSI identity through the lens of decolonial theory and Latinx theologies. We argue that in order to effectively serve students of color who have intersectional identities, Catholic HSIs must intentionally recognize the ways of knowing (epistemologies) and being of these groups, which includes a collective understanding of the theo-political, social, historical, and economic forces that have subjugated them since before the founding of the present day United States and long before the founding of the first Catholic institution in the country. Building off the Catholic Identity and Mission Models (CIMA) currently used by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities to assess mission integration, we propose a C-HSI model.