One dilemma encountered by department chairs and administrators at Catholic colleges and universities is how to respect the pluralistic religious views of the faculty while being faithful to one's own and the institution's Catholic tradition. The Rule of St. Benedict offers guidance that can result in deepening the respect for all…

While this article is not about women's colleges or exclusively women presidents, the author notes, it is women's colleges that have experienced the greatest challenges, due primarily to financial constraints and competition. As operational costs escalated and choices for students increased, many small struggling colleges with little or…

In principle, theology ought to play a decisive role in the mission and identity of Catholic colleges and universities, but theology's role often comes under fire from students and other constituencies who consider theology an uncritical intrusion into the curriculum or a holdover from a bygone era. This essay reflects on the role of theology…

"Born from the heart of the church," a Catholic university that educates nurses is engaged in the "formation of the heart"; that is, in forming students who have a heart that "sees where love is needed and acts accordingly." Precisely because the identity and mission of the Catholic university make public its…

The powerful and complex mandates arising from reports such as "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health" and "Health Professionals for a New Century: Transforming Education to Strengthen Health Systems in an Interdependent World" challenge colleges and universities to reconsider how they deliver nursing…

Collaborations between diverse Catholic organizations will be important in fulfilling the goals contained in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2010 document, "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health." This article describes a qualitative research study examining the partnership between a graduate-level school of nursing in…

The phrase "Catholic intellectual tradition" appears in many self-descriptions of Catholic colleges and universities. It communicates the identity of these institutions to the broader Catholic community, to members of the particular college or university community, and to the broader academic world. The phrase "Catholic intellectual…

An innovative partnership between a college of nursing and local parochial schools provided opportunities for nursing students to offer basic health promotion and disease prevention services, provide health education, and participate in a service-learning, research endeavor. This partnership provided the nursing school with the ability to…

In response to the changing demands of the U.S. healthcare system and the needs of the nursing profession, the Institute of Medicine, in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, spearheaded a two-year initiative to develop recommendations for the future of nursing. Discussions of these recommendations within nursing education led to…

Widespread agreement suggests that it is appropriate and desirable to develop and teach business theory and practice consistent with Catholic social teaching (CST) in Catholic business schools. Such a curriculum would cover the same mainstream material taught in other business schools, but then offer a CST approach to business that can be…

The world of work that students enter after graduation will not mirror the straightforward world portrayed by their textbooks. They will be required to make decisions that will affect more than the bottom line. Faculty at Catholic business schools can integrate the components of Catholic social teaching (CST) into the classroom to help equip…

"Academically Adrift," the recent study of undergraduate performance, has revealed that college students are learning little, if anything, over the course of their four years at university. This article suggests that students are academically adrift, in part, because Americans are culturally marooned between two ways to pursue happiness,…

This article builds on an essay the author published twenty years ago in "Current Issues in Catholic Higher Education" that examined the viability of John Henry Newman's "Idea of a University" against Catholic campus life and the just-released "Ex corde Ecclesiae". The current essay briefly notes those earlier key points made in the first article,…

Catholic universities need to develop strong Catholic identities. Yet, equally pressing is the need to welcome and value non-Catholic scholars, including their contributions to the university's Catholic mission and their critical assessments of the Catholic tradition. Blessed John Henry Newman embodies both Catholic faithfulness and exemplary…

Universities struggling to recapture their Catholic identity in an increasingly pluralistic campus environment learn from "Idea of a University" that Catholic identity is fostered by two essential elements: a culture of the intellect and a loyal Catholic spirit. Catholics and non-Catholics can build vibrant Catholic campuses by working together to…