Keeping the Catholic in Catholic Higher Education

This lecture by Fr. William Graham explored Catholicism’s role in the academy. If Catholic education is to be viable, there are important questions to be addressed. When answered, they will help the Catholic Church carry out the mission for which their institutions were called in to existence. The lecture addressed questions like:

• What is the place of theology and philosophy in the curriculum of a Catholic college?
• How does an institution go about fashioning a general education curriculum grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition?
• How does an institution begin or maintain conversations about hiring Catholic faculty? Can a college claim to be Catholic without a plan in place to ensure that there are any Catholics among the faculty or administration except by chance?
• Are there models for the 21^st century institution of Catholic higher education?

Fr. William Graham, Ph.D, is a Collegeville Institute Resident Scholar. He is a priest of the Diocese of Duluth and was the Founding Director of the Braegelman Program in Catholic Studies, College of St. Scholastica.

Bill Cahoy, Dean of the School of Theology·Seminary, responded to the lecture. He holds an M.A.R. and Ph.D. in systematic theology from Yale and has taught at Saint John’s since 1990. He is a founding member of the Rhodes Consultation on church-related Colleges.

Co-sponsored by the Collegeville Institute and School of Theology·Seminary.