catholic mission and identity: the case of gonzaga
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Catholic Mission and Identity: The Case of Gonzaga
Michael Lieberman Carey, Ph.D.Associate Professor
Department of Organizational LeadershipSchool of Professional Studies
Gonzaga University
GONZAGA’S MISSION STATEMENT:three dynamics
As Catholic, we affirm the heritage which has developed through two thousand years of Christian living, theological reflection, and authentic interpretation.
As Jesuit, we are inspired by the vision of Christ at work in the world, transforming it by His love, and calling men and women to work with Him in loving service of the human community.
As humanistic, we recognize the essential role of human creativity, intelligence, and initiative in the construction of society and culture.
GONZAGA’S MISSION STATEMENT:three key issues
Partnership and Diversity Curriculum Development/Pedagogy Faculty Hiring and Evaluation
Catholic Humanistic
Jesuit
Gonzaga
OVERVIEW OF EACH TRADITION:goal, method, issue
Goal: each tradition has a purpose which drives its decisions and actions
Method: each tradition has a particular approach to accomplishing its goal
Issue: each tradition has an inherent question that can’t be answered from within the tradition
Humanistic
GoalVirtuous Action
Humanistic
Goal MethodVirtuous Action
Study of Humanities
Humanistic
Goal Method
Issue
Virtuous Action
Study of Humanities
Faith and Reason
Catholic
GoalUniversal
Mind
Catholic
Goal MethodUniversal
MindTheology and
Inter-discipline
Catholic
Goal Method
Issue
Universal Mind
Theology and Inter-discipline
Mandate and Freedom
Jesuit
GoalDiscerning
Heart
Jesuit
Goal MethodDiscerning
HeartMagis
Jesuit
Goal Method
Issue
Discerning Heart
Magis
Lay-Jesuit Collaboration
Catholic Humanistic
Jesuit
Gonzaga
TRADITIONS AND THE MISSION: from the general to the particular
One approach to the three traditions of the Mission is to view them as encompassing increasingly more narrow fields.
HUMANISTIC
CATHOLIC
JESUIT
TRADITIONS AND THE MISSION: from the general to the particular
However, this implies that one tradition is more “on-target” than the other two.
HUMANISTIC
CATHOLIC
JESUIT
Score=100
50
30
10
TRADITIONS AND THE MISSION:developmental perspective
Another approach to the three traditions of the Mission is to view them each as building upon and expanding the others.
HUMANISTIC CATHOLIC JESUIT
TRADITIONS AND THE MISSION:developmental perspective
However, this also presumes that one tradition is more “advanced” than the other two.
HUMANISTIC
CATHOLIC
JESUIT
TRADITIONS AND THE MISSION:separate but equal
Another approach to the three traditions of the Mission is to view them each as three separate but equal aspects of the Gonzaga experience.
Catholic Humanistic
Jesuit
Gonzaga
TRADITIONS AND THE MISSION:separate but equal
However, those with power decide which of the traditions will be “more equal” than the other two.
Humanistic
Jesuit
Gonzaga
Catholic
TRADITIONS AND THE MISSION:an integrative model
Rather than pitting one against the other, the three traditions may be understood as in dialogue with each other, producing a unique Gonzaga Mission.
GONZAGA MISSION
TRADITIONS AND THE MISSION:an integrative model
That only is true enlargement of the mind which is the power of viewing many things at once as one whole, of referring them severally to their true place in the universal system, of understanding their respective values, and determining their mutual dependence. . . . Possessed of this real illumination, the mind never views any part of the extended subject-matter of Knowledge without recollecting that it is but a part, or without the associations which spring from this recollection. It makes everything in some sort lead to everything else; it would communicate the image of the whole to every separate portion, till that whole becomes in imagination like a spirit, every where pervading and penetrating its component parts, and giving them one definite meaning. (John Henry Newman. The Idea of a University. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1982, page 103.)
IMPLICATIONS:partnership and diversity
• Humanistic tradition must be understood to the same degree as are the Catholic/Jesuit traditions.
• Power structures must be transformed to support dialogue among the traditions.
• Non-Catholic, non-Western, and non-Jesuit traditions must be brought into the dialogue.
IMPLICATIONS:curriculum development/pedagogy
• The strengths of each tradition must be incorporated into the goals of the curriculum.
• The biases of each tradition must be identified and overcome by the use of inclusive teaching strategies.
• Emphasis must be given to inter-disciplinary courses, team teaching, service learning, and collaborative research.
IMPLICATIONS:hiring and evaluation
• Hiring of new faculty must be based on both their standing within one tradition and their commitment to dialogue among the traditions.
• Faculty promotion and tenure granting criteria must include activities which give evidence of the above.
• The University administration must provide resources (e.g., structured conversations, release time) for faculty to engage in the above.
RECOMMENDATIONS:support, emphasize, change
• Provide support (i.e., time, money, environment) for inter-disciplinary courses, team teaching,
service learning, collaborative research and inter-tradition dialogue.
• Increase the emphasis of the Mission in the Faculty Handbook regarding hiring, re-appointment,
tenure, and promotion decisions.
• Change the membership of the Board of Members to include non-Jesuits; open the position of
President to non-Jesuits; orientate the Board of Trustees to Mission dialogue.
SUMMARY:dialogue, dialogue, and more dialogue
• The Gonzaga Mission is made up of three separate traditions—humanistic, Catholic and Jesuit—which are different yet complimentary.
• If the three traditions remain separate, each tradition will deteriorate, and the Gonzaga
Mission will suffer.
• If the three traditions dialogically engage the others, each tradition will develop and the
Gonzaga Mission will flourish.
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