CATHOLIC HIGHER EDUCATION:
A CULTURE IN CRISIS, MELANIE M. MOREY AND JOHN J. PIDERIT
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"Catholic higher education in the United States is undergoing dramatic changes, driven largely by the virtual disappearance of nuns, brothers, and priests from Catholic university campuses. Today Catholic colleges and universities are dealing with critical questions about what constitutes Catholic collegiate identity. What are appropriate ways to engage the Catholic tradition across all sectors of university life? What constitutes a critical mass of committed and knowledgeable Catholics necessary to maintain religious identity? What is an appropriate level of knowledge and religious commitment for those who lead, govern, and teach at Catholic institutions and how do they acquire it? Many people have strong - and strongly differing - opinions about the current state of Catholic higher education. Melanie M. Morey and John J. Piderit, S.J., wade into these waters with a study of 124 senior administrators at 33 Catholic colleges and universities across the United States. Exceptionally candid appraisals by administrators across a varied landscape attest that a cultural crisis is looming at a number of Catholic institutions.
Based on their research, Morey and Piderit describe the present situation and offer concrete suggestions for enhancing Catholic identity, culture, and mission at all Catholic colleges and universities. The authors define the critical issues and analyze and address them by using the rich construct of culture, particularly organizational culture. They provide four different models of how Catholic colleges and universities can operate and successfully compete as religiously distinctive institutions in the higher education market. After identifying the content of the Catholic tradition - intellectual, moral, and social - the authors analyze present performance among institutions in all four models. They derive criteria for identifying religious cultural crisis at institutions and provide specific policy proposals for enhancing religious culture. They also suggest principles for effectively leading and managing cultural change. Morey and Piderit offer the first in-depth cultural analysis of the Catholic character of Catholic universities and colleges at a crucial time for these institutions. With new research and practical applications, this book is an invaluable resource for Catholic educators and anyone concerned about the future of Catholic higher education." - from the Cover Morey, Melanie M. and John J. Piderit. Catholic Higher Education: A Culture in Crisis. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Read the Book: UofT Library WorldCat Review: The Heythorp Journal, John Sullivan |
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BUILDING CATHOLIC HIGHER EDUCATION: UNOFFICIAL REFLECTIONS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME, CHRISTIAN SMITH AND JOHN C. CAVADINI
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"American Catholic universities and colleges are wrestling today with how to develop in ways that faithfully serve their mission in Catholic higher education without either secularizing or becoming sectarian. Major challenges are faced when trying to simultaneously build and sustain excellence in undergraduate teaching, strengthen faculty research and publishing, and deepen the authentically Catholic character of education. This book uses the particular case of the University of Notre Dame to raise larger issues, to make substantive proposals, and thus to contribute to a national conversation affecting all Catholic universities and colleges in the United States (and perhaps beyond) today. Its arguments focus particularly on challenging questions around the recruitment, hiring, and formation of faculty in Catholic universities and colleges." - from the Cover
Smith, Christian and John C. Cavadini. Building Catholic Higher Education: Unofficial Reflections from the University of Notredame. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2012. Read the Book: UofT Library WorldCat Reviews: Christian Higher Education, Theodore James Whapham Journal of Theological Studies, Timothy Muldoon |
