Enhancing Religious Identity: Best Practices From Catholic Campuses

At the close of any good discussion about vocation and institutional identity of Catholic colleges, people are always hungry for suggestions about how to develop programs that fulfill the hopes that have been raised in them. John Wilcox (Evaluator ‘93, Mentor ‘95, Board Member ‘97-present) and Irene King (‘95) have assembled-from an array of published sources — articles that respond to that need.

The book’s three core sections successively identify practices relevant to trusteeship, faculty and the disciplines, and student life. Trusteeship articles discuss topics like institutional identity, hiring for mission, and the basic and moral duties of trusteeship. In the faculty arena, articles discuss core curriculum, Catholic Studies, and professional education. Student Life articles include service learning initiatives, diversity, and moral development issues. Perhaps most helpfully, the book identifies particular initiatives from Catholic campuses — Boston College’s PULSE program, LeMoyne’s Values Audits, and other initiatives from places like Saint Louis University, The University of Dayton, The University of Saint Thomas, Georgetown University, and Saint Joseph’s University.

For those unfamiliar with many of these initiatives, Enhancing Religious Identity will be an especially useful resource. For those who have some awareness of them, this book provides a helpful way to keep them readily at hand. Thanks to John and Irene for this service! — Thomas M. Landy