Suggestions for the Mission Statement

Transcription

1 Cmplete Missin Statements King s Cllege is a recgnizably Cathlic institutin f higher learning spnsred by the Cngregatin f the Hly Crss. As a Cathlic cllege, King s is faithful t the teaching authrity f the Cathlic Church, which encurages the pursuit f truth as an intrinsic gd, which cannt be in cnflict with the revealed truths f the faith. While King s Cllege cnsciusly expses its students t the riches f the spiritual, mral, intellectual and cultural traditins f Cathlicism, it als recgnizes that the free and unfettered pursuit f the truth can fster the develpment f meaningful cntacts with all peple, regardless f their religius backgrunds. Faithful t Christ the King s new cmmandment: Lve ne anther, as I have lved yu, and the Cathlic tenet f the intrinsic, Gd-given dignity f all peple, King s Cllege is a welcming institutin, cnstituted f men and wmen f diverse backgrunds. Alng with its majr prgrams and graduate institutes, King s Cllege has develped a strng Cre curriculum in the Liberal Arts, which integrates the cmplementary insights f faith and reasn and encurages reflectin n empirically btained knwledge frm a humanistic, Cathlic perspective. At King s Cllege, we are cmmitted t develping a critical awareness in ur students, an ability t cmmunicate effectively in written wrd and speech, and t succeed in their chsen prfessins as well prepared, ethically sensitive leaders. King s Cllege, funded and spnsred by the Cngregatin f Hly Crss, is a caring and dynamic learning cmmunity cmmitted t the highest standards f academic excellence, persnal and prfessinal develpment, ethical integrity, and service t thers. Inspired by ur funders and the Cathlic scial justice traditin, King s aspires t ffer a wrld-class, affrdable educatin t students f all scial, religius, educatinal and ecnmic backgrunds. As a Cathlic liberal arts cllege, King s ffers rigrus academic prgrams and a supprtive campus climate that prepare students nt nly fr prfessinal success, but fr satisfying lives f purpse and meaning. Since its funding in 1946, King s has pursued with zeal and dedicatin the Hly Crss ideal f educating the whle persn. In the wrds f its funding President, Fr. James Cnnertn, C.S.C., King s teaches students nt nly hw t make a living, but hw t live. Suggestins fr the Missin Statement 1. Need t include a greater emphasis n preparing students fr a glbal cmmunity. Fcus n the intentinal inclusin f peple frm different cultural, religius, educatinal and ecnmic backgrunds

2 in a spirit f intellectual challenge, service, and a sense f respect and hspitality fr the entire cllege cmmunity. 2. I think we need t keep the imprtant statement, Teach nt nly hw t make a living, but hw t live. Perhaps articulate the emphasis n gals f spiritual, mral, ethical behavir, as well as a strng emphasis n the develpment f knwledge and the applicatin f critical thinking skills. 3. Perhaps include the statement develped f the past summer which describes a Cathlic educatin in the Hly Crss traditin: A Cathlic Educatin in the Hly Crss Traditin transfrms minds and hearts with zeal in cmmunities f hpe. Nte the cmmitment t prvide quality educatinal experiences, which reflect the Hly Crss Cmmunity s values f (Yu mentined these at ne f ur previus meetings, Srry I dn t have them available). Students f all faiths are welcme at King s Cllege. 4. If we want t be bld, find a way t include key elements f the missin statement f the Office f Campus Ministry in the general missin statement; i. e., Rted in Jesus Christ, the Living Wrd f Gd, and inspired by the Hly Spirit, we give witness t Gd's uncnditinal lve by reflecting n and celebrating faith and serving thers with cmpetence, curage, and cmpassin. 5. Include sme mentin f develping expertise and skills f students in prfessinal prgrams, as well as an appreciatin and respect fr ther fields f preparatin and discipline. -"Persnal" -"Cathlic" -"Welcming" -"Hme away frm hme" Appendix: Things I especially like in the missin statements prvided:

3 I liked the Hly Crss Cllege s missin statement a lt. I liked the way they framed imprtant questins, I lved the way they described and affirmed the value f the liberal arts (they cver a lt in a shrt space here rle f thelgy and philsphy, value f diversity and dialgue, sense f the whle which calls us t transcend urselves ), and the way they affirmed the rle f all members f the cmmunity in supprting the cllege s missin. I think we culd d this better. I like the Cre Values Statement frm Lyla, and think it des a gd jb f affirming values f the Cathlic traditin in a way that cmes acrss and welcming and psitive fr all (althugh I think the statement is awfully lng). When my family lived in Sudbury, we were clse t the Jesuits wh ran the University f Sudbury. I liked the mentin f ecumenism and pluralism in their missin statement (I ll cpy paragraphs 1 and 4, but will delete 2 and 3 that fcused n cmmitment t bilingualism and Native peples): As an undergraduate, liberal arts university, the University f Sudbury is cmmitted t fster and t develp in its students the desire and the ability t undertake fr themselves humanity's perennial quest fr ultimate meaning. The curses and prgrams ffered by the University f Sudbury will be such as nt nly t recrd, but t fster, in a cntemprary setting, the search fr Truth.. Situated in a religiusly and culturally pluralistic sciety, the University f Sudbury acknwledges this diversity and is cmmitted t prmting inter-faith dialgue and ecumenism. Thrugh this cultural reciprcity, the University f Sudbury will seek t cultivate and nurture Christian students in the Rman Cathlic traditin. This cmmitment will be dubly expressed: by the prvisin f an integral humanistic and religius educatin; and by its invlvement, thrugh the prmtin f, and participatin in varius related prjects and activities. While thinking f Canadian schls, I lked up Regis at the U f Trnt. They added a mentin f appreciatin fr the beautiful. I liked that, in light f ur last set f cnversatins abut Cathlic Identity. I als liked the mentin f dialgue with all peple f gd will and the mentin f eclgy. Here is their paragraph: We engage the prfund questins facing the Church and the wrld. We frm wmen and men t be f service t thers. We seek inter-faith and crss-cultural dialgue with all peple f gd will. We dialgue thrugh the integratin f thelgy and spirituality in : seeking the truth; pursuing scial justice and eclgical gd; and appreciating the beautiful.

4 I als lked up St. Michael s at U. f Trnt. It was t simple, but the phrase fstering creative engagement f that [Christian] traditin was pretty gd, as was the language abut the values f the gspel. As a university, St. Michael's is dedicated t the pursuit and sharing f knwledge fr its wn sake. As a Cathlic university, it is cmmitted t the study f the Christian traditin within a cntext f faith and t fstering the creative engagement f that traditin with the widest range f academic disciplines as well as with ther traditins bth religius and secular. St. Michael's welcmes faculty and students frm every backgrund wh want t participate in its life. St. Michael's seeks t prvide an envirnment that fsters the intellectual, mral and spiritual develpment f its members. It encurages an understanding and respect fr the values f the gspel and their implicatins fr individual and scial life. Cpy f (mst f the) Hly Crss Cllege Missin, mstly fr my wn reference: T participate in the life f Hly Crss is t accept an invitatin t jin in dialgue abut basic human questins: What is the mral character f learning and teaching? Hw d we find meaning in life and histry? What are ur bligatins t ne anther? What is ur special respnsibility t the wrld's pr and pwerless? As a liberal arts cllege, Hly Crss pursues excellence in teaching, learning, and research. All wh share its life are challenged t be pen t new ideas, t be patient with ambiguity and uncertainty, t cmbine a passin fr truth with respect fr the views f thers. Infrmed by the presence f diverse interpretatins f the human experience, Hly Crss seeks t build a cmmunity marked by freedm, mutual respect, and civility. Because the search fr meaning and value is at the heart f the intellectual life, critical examinatin f fundamental religius and philsphical questins is integral t liberal arts educatin. Dialgue abut these questins amng peple frm diverse academic disciplines and religius traditins requires everyne t acknwledge and respect differences. Dialgue als requires us t remain pen t that sense f the whle which calls us t transcend urselves and challenges us t seek that which might cnstitute ur cmmn humanity. The faculty and staff f Hly Crss, nw primarily lay and religiusly and culturally diverse, als affirm the missin f Hly Crss as a Jesuit cllege. We are, befre anything else, a Cathlic Christian cllege f the liberal arts and sciences. Our prfessinal and pre-prfessinal prgrams are imprtant, and they shuld be accunted fr by ur statement f missin, certainly, but their imprtance assumes and depends upn the cnstitutive elements f the cllege s essential identity: Hly Crss; Cathlic; Christian; Liberal Arts and Sciences. That identity, which has as its fundatin ur CORE curriculum, is what affrds ur students the pprtunity t becme genuinely educated persns, rather than mere trained technicians r crprate drnes. Any missin statement wrth a damn has t begin (and end) by getting right ur essential identity. Our identity is ur wrk. We d nt s much (as the current missin statement puts it) prvide students with a brad-based liberal arts educatin as we educate them in the Cathlic liberal arts

5 traditin in rder t prepare them fr faithful and imaginative membership in the cmmunities they will inhabit. We teach them the arts f freedm that they may leave here with the capacity t use well the freedm given them by Gd. Mst students, upn leaving King s Cllege, will nt pssess the capacity singlehandedly t transfrm the wrld, but they will all, hpefully, be able t imagine a different wrld, a wrld ther than the ne the (ften malevlent and always self-interested) pwers have taught them is mst real. At the very least they will thereby have the pprtunity t be n the right side f histry; as Camus put the matter, in his allegrical nvel The Plague: All I maintain is that n this earth there are pestilences and there are victims, and it s up t us, s far as pssible, nt t jin frces with the pestilences. I think ne f the things that King's des best is prviding persnal attentin. Students wh wuld fall thrugh the cracks at ther places flurish here thanks t the persnal attentin. We have a way f lking after the lst sheep. In the bullet pints under "T achieve its missin" we mentin excellent teaching. As an aspiratinal gal, I wuld like t see us strive fr excellence in schlarship as well. King s seeks t Place its missin in the service f the cmmn gd. Deepen ur slidarity with ur neighbrs bth lcally and glbally, and prmte a critical awareness f sciety s prblems. Frm students t address these prblems, nt nly as individuals but as a cmmunity by: Creating an intentinal cmmunity f reflective service. Engaging in cmmunity-based learning that deepens students academic frmatin, fsters civic respnsibility, and meets the needs f the cmmunity.