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| Father Dennis Dease, President |
I was afraid this would happen after the ex officio chairmanship and vicechairmanship of the Archbishop and Vicar General was removed back in 2007. This is a disappointing development, but at least the requirement is still there that the president needs to be a Catholic. It could have been a lot worse.HT For The Sake Of Him
St. Thomas is definitely a front in ongoing spiritual warfare. There are good things and bad things going on related to Catholic identity.
The bylaw change is reported in the link below:
http://www.stthomas.edu/bulletin/2011/03/03/board- trustees/
Here is the relevant paragraph, with the change bolded:
"Bylaw changesThe Board Affairs Committee recommended a number of changes in the university’s bylaws, and the board unanimously approved those changes.A number of Catholic universities recently have found it necessary to widen their presidential searches because the pool of available priests was limited. Within the past two years, for example, Seton Hall University, the University of Detroit Mercy and the Catholic University of America appointed laypersons as presidents. In the case of Seton Hall, the initial search to find a Catholic priest was unsuccessful and a second search was conducted."
Many changes were made to ensure the bylaws reflect current state laws in incorporation, account for modern methods of communication and employ best professional practices. Our attorney worked closely with the Board Affairs Committee in revising the bylaws. Substantive changes include:
- The board chair, vice chair and president shall be nominated by the Board Affairs Committee and elected to five-year terms by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the trustees then in office. Previously, only a majority vote was required; the new requirement is that the election of these officers must be approved by two-thirds of the entire board (not two-thirds of the trustees present). The intent of this “supermajority” requirement is to reflect the importance given to the board’s complete confidence in these officers.
- The president shall be a Roman Catholic priest, Roman Catholic religious (e.g., a brother or a sister) or a Roman Catholic lay person. Previously, the bylaws required a Roman Catholic priest as president. In approving this bylaw change, the board agreed with the Board Affairs Committee’s “strong preference” that a priest or a religious serve as president, but acknowledged the need to find the best person possible for the job.
I don't know what everyone else's thoughts are here, but I think St. Thomas(it may sound weird) but is probably the most likely regional college to recover their Catholic identity. When I read the Newman Guide, I was... and I wasn't... surprised that no school in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa or Illinois made the list(not to mention Michigan, although they had one). Does anybody know of a group trying to start one somewhere? The closest is either Benedictine in Kansas or Steubenville in Ohio.
7 comments:
The University of Mary in Bismarck, ND seems to have a promising future. FOCUS (the Fellowship of Catholic University Students) has plans to expand there next year. http://www.umary.edu/
I wouldn't rule out Loras College in Dubuque, IA having a stronger Catholic identity in the future. There are some very hopeful things going on there as well.
The fact that so many of these schools are suddenly worried that that there will be no qualified candidates among the clergy seems in my opinion to be a slap in the fact to the younger (John Paul II, Benedict XVI model) priests. I know running a big school can be a tough job, but it is not impossible and there are lots of priests that could surely do it. I think the fear is that if the laws lock them into having a priest sooner or later a university is going to get a president who might do things along the lines of leading a Eucharistic procession on campus, taking a professor teaching 18 year olds heresy to task, etc. getting truly serious about Catholic identity.
The big old instititional Catholicism, which served us so well for decades, and then since the mid-1960s went off the rails, senses a change comming and they are doing what they need to do to protect the status quo.
Also it is fair to ask, what is St. Thomas doing to promote vocations?
Anon1, thanks I had no idea!
Anon2, I know the Diocese of La Crosse sends some seminarians to St Thomas, and I've heard the seminary is very good. I couldn't speak to the rest of the college though, but sounds like it is better than many other "Catholic" colleges in the cities. I am very much in agreement that protecting the status quo is the goal of the admins. I think faithful Catholics need to find one regional college and focus our efforts to get one, just one of these colleges to repair itself or start one from scratch. Let's face it, some are unsalvagable and need to be abandoned. The scandal of association isn't worth the effort.
The best way to promote renewal at UST is to support the people and groups at UST working to bring renewal, like St. Paul's Outreach, the Catholic Studies and Philosophy departments, the St. Thomas Knights of Columbus, and the seminaries, and to pray for UST.
I'm a UST alumnus, and I can attest that Campus Ministry and Catholic Studies do a lot to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and both St. Paul Seminary and St. John Vianney College Seminary are bursting at the seams. St. Thomas is a battleground. There are many signs of renewal, but there are people in the administration that don't want a Catholic renaissance to happen on campus.
Anon 12:46 PM, I don't think this is the insult to the JPII/B16-generation priests who think it is. How many of them have doctorates and/or higher ed experience as professors or administrator? It is fair to ask what St. Thomas is doing to promote vocations. It is also fair to ask what they the school is doing to develop future presidents from the priests and religious on its staff. Many universities founded by religious orders no longer have members of their communities as presidents not only because of low vocations in recent decades but also because the few new vocations they recruit are doing student development/social justice work instead of becoming professors.
Speaking from experience, Roman Catholic doesn't necesrily mean faithful Catholic.
As for Loras College I repeat what For the Sake of Him said: "There are many signs of renewal, but there are people in the administration that don't want a Catholic renaissance to happen on campus."
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