Imparting the rich heritage of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition to students begins with first inviting them on a journey into the world of ideas -- but how can educators effectively coax students to embark on such a voyage? Working from the understanding that students arrive on campus curious and questioning, the author suggests a number of…

President of the University of Notre Dame, John Jenkins, CSC, argues that Catholic colleges and universities can make a distinct contribution to higher education by providing a rich alternative to the commodification of education -- a frequently cited problem of the current age. Reducing education to its commercial ends, the author argues, stifles…

Current trends in disaffiliation and declining enrollment in Catholic schools raise difficult questions about the perceived value of Catholic education and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT). Following the work of theologian David Tracy, the author makes a case for engagement with Christian "classics" as a promising means not only…

This essay proposes a Catholic structure for the intellectual life of faculty that invites participation in ways that honor their diverse backgrounds, even antipathy toward religion, while also demonstrating that identifiable Catholic perspectives, including Catholic social teaching, can provide a useful framework for faculty members to understand…

Current research suggests that faculty development should address a cross-section of personal and professional needs of the faculty, as well as support the institution's mission. Using evidence to support faculty development can foster reflective practitioners and close the gap between teaching and research by creating "sustainable…

An examination of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT) informs the substance and manner of educator preparation, grounding a College of Education in the mission of the University. A CIT-formed educator is capable of critically interacting with both harmonious and dissonant contemporary movements in K-12 education to produce judgments of…

Forming an authentic human community animated by the spirit of Christ entails teaching by both word and example. At Catholic institutions of higher education, these examples cannot be limited to classrooms and residence halls; students just as importantly learn from observing every day, spontaneous behaviors among all those employed at the…

In this paper, the author focuses on one aspect of Catholic Intellectual Tradition, namely, how it manifests in practice. Focusing on five such practices--responsiveness to other traditions within Catholicism, recognition of wisdom and truth that may be found in other cultures, the search for understanding of relationships within reality,…

Eboo Patel proposes a meaning of interfaith conversation that can help guide Catholic universities in engaging students in meaningful interactions. This article aims to show how the Benedictine value of listening can inform Patel's meaning. Utilizing the philosophical hermeneutic tradition of Hans-Georg Gadamer, the author demonstrates that…

Catholic campuses can be perceived to be hostile spaces for LGBTQ+ students, given the Catholic Church's stance on gender and sexuality. This qualitative study explored how being at a Catholic college--and specifically, a Mercy institution--influenced queer students' experiences. Twenty-nine emerging adults representing a range of genders and…

New mothers returning to academic studies face many barriers. One of these barriers -- the continuation of breastfeeding -- can be particularly challenging. Breastfeeding is integral to the health of both mother and infant, underscoring several important tenants of the Catholic ethos; however, the literature indicates a significant number of…

The humanities have long played a pivotal role in Catholic higher education but their prominence is under siege as part of a broader cultural skepticism about the value of the liberal arts. This article counteracts these trends by developing a theological defense of the humanities' pride of place in the Catholic university curriculum. Drawing on a…

The Catholic Intellectual Tradition should animate the academic life and educational mission of Catholic colleges and universities. A clearer focus on the catholicity of the tradition -- its aspiration to wholeness -- will help us better understand what it means to engage the tradition in the heart of the institution's academic mission. The…

How might Catholic colleges and universities draw from their unique missions to educate and act together in response to the pressing needs of the environment? Honoring the fifth anniversary of "Laudato si," this article argues that Pope Francis's notion of ecological conversion and his bold conviction that the "cry of the earth is…

While much work has been done to explicitly incorporate ethics and Catholic social thought into the business curriculum, comparatively little has been done in the field of economics. This paper attempts to fill that gap by arguing that integrating Heinrich Pesch's Solidarism into the standard economics curriculum seamlessly introduces Catholic…