Jesuit Catholic higher education in the United States is immersed in two seemingly incongruent missions: the advancement of the educational apostolic mission of the Catholic church and the advancement of U.S. secular culture. Understanding how Jesuit institutions have engaged the Catholic identity is becoming a concern because colleges need to…

This phenomenological study explored how students who were thriving at mission-driven institutions founded by female religious orders perceive and experience mission integration throughout their student experience. Participants for this study were Generation Z junior students attending institutions founded by the Sisters of Saint Joseph in the…

The research study aims to explore the perceptions of lived experiences of college students who regularly use an on-campus food pantry, with a particular focus on those attending Veritas University. Further, the study examines the central research question: What are students' perceptions of a newly implemented food pantry at a Catholic…

Catholic institutions of higher education have continued to operate at a crossroads as challenges to long-term financial sustainability have intensified the need to reduce costs and increase revenue. Institutional personnel must find ways to streamline offerings in academic programs and student services while maintaining a commitment to their…

This qualitative descriptive study explored the experience of Senior Diversity Officers (SDOs) or comparable positions in implementing the frameworks for anti-racism strategies at Jesuit colleges and universities. The study explored how, if at all, SDOs think the Jesuit character impacted the implementation of frameworks and the move toward…

This doctoral dissertation delves into the intricate relationships among servant leadership, teachers' affective commitment, and teacher accompaniment within the distinctive context of Salesian colleges in India. The study aims to advance the comprehension of effective leadership within higher education and to gain deeper insights into the dynamic…

Undergraduate students throughout the United States are tasked with making many large and small decisions, frequently for the first time. To their detriment, undergraduate students are, often times, removed from familiar surroundings which may have provided much-needed support for these emerging adults. Across university parishes, Catholic student…

This study aimed to investigate and describe the nonacademic decision-making experiences impacting U.S. Catholic college or university senior student affairs officers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 virus affected all institutions of higher education, and while most campuses had crisis response plans to guide decision-making, most…

The purpose of this Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was to understand the extent to which hegemonic masculinity inhibits self-authorship among male undergraduate students at Saint Somewhere College, a small, liberal arts, and Catholic institution of postsecondary education in the northeastern United States. Utilizing Baxter Magolda's…

This study examined the perceptions of students related to determinants of service quality experienced within both academic and non-academic areas of their respective institutions. As competition increases among higher education institutions so does the need to implement organizational strategies comparable to that of industries outside academia.…

This instrumental qualitative case study examined how one Catholic, Jesuit university supports its LGBTQ undergraduate students and how those students make meaning of that support. Participants included 19 students with a variety of LGBTQ and racial identities, and 13 faculty and staff. I examined online documents, made visual observations, and…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to expound upon the research conducted by R.L Brown (2004), W. Dygert (2000), J.T. James (2009), M. Daniels (2013) and B. Regan (2015). Their focus was to look carefully at the President-Principal Model (PPM) in order to better understand the efficacy of introducing this administrative team structure to…

Faculty are critical players to advance institutional mission in higher education (Clark, 1972). Hiring faculty who have an affinity for mission and who understand and support Catholicism in the spirit of an institution's founding charism can be a significant challenge for academic leaders and for the longevity of institutional mission in Catholic…

The percentage of female faculty members who have achieved tenure is disproportionately represented against their male peers. Even more so, female faculty members who are also mothers, or mother-scholars, represent less than half of tenured female faculty. Current research posits that a lack of female faculty in higher education translates to a…

Through participation in co-curricular leadership roles, such as resident assistants, orientation leaders, and student government, students engage in integrative learning, an active process by which students connect, apply, and synthesize their learning (Barber, 2020b). One example of how students integrate their learning is through participation…