FAIRFIELD—Sacred Heart University will host a collaborative regional conference on the Catholic intellectual tradition for universities in April 2020 through a grant from the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts.
The Lilly Fellows Program seeks to renew and enhance the connections between Christianity and the academic vocation at church-related colleges and universities. The program awarded the grant to SHU’s Department of Catholic Studies to host the conference.
The conference will take place at SHU April 16-18, 2020, in partnership with Seton Hall University of South Orange, N.J. “The Catholic Intellectual Tradition: Challenges and Opportunities for the Catholic University in the 21st Century” aims to explore how the Catholic intellectual tradition can inform all sectors of a university and provide an opportunity for Catholic university representatives to come together and determine how the Catholic intellectual tradition can be enacted and implemented on their campuses.
Catholic colleges and universities face challenges such as growing secularism and vocationalism among students, said Michelle Loris, associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and Catholic Studies Department chair. An increasing number of students identify as “nones” regarding religious affiliation. Confronted with these challenges and more, Catholic institutions are dealing with the question of how to maintain a robust and distinct Catholic identity to prepare students intellectually, spiritually, religiously and socially for the contemporary world. Colleges are trying to meet these challenges by affirming their institution’s engagement in the Catholic intellectual tradition, Loris said.
“When we developed the idea for this project, we were delighted to invite our colleagues at Seton Hall to join us because of their commitment to the Catholic intellectual tradition,” Loris said. “Because of SHU’s longtime commitment to engagement with the Catholic intellectual tradition, we believe the power of this tradition can transform Catholic higher education today, and we are eager to invite our colleagues—faculty, administrators and students—from regional
Catholic colleges and universities to participate in this conference. We can all join in conversation and share ideas and best practices about the ongoing development and transmission of the Catholic intellectual tradition throughout Catholic institutions of higher learning.”
The conference will include guest speakers, panel and roundtable discussions, workshops and prayer sessions. It is open to faculty, administrators, student-life personnel, students and campus teams who address the challenges and opportunities for integrating the Catholic intellectual tradition at their colleges or universities.
Loris said the conference organizers intend to initiate lively, dynamic and wide-ranging conversations that can begin with the conference and continue at home institutions.
Loris, Fr. Anthony Ciorra, June-Anne Greeley, Daniel Rober and Brent Little from SHU, and Nancy Enright and Fr. Richard Liddy from Seton Hall, will work on planning the conference.
About Sacred Heart University
As the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, and one of the fastest-growing in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century. SHU offers more than 80 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its Fairfield, Conn., campus, which is located about an hour from Manhattan and 2.5 hours from Boston. Sacred Heart also has satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland. More than 8,500 students attend the University’s eight colleges and schools: Arts & Sciences; Communication, Media & the Arts; Computer Science & Engineering; Health Professions; the Isabelle Farrington College of Education; the Jack Welch College of Business; Nursing; and St. Vincent’s College. Sacred Heart is rooted in the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts, yet at the same time develops students to be forward thinkers who enact change—in their own lives and professions and in their communities. A spirit of service, entrepreneurship and social justice is the essence of who we are and can be seen inside and outside the classroom as students learn how to make a difference far beyond Fairfield. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its Best 384 Colleges–2019 Edition, “Best in the Northeast” andBest 267 Business Schools–2018 Edition. It also placed SHU on its lists for “Happiest Students” and “Most Engaged in Community Service,” each of which comprises only 20 U.S. schools. Sacred Heart has a Division I athletics program. www.sacredheart.edu
