I think all of us realize that the Jesuit universities are sitting on a goldmine that no one else has an opportunity to mine, which is this international network of higher education institutions with a common mission. Who else has that?
And what would it be like if faculty had the opportunity to do joint scholarship with faculty from Latin America and India on issues of poverty or the Millennial Goals or sustainability or peace issues?
Link (here) to the full interview of Fr. Stephen Sundborg, S.J. at Seattle Commons.
He describes his biggest challenges as:
ReplyDelete1) Financial Endowments
2) Enrollment/Recruiting
3) Deferred Maintenance
Would the typical student agree? Where is quality of Jesuit education?
But he is very interested in global "initiatives".
Of course, I may be biased by my own experiences of Jesuit education -- And I've taught in environments where Executives implemented "initiatives" while the real goal suffered - a victim of Executive ambition.
Sadly, many leaders see these "initiatives" and "marketing programs" as the correct measure of leadership and success.
Real success in a Jesuit institution might be measured in Saints and Prophets.
The United Nations Millennial Goals was a befuddlement to me.
ReplyDelete