John Richard Wilcox Ph.d.

Revisioning Mission: the Future of Catholic Higher Education John Richard Wilcox Ph.d.

"Revisioning Mission: The Future of Catholic Higher Education" is both a "how to" book and a resource text. The first section describes the challenge of continuity that faces Catholic colleges and universities: Religious congregations which founded these institutions are no longer present on campus in numbers that allow them to preserve and nurture the Catholic culture and religious heritage of the congregation. New faculty, as well as all employees, will need a formation program to introduce or update their understanding of Catholic higher education, especially at their own institution. "Revisioning Mission" offers instructions on creating such a program through the development of learning communities. The second section provides a series of content essays that profile the spiritual life of students, explain the Catholic culture, Catholic intellectual life, adult spirituality, and discusses the founding religious congregations. The final essay, "The Mission Community," emphasizes the importance of university faculty, staff, and administrators forming a community that is committed to the continuity and development of the institution in the 21st century as robustly Catholic with the unique heritage of the founding religious congregation. Preserving and enhancing the value-added dimension of these colleges and universities is essential to their survival as Catholic institutions. "Revisioning Mission" provides extensive references and recommended readings for those interested in furthering their understanding of the future of Catholic higher education.