Catholic Higher Education

Catholic higher education in the United States is undergoing dramatic changes, driven largely by the virtual disappearance of nuns, brothers, and priests from Catholic university campuses. Today, Catholic colleges and universities are dealing with critical questions about what constitutes Catholic collegiate identity. What are appropriate ways to engage the Catholic tradition across all sectors of university life? What constitutes a critical mass of committed and knowledgeable Catholics necessary to maintain religious identity? What is an appropriate level of knowledge and religious commitment for those who lead, govern, and teach at Catholic institutions and how do they acquire it? Many people have strong - and strongly differing - opinions about the current state of Catholic higher education. Melanie M. Morey and John J. Piderit, S.J., wade into these waters with a study of 124 senior administrators at 33 Catholic colleges and universities across the United States. Exceptionally candid appraisals by administrators across a varied landscape attest that a cultural crisis is looming at a number of Catholic institutions. Morey and Piderit offer the first in-depth cultural analysis of the Catholic character of Catholic universities and colleges at a crucial time for these institutions. With new research and practical applications, this book is an invaluable resource for Catholic educators and anyone concerned about the future of Catholic higher education.

Melanie M. Morey is the Senior Director for Research and Consulting at NarrowGate Consulting. She has worked in the field of education and administration for the past thirty-five years. In the past ten years, Dr. Morey has worked primarily as a researcher and consultant to Catholic colleges and universities, religious congregations, and other Catholic institutions, dealing with issues of governance, sponsorship, leadership, institutional identity, and Catholic culture. John J. Piderit is the President of the Catholic Education Institute, a group that seeks new ways to educate Catholics, both at the elementary and the tertiary level. After teaching economics for years at Fordham University, Fr. Piderit was appointed vice president at Marquette University and served as president of Loyola University Chicago from 1993 to 2001. He is the author of The Ethical Foundations of Economics .