Laudato Si’ Makes an Impact in Jesuit Higher Education

The upcoming one-year anniversary of the release of Laudato Si’ has inspired reflection on the impacts it has had on Catholics around the world, especially institutions of Catholic higher education. In the April 2016 issue of Connections, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities’ (AJCU) monthly  newsletter, several institutions were featured as having responded to the encyclical with fervor:

• Laudato Si’ was a “Game-Changer” for Creighton University, where professors of theology, biology, environmental science, cultural and social studies, and communication studies, and sustainability studies have experienced renewed interest and and energy in their studies and coursework.
• Gonzaga University has taken a “Multidisciplinary Approach” to responding to the encyclical with “deep academic engagement around Catholic social teaching,” encyclical reading groups, inter-departmental panel discussions, lectures, documentary film screenings, and a renewed commitment to sustainability on campus.
• Food justice and social justice have been major themes for Loyola University Chicago‘s response to Laudato Si’, as well as “eco-education” through conferences focused on poverty and climate justice, lectures, and assisting in the development of a new free online environmental textbook.
• Marquette University has made a renewed commitment to “Going Green” through participating in research at the Global Water Center in Milwaukee, the hiring of the University’s first sustainability coordinator, assisting in the development of the above-mentioned textbook, the LEED certification of two campus buildings, and the focusing of Mission Week on care for creation and sustainability.
• A reflection on the call to promote and fight for environmental justice, as inspired by Laudato Si’, written by Clint J. Springer,  associate professor of biology at St. Joseph’s University.
• Santa Clara University has taken the encyclical as a “Charter Document” for its “commitment to climate justice,” as evidenced by the visit of Peter Cardinal Turkson for a conference on climate change, reading groups, the visit of Carolyn Woo of Catholic Relief Services, academic integration of the encyclical, Ignatian reflection, and more.

These institutions of Jesuit higher education are just a few examples of the Catholic response to Laudato Si’.   How has your college or university responded to Laudato Si’? Let us know! 

Food for Thought Friday: The Beauty of Catholic Higher Education Explained by Experience

Food for Thought Friday: A recent story in U.S. Catholic, an online and print magazine about ‘Faith in Real Life’, focused on one student’s experience in Catholic higher education. Shanna Johnson, a current student at Loyola University Chicago, wrote a beautiful tribute to her experience with the “Catholic presence” at the institution.  Read the full article here!

Loyola University Chicago Starts Magis Scholarship Fund for Undocumented Students

Loyola University Chicago recently announced a new scholarship offered to undocumented students.  Initiated by the University’s Latin American Student Organization (LASO) and the student government, the Magis Scholarship Fund was approved by the University board of trustees in December 2015.  The students involved in initiating the scholarship fund hope to alleviate some of the financial challenges undocumented students face, as well as encourage conversations about migration in and out of the classroom.

The Fund consists of a $2.50 student fee per semester and will raise about $50,000 a year. The funds will then be given to undocumented students approved for protection from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The renewable scholarship will help cover the cost of tuition, room and board, and student fees for a year for five students.

The word magis, meaning ‘more’ in Latin, is especially important to Loyola University Chicago as a Jesuit institution. In an interview with Fox News Latino Flavio Bravo, former president of the University’s student government, expressed that the decision to use magis in the name came from the fact that it is a “Jesuit tenet” which encourages all “to give and do more for the community.”

Loyola University Chicago’s Vietnam Center Bridges the Gap

 

National Catholic Reporter recently featured an article on the Loyola University Chicago Vietnam Center, highlighting the Center’s work on healthcare in Ho Chi Minh City. The Center, directed by Fr. Julio Giulietti, SJ, works to advance “people-to-people exchange programs for Vietnamese doctors, surgeons, scientists and scholars to improve their educational and technical skills.” In Vietnam, Loyola faculty members can be found giving lectures and hands-on instruction to Vietnamese nursing and medical students.

One specific area of instruction in Vietnam is aimed at fostering a “patient-centered approach” in healthcare. The lack of adequate instruction for Vietnamese nursing and medical students often results in frustration, in addition to unreliable healthcare, which puts patients in further danger.

Additionally, the university offers a summer English Language Learning Program in Chicago for Vietnamese high school students looking to grow their skills in English and learn more about American culture. About the Learning Program, Fr. Giulietti says:

“We are well aware of the high failure rate among Vietnamese high school graduates who are not adequately prepared to live and study in America. We want to be part of the solution for this vexing problem.”

 

According to Fr. Giuletti, the Vietnam Center is the only Catholic, Jesuit and American institution that works openly in Vietnam.

Catholic Institutions Commit to Action on College Opportunity

The Obama administration’s efforts to increase college opportunity has enticed the White House to ask colleges and universities to commit to helping more students enroll in and graduate from college. Several of our ACCU members have responded to the White House’s Commitment to Action on College Opportunity by pledging efforts in quite a few categories of commitment:

• Completion Commitments 
  • Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities – Committed to producing an additional 11,500 graduates by 2020, the association will launch their project, “Stopping the Leak in the Educational Pipeline: Improving Matriculation and Graduation Rates at Franciscan Colleges and Universities.” With the help from this project, AFCU member institutions will join together and work closely with student success experts to develop systems, processes, and training to improve retention and graduation rates for all students, with a focus on at-risk students.
  • Loyola University Chicago – Loyola University Chicago has teamed up with Arrupe College in applying several strategies to help low-income, under-prepared and under-served students gain access to, succeed and graduate from a 4-year college or university. Together, they have commit to a total of 2,275 additional graduates by 2025.
  • St. Francis College – The Post–Prison College Opportunity Program at St. Francis College will promote civil rights by challenging the long-term consequences of mass incarceration by giving the formerly incarcerated the opportunity to earn a college degree. In addition, the program will provide tuition for accepted students through a combination of financial aid and scholarships.
• K-16 Partnership Commitment
  • Trinity Washington University – In partnership with the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), Trinity Washington University commits to improving college readiness, retention and completion for DCPS students who enroll at Trinity. The partnership will emphasize persistence and success for DCPS graduates who wish to pursue majors that require strong math preparation and that are associated with high-wage/high-demand careers, as well as engage key D.C. college access providers in implementing persistence strategies.
• STEM Commitment
  • Barry University – With the hopes of improving the retention and completion rates of low-income students, underrepresented minorities, and women in STEM majors, BU is working to develop a holistic engagement program designed to provide the outreach and opportunity structures that “fill the gap” for students who lack the pre-college academic preparation and developmental and personal experiences necessary for academic and professional success. As a Hispanic-serving institution whose 4-year graduation rate for the 2009 cohort was 45 percent, the university aims to increase that graduation rate by 10-15 percent by 2018 through interventions designed to foster community building, strong peer and faculty relationships, and a sense of academic self-efficacy.
  • Saint Martin’s University – In order to boost admittance and retention of women, low-income students, and underrepresented minority students in STEM degrees by between 5 and 10 percent, Saint Martin’s University will be launching a series of initiatives. Currently, the university is planning a series of monthly workshops for fifth through eighth graders, in conjunction with the Boys & Girls Club, designed to increase STEM admittance. Also, to increase retention, the university’s biology program is restructuring degree requirements, moving toward a core concept and competency model that includes an increase in active learning models and student research experience.
  • Trinity Washington University – With a strong track record of educating low income women of color in the Washington region, Trinity’s STEM initiative will include best practices such as cohort organization, special academic and co-curricular advising, and focused foundational courses taught by specialists who can provide individualized support. The university commits to increasing their STEM enrollments by 50 percent annually, improving their graduation rates for STEM majors from 35 percent to no less than 65 percent (with a reach goal of 75 percent) and seeking to improve first-to-second year retention from the current rate of 61 percent to no less than 80 percent for STEM cohorts, in order to meet the overall graduation rate goals.
• Counseling Commitment
  • Loyola University Maryland – The School Counseling Program (SCP) at Loyola University Maryland is planning a four-prong approach to support increasing college and career readiness among urban youth in Baltimore City and the surrounding counties. The components of the university’s four-pronged approach include providing direct counseling services to un-served and under-served youth in urban schools to enhance their vocational identity, program rigor, and college readiness; and expanding the research of counseling faculty regarding vocational identity.

Roundtable on the Encyclical Planned for Fall 2015

The Institute of Environmental Sustainability at Loyola University Chicago has been working to unite 28 U.S. Jesuit colleges and universities as a common voice on climate change. Nancy Tuchman, Founding Director of the Institute of Environmental Sustainability, recently announced that a school colloquium on the Encyclical is planned for September 9th, 2015.  The Institute plans to collect reflections on Pope Francis’s Laudato Si from students, faculty and staff, focusing on their personal reactions and how they can respond to the encyclical’s call to action.

 

More Resources: Laudato Si

Looking for more resources on the new encyclical, Laudato Si’?  The USCCB Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development have shared the following resources:

• Bulletin Insert: “Praise Be to You, My Lord” – overviews important themes in the encyclical and includes suggestions for prayer and action.
• Discussion Guide on Laudato Si’ – for use in a small group setting, delves more deeply into main themes of Laudato Si’.
• Blog Post: Pope Francis’ New Encyclical—this post on JPHD’s ToGoForth.org blog is the first of several posts on Laudato Si’ during the next several weeks.
• Caring for God’s Creation: Resources for Liturgy, Preaching, and Taking Action – includes resources for preaching and teaching about care for God’s creation.
• Press Release – includes USCCB President Archbishop Kurtz’s “Statement on the Occasion of the Promulgation of Laudato Si’”
• Children’s books by USCCB, in collaboration with Loyola Press, on caring for God’s creation.
• USCCB Environment page—contains additional resources, including backgrounders and links to the U.S. Catholic bishops’ statements on environmental concerns.

Some additional helpful resources include:

• Catholic Climate Covenant—has resources, stories, opportunities for action, the St. Francis Pledge, and a sign-on thank you message to Pope Francis in English and Spanish.
• Catholic Relief Services Pope Francis page—includes stories of how climate change is impacting vulnerable communities around the world with whom CRS works.

Additionally, Cindy Wooden of Catholic News Service has shared a helpful glossary of terms used by Pope Francis, while John Allen of Crux has published two articles analyzing the history of the Church’s teachings on the environment and the impact of the encyclical in the U.S.

In light of the encyclical, many Catholic colleges and universities have shared how their Catholic mission drives their commitment to the environment and implementation of sustainability initiatives.

• Loyola University Chicago alumnus Zac Davis wrote a piece on how his alma mater leads the way in sustainability initiatives for America.
• Saint Vincent College shared their sustainability initiatives, inspired by the Benedictine tradition of environmental stewardship.
• University of Saint Francis (IN) campus ministry has shared that they, along with Our Sunday Visitor, will host a conference on campus this fall to discuss and study the encyclical.
• A community of scholars and practitioners gathered at University of St. Thomas (MN) to discuss Human and Natural Ecology: Economic, Political and Cultural Implications, in anticipation of the encyclical.  Visit the Center for Catholic Studies website to learn more and read presentation summaries.

Visit ACCU’s webpage on the release of Laudato Si to learn more!

Laudato Si Release: Act

Earlier today, Pope Francis released his long-awaited encyclical letter, Laudato Si.  We at ACCU are sharing resources and best practices to help our campuses pray for commitment to care for creation, learn about the encyclical and our call to stewardship, and act upon our beliefs to work for the common good.

˜ACT˜

ACCU member institutions have acted upon their call to care for creation through a number of sustainability and environmental justice initiatives.

• The Catholic Climate Covenant, with support from the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities, and the Catholic Campus Ministry Association, have produced Sustainability and Catholic Higher Education: A Toolkit for Mission Integration (PDF; 3MB).  Through mission-based initiatives, the Toolkit offers practical suggestions to inspire individuals, families, schools, parishes, and dioceses to follow the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change’s St. Francis Pledge.
• 29 Catholic colleges and universities have taken the St. Francis Pledge, sponsored by the Catholic Climate Covenant, committing to living out the value of care for creation through reflection, action, and advocacy.  These campuses include: Aquinas College (MI), Cabrini College, Chestnut Hill College, College of Saint Benedict, Creighton University, Gonzaga University, John Carroll University, Lewis University, Loyola University Chicago, Marquette University, Mercyhurst University, Mount St. Joseph University, Neumann University, Rosemont College, Saint Anselm College, Saint Francis University, Saint John’s University (MN), Saint Joseph’s College (IN), Saint Mary’s College of California, Saint Michael’s College, Salve Regina University, Seattle University, St. Thomas More College, Stonehill College, University of Notre Dame, University of Portland, Villanova University, Viterbo University, and Xavier University.
• The Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability at Seattle University lives out a core tenet of the university mission.  The Center has undertaken a number of initiatives, including supporting faculty and student research through fellowships.  Dr. Trileigh Tucker, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Seattle University, and one of CEJS’s first Faculty Fellows, developed a teaching resource on environmental justice, compiling syllabi, assessment methods, and foundational documents used frequently in courses on environmental justice.
• Benedictine University in Illinois has received a $46,000 Food Scrap Composting Revitalization and Advancement Program (F-SCRAP) grant from the state to allow for the diversion of food scraps generated in the campus cafeteria and other buildings.
• In spring 2015, Cabrini College held a conference, “Faith, Climate, and Health”, to examine how climate change affects the health of the most vulnerable citizens.
• At the University of Portland, professors Dr. Russell Butkus and Dr. Steven Kolmes, teach a course entitled “Theology in Ecological Perspective”, exploring Catholic and Christian teaching and environmental science.

Read more ways ACCU member campuses have undertaken sustainability initiatives on the ACCU website.  Check back frequently as we will post new updates and ways that ACCU campuses react to the Laudato Si to the blog!

Hope for Creation: Awaiting the Encyclical

As the release date for Pope Francis’s new encyclical draws nearer, researchers from various fields and interests share their predictions and hopes for the care of creation. A recent National Catholic Reporter article features thoughts by theologians and other experts from 10 ACCU members: Fordham University, Duquesne University, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, University of Dayton, Boston College, Loyola University New Orleans, Mount Saint Mary’s University, Loyola Chicago University, and Georgetown University. Both ACCU member academics and activists from partnering organizations voiced their expectations regarding the connections Pope Francis will make between care for creation and other themes, such as option for the poor and vulnerable, solidarity, and answering the call to family, unity, and participation.

Academics are also engaging the topic of climate change in other ways.  Last month, Cabrini College hosted “Faith Climate and Health: Creation Care for a Greener Future,” a half-day, interfaith conference focusing on care for creation. The keynote speech by Dr. John Burke treated predictions and hopes for the upcoming encyclical, especially focusing on care for creation through a lens of social justice. Additionally, an address by Rabbi Arthur Waskow compared the current environmental situation with other histories of oppression. The conference was also an ideal time for everyone to share their efforts toward sustainability. Learn more about the conference here.

ACCU members rated in STARS annual review

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) just released their annual report through the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, & Rating System (STARS). STARS is a self-reporting framework through which colleges and universities can showcase their sustainability initiatives. ACCU member colleges Santa Clara University, Loyola University Chicago, University of Dayton, and University of San Diego were featured in the 2014 annual report. Learn about the efforts of these institutions by reading the excerpts below, or browse the entire report for ideas on how to make your own campus more sustainable.

Santa Clara University – STARS Gold

Required of all Santa Clara University students, the Pathway experience provides interdisciplinary and integrative learning across the four years of a student’s college experience, culminating with a synthesizing essay about their Pathway theme and how it connects with a student’s major and other experiences. Students opting to participate in the Sustainable Pathway theme will learn about sustainability from multiple disciplinary perspectives.

Loyola University Chicago – STARS Gold

Loyola University Chicago’s student-run biodiesel program provides hands-on experience for making biodiesel while offering lab fellowships and project opportunities to students. The program is one of few student-managed biodiesel programs in the country, and has received the federal, state and local permits necessary to produce and sell biodiesel on the retail market. Student participation in the Biodiesel Program occurs through lab fellowships, project proposals, or a biodiesel lab course.

University of Dayton – STARS Silver

The Rivermobile at the University of Dayton provides education outreach about local rivers to the greater Dayton community. Developed by River Stewards, students lead the Rivers Institute along with faculty, staff and community partners. Through the use of five mobile classrooms, the RiverMobile travels across the Great Miami Watershed visiting K-12 schools, festivals and other special events. The RiverMobile is an experiential and interdisciplinary experience on topics related to Dayton’s river history, the local aquifer and municipal water cycle, life in and around local rivers, social and global responsibility, and river safety.

University of San Diego – STARS Gold

The University of San Diego has partnered with the City of San Diego and other government organizations, foundations, and utility offices to establish the San Diego Climate Collaborative. This initiative works to advance sustainable development in the region and implement solutions to sustainability challenges. Partners work to: 1. Address and prevent the harmful effects of climate change; 2. Promote a high quality of life for the San Diego region; and 3. Foster a green and growing economy.

Other ACCU members who reported to STARS:

College of Saint Benedict – STARS Silver

DePaul University – STARS reported

Loyola Marymount University – STARS Silver

Marquette University – STARS Silver

University of Notre Dame – STARS Silver

Saint Louis University – STARS Bronze

Read more!