IDEA Conference: Program

 

8:00 am

REGISTRATION

University Hall, Third Floor Skyway

 

 

 

9:00 am

SESSION #1

McIntosh Center, University Hall 3999

Moderator: Steven Mailloux, Loyola Marymount University

 

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Brian Treanor, Academic Director of the Academy of Catholic Thought and Imagination

 

 

An Incomplete Nihilism? ‘Values Talk’ and the Death of God in Catholic Higher Education

Daniel Justin, Regis University

 

The Necessity of the Humanities at a Catholic University: A Theological Defense

Conor Kelly, Marquette University

 

 

 

10:30 am

Break

 

 

10:45 am

SESSION #2

McIntosh Center, University Hall 3999

Moderator: Timothy Burns, CSU Channel Islands

 

Humanizing Education: Dialogue, Critique, and Transformation

Jonathan Rothchild, Loyola Marymount University

 

Intellectual Virtue in Ignatian Education

Jacob Tuttle, Loyola Marymount University

 

 

 

12:15 pm

LUNCH BREAK

 

 

2:00 pm

SESSION #3

McIntosh Center, University Hall 3999

Moderator: Catherine Osborne, Loyola Marymount University

 

Newmanian Idea or American Corporation? Revisiting the Catholic University Through Ignatian Eyes

Paul Monson, Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology

 

  

What Kind of Community is a Catholic University?

Timothy Burns, CSU Channel Islands

 

 

 

3:30 pm

BREAK

 

 

3:45 pm

SESSION #4

McIntosh Center, University Hall 3999

Moderator: Sean Dempsey, SJ, Loyola Marymount University

 

Realizing the Catholic Identity of a Catholic University

Michelle Loris, Sacred Heart University

 

How Beautiful Are the Footsteps of Those Who Bring Good News

David Gentry-Akin, Saint Mary’s College

 

A Fifth Essential Characteristic of (Today’s) Catholic University

Debra Mooney, Xavier University

 

 

 

5:30 pm

RECEPTION

Gailhac Community Lounge, Marymount Institute

 

 

 

8:00 am

REGISTRATION

Third Floor Skyway, University Hall

 

 

9:00 am

SESSION #5

McIntosh Center, University Hall 3999

 

 

Renewing Our Commitments as Sponsoring Communities and Universities

Daniel McDonald, SJ, USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus

Stephanie Russell, Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities

Respondents:

Michael Galligan-Stierle, Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities 

David Gentry-Akin, Saint Mary’s College

Shannon Green, Mount Saint Mary’s University

Daniel A. Rober, Sacred Heart University

John Sebastian, Loyola Marymount University

 

 

 

10:30 am

BREAK

 

 

 

10:45 am

SESSION #6

McIntosh Center, University Hall 3999

Moderator: Tracy Tiemeier, Loyola Marymount University

 

Renewing Christian Humanism: Catholic Higher Education beyond Anthropocentrism and Technological Anti-Humanism

Daniel A. Rober, Sacred Heart University

 

The Essentials of a Catholic University: Truth and Sacramental Presence

Scott Roniger, Loyola Marymount University

 

 

 

12:15 pm

LUNCH

ECC 1857, University Hall 

 

 

2:00 pm 

SESSION #7

McIntosh Center, University Hall 3999

Moderator: Allison Edgren, Loyola Marymount University

 

Serving Faith at Catholic Universities in the Twenty-First Century: Analysis of a Pragmatic Approach Seeking Unity and Inclusion

Noel Adams, Marquette University

 

Twenty-First Century Humanities

Jennifer Glancy, Le Moyne College

 

 

 

 

3:30 pm

BREAK

 

 

 

3:45 pm

SESSION #8

McIntosh Center, University Hall 3999

Moderator: Brian Treanor, Loyola Marymount University

 

Catholic in a Religiously Plural Context: The Case of Seattle University

Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos, Seattle University

Donna Teevan, Seattle University

 

Mission Based Promotion and Tenure Practices at AJCU Colleges and Universities

Matthew Christian, Saint Louis University

Amelia Blanton Hibner, Saint Louis University

 

Closing Remarks

Brian Treanor

 

 

 

Noel Adams

Marquette University

Noel Adams is an Associate Professor of philosophy at Marquette University. He received a Ph.D. in Philosophy, and has written mostly on Kierkegaard and the philosophy of religion. His interests in the boundaries of rational discourse and thought are reflected in his research projects concerning paradox, ambiguity, and indirect communication. He is currently working on the historical sources of influence on Kierkegaard during the early part of Kierkegaard's authorship, as well as providing a philosophically suitable framework for approaching Kierkegaard's “Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments.”

 

 

Amelia Blanton Hibner

Saint Louis University

Amelia Blanton Hibner is doctoral student in higher education administration at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. Her work focuses on mission and identity at Catholic colleges and universities, particularly on efforts to train lay faculty and staff in the mission of the Catholic institutions where they work. Raised in West Texas, Amelia received her Bachelor of Arts from Saint Louis University (2011) followed by her Master of Theological Studies at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry (2013). She presently works at Saint Louis University as a program coordinator in the School of Social Work and enjoys spending time with her husband and her dog.

 

 

Timothy Burns

CSU Channel Islands

Timothy Burns received his Ph.D. in philosophy from University College Dublin in 2015 and is currently a lecturer in philosophy at California State University Channel Islands. He has also served as a visiting assistant professor in philosophy at Loyola Marymount University. Dr. Burns uses a phenomenological approach, as well as engaging in traditions of thought and philosophers generally not considered ‘continental.’ His research revolves around the ways in which we experience the social world. Currently, he is working on a book that will introduce the phenomenological writings of Edith Stein, showing the relevance of her thought in contemporary debates on social issues.

 

 

Matthew Christian

Saint Louis University

Matthew Christian is associate vice president for research and chief of staff at Saint Louis University, where he contributes to the mission-driven research environment at SLU by enabling faculty research in every school and division and ensuring that the Office of the Vice President for Research is a service-oriented resource for faculty. He holds a BA from Valparaiso University, an MA from Yale University (supported as a Wilson Fellow), and an MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to coming to Saint Louis University, he served as associate provost and chief of staff at the University of Chicago, and before that, co-founded OrthoAccel Technologies, a company that produces innovative orthodontic devices.

 

 

Michael Galligan-Stierle

Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities

Michael Galligan-Stierle is the President and CEO of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, and has over 40 years of experience in higher education and various ministerial settings. His 1996 book, Gospel on Campus, is viewed as a standard for Catholic campus ministry in the U.S. His book Promising Practices: Collaboration among Catholic Bishops and University Presidents highlights proven ways that bishops, diocesan agencies, and Catholic colleges and universities collaborate. In 2015, ACCU released the second volume of A Mission Officer Handbook, which Michael conceived and edited, profiling the many ways that mission officers can advance Catholic identity and university mission. He recently completed editing Student Life in Catholic Higher Education: Advancing Good Practice, examining what it means to integrate Catholic identity and university mission into the work of student affairs professionals. Dr. Galligan-Stierle holds a Ph.D. in Sacred Scripture, an M.A. in Psychology, and an M.A. in Theology. He has been married for 38 years to Pamela, and together they are the proud parents of two biological and two adopted children and grandparents to six grandchildren.

 

 

David Gentry-Akin

Saint Mary’s College of California

David Gentry-Akin, a priest of the Diocese of Stockton, is a Professor of Theology at Saint Mary’s College of California and has expertise on Catholicism and culture, philosophy and theology, religion and science, the Vatican and the papacy, Catholic Higher Education, and the Lasallian charism in Catholic education. He holds a pontifical Doctorate and Licentiate in Theology from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium and a Masters in Divinity from the University of Notre Dame.

 

 

Jennifer Glancy

Le Moyne College

Jennifer A. Glancy is a professor at Le Moyne College and received her Ph.D. from Columbia University. She is The Rev. Kevin G. O’Connell, S.J., Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Humanities and the author of Corporal Knowledge: Early Christian Bodies, Slavery as Moral Problem: In the Early Church and Today, Slavery in Early Christianity and dozens of scholarly articles and chapters. Dr. Glancy is the recipient of a 2017 Summer Stipend from the National Endowment for the Humanities for her current research project, “The Ancient Christian Understanding of Slavery and Contemporary Discourse on the Meaning of Being Human.” Her research interests extend to the cultural history of early Christianity, corporeality and Christian anthropology, women’s history in antiquity, gender theory, and comparative studies of slavery. At Le Moyne she has been honored as both Teacher of the Year and Scholar of the Year. She co-chairs the National Steering Committee for Justice in Jesuit Higher Education; has been a member of the National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education; and serves on several editorial boards, including Catholic Biblical Quarterly.

 

 

Shannon Green

Mount Saint Mary’s University

Shannon Green is the first director of the CSJ Institute at Mount Saint Mary’s University in California. She brings 15 years of experience to the Institute, including stints directing university religious, spiritual and pastoral outreach and volunteer programs. Most recently, she was director of campus ministry at Marymount California University in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Previously, she served as director of university ministry at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois.

 

 

Daniel Justin

Regis University

Daniel Justin is the Assistant Director of the Institute on the Common Good and an Affiliate Faculty member in the Department of Religious Studies at Regis University. Besides teaching courses in philosophy and religious studies, Dr. Justin’s main focus is Regis University’s three-year mission onboarding process for new faculty, as well as coordinating the Institute on the Common Good’s community engagement initiatives. A former executive director of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps: Midwest, he holds a bachelor’s in Theology and Psychology from Creighton University, a master’s in Theology and Religion from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), and a doctorate in Theology and Education from Boston College.

 

 

Conor Kelly

Marquette University

Conor Kelly is an Assistant Professor of Theology at Marquette University and received his Ph.D. from Boston College in 2015. He is a Catholic theological ethicist who works at the intersection of fundamental moral theology and applied ethics. In addition to ethical methodology, Dr. Kelly specializes in sexual ethics, social ethics, and health care ethics. His research focuses on the process of moral discernment in ordinary life, on both the personal and social levels. Recent work includes articles in the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion and the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, as well as forthcoming pieces in the Journal of Catholic Higher Education and Springer’s Handbook of Virtue Ethics in Business and Management. Ongoing projects involve research into the nature and operation of structural sin, the theological significance of work and leisure, and ethical issues in public health.

 

 

Michelle Loris

Sacred Heart University 

Michelle Loris is a Professor and the Associate Dean of Curriculum and Special Projects for the College of Arts and Sciences. She received her doctorate in American literature from Fordham University, along with a doctorate in clinical psychology from Antioch/New England Graduate School of Professional Psychology. At Sacred Heart University, she is the Faculty Advisor for Sigma Tau Delta, the student International English Honor Society, and one of the Faculty Football Mentors. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education named Dr. Loris the 2013 Connecticut Professor of the Year.

 

 

Daniel McDonald

USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus

Fr. Daniel McDonald, SJ, is the Provincial Assistant for Higher Education for the Jesuit Midwest Province. Until early in 2014, McDonald served as Vice Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome where he also functioned as Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and taught in that faculty. Beginning in 2002 he taught and was in charge of strategic planning for the University. McDonald studied and worked in diverse international settings and holds a doctorate in Social Psychology. In 2007 he started the new series entitled Gregorian University Studies in Catholic Social Teaching. His area of interest is in the social construction of identity and the cultural effects of identity on the marginalization of people. He was a member of Fr. General Nicolás’ reflection group focused on cultural and social issues impacting society and the Church. Before Rome he was a professor in the faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences at Marquette University and was Director at the U.S. Jesuit Conference in Washington, D.C.

 

 

Paul Monson

Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology

Paul Monson is an Assistant Professor of Church History at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Wisconsin. He received his MA and Ph.D. from Marquette University. He specializes in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, with a particular focus on its transatlantic and intercultural dimensions. His areas of interest also include monasticism, ecclesiology, ecumenism, and Catholics and Hollywood. Dr. Monson’s work has appeared in numerous academic publications, and has also been awarded several research and development grants including the “Bishop and Theologians Reading Group Initiative Grant” from the Catholic Theological Society of America. He was also a Visiting Professor of Theology here at Loyola Marymount University from 2014-2016.

 

 

Debra Mooney 

Xavier University

Debra Mooney is the Assistant to the President for Mission and Identity and Chief Mission Officer at Xavier University. She is responsible for promoting the active engagement of the campus community in carrying out the mission of Xavier University as a Jesuit Catholic institution through the Center for Mission and Identity. Within the Center is the Ruth J. and Robert A. Conway Institute for Jesuit Education, for which she serves as the Founding Director. As a licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Mooney joined Xavier in 1999 practicing in the McGrath Health and Counseling Center and serving as the University Wellness Coordinator. In 2002, she was named the Associate Director of Ignatian Programs and served in various capacities as the Acting Director, Director, and Associate Vice President of the Division of Mission and Identity.

 

 

Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos

Seattle University 

Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos is an Associate Professor in Theology and Religious Studies at Seattle University, as well as Director of Seattle University’s Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture, which invites the university community to retrieve, reclaim and revive a tradition of exploration, examination and engagement with the intersection of religion and culture, of faith and reason and of church and world by creating a culture of rigorous study of and dialogue with the Catholic intellectual and wisdom tradition. Dr. Punsalan-Manlimos received her Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from the University of Notre Dame. She specializes in liberation theology, Christian anthropology and the intersection of science and religion.

 

 

Daniel A. Rober

Sacred Heart University

Daniel A. Rober is a faculty member in Catholic Studies at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Dr. Rober holds a Ph.D. from Fordham University in systematic theology, as well as a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s in theology from the University of Chicago. In 2016, he published Recognizing the Gift: Toward a Renewed Theology of Nature and Grace (Fortress Press), and his current research focuses on the intersection of Catholic theology and discourses surrounding the secular.

 

 

Scott Roniger 

Loyola Marymount University

Scott Roniger is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University. He studied philosophy and theology in Rome, Italy, where he earned a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology (S.T.B.) with a minor in philosophy in 2009 and a M.A. in Sacred Theology in 2010, both from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. Dr. Roniger then pursued graduate studies at the University of Chicago, earning a M.A. in philosophy in 2012. He returned to Rome, where he earned a Licentiate in Philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. Dr. Roniger defended his doctoral dissertation in the School of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America, Fall 2017. Dr. Roniger has published articles on Aristotle, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas, and has a forthcoming article on the relationship between law and virtue.

 

 

Jonathan Rothchild

Loyola Marymount University

Jonathan Rothchild is an Associate Dean of the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts and Associate Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. His research analyzes contemporary moral issues and social and legal structures through the lenses of Christian theology and ethics. He received his Masters and Ph.D. from the Divinity School at the University of Chicago. Dr. Rothchild is also a member of the faculty steering committee for the Youth Theology Institute at LMU, a summer leadership institute funded by the Lilly Endowment that invites high school students to think about their roles in the world, discern the ways that they might be ethical and spiritual leaders, discuss life's big spiritual issues, and make a film together that examines these issues.

 

 

Stephanie Russell

Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities

Stephanie Russell serves as Vice President and Consultant for Mission Integration at the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Her work includes designing and implementing programs to help Jesuit colleges and universities enhance their mission effectiveness, and supporting linkages among the schools in the Jesuit higher education network. She has worked in Jesuit ministries for more than three decades, including 11 years as Provincial Assistant for Lay Formation and Social Ministry with the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus. She is a co-creator of the Ignatian Colleagues Program, a comprehensive developmental program for administrators at Jesuit colleges and universities across the country, along with other formational programs. Dr. Russell maintains in her work a strong focus on Catholic social teaching and intellectual tradition, the Ignatian spiritual and educational heritage, and interreligious dialogue as means for deepening the mission of Jesuit schools. She earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies from St. Francis Seminary in Wisconsin, and a Doctorate in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Spring Hill College in 2009.

 

 

John Sebastian

Loyola Marymount University

John T. Sebastian is the Vice President for Mission and Ministry at Loyola Marymount University. He earned his Ph.D. in 2004 in medieval studies at Cornell University and holds a master’s degrees in medieval studies from Cornell University and in English from Georgetown University. Before coming to LMU in 2017, Dr. Sebastian served as the Vice President of Mission and Ministry at Loyola University New Orleans, where he developed and executed their mission and ministry strategic plan, served on the President’s Cabinet and other leadership committees, participated in an effort to build a Jesuit center, introduced an Ignatian Faculty Fellows Program, and worked collaboratively with the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He is an expert on Middle English literature, especially religious drama, devotional poetry, and mystical writing. He has also written about and taught courses on Anglo-Saxon England and Old English literature, Chaucer, Ignatian pedagogy and education, medieval women writers, and Old Norse literature and the Vikings.

 

 

Donna Teevan

Seattle University

Donna Teevan is an associate professor of Theology and Religious Studies Department at Seattle University. Dr. Teevan received her Ph.D. in Theology from University of St. Michael’s College at the Toronto School of Theology, where her dissertation was on Bernard Lonergan’s Transcendental Method as a Hermeneutical Approach to Theology. Dr. Teevan is a systematic theologian who teaches Core courses on God; Christology; women and theology; and science and religion. She also teaches courses in historical and contemporary theology for majors.

 

 

Jacob Tuttle

Loyola Marymount University

Jacob Tuttle is a postdoctoral fellow in philosophy at Loyola Marymount University. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University and he specializes in the history of philosophy. Dr. Tuttle’s research and publications focus on perennial issues in metaphysics, especially in the Middle Ages and late Scholasticism. His work has been published (or is forthcoming) at Oxford Studies in Medieval Philosophy, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, and American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly. In 2015, Dr. Tuttle received the Founders Award from the Society for Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy.