Catholic and Augustinian institutions of higher education: An identity question for the twenty-first century

Paul Gerard Shaw, Boston College

Abstract

In 1992, the Order of Saint Augustine celebrates its one hundred fiftieth anniversary of sponsorship of higher education in the United States. This dissertation examines the question: What does it mean to be a Catholic and Augustinian institution of higher education? Since the Augustinian Order finds its spiritual heritage in Saint Augustine, the first area to be examined is the educational theory found in the writings of Augustine. His emphasis on community life affected his theory of education. Besides, he introduced a novel element to the educational process when he culled from the classics and put in anthologies that could be used to help students build a literary foundation essential for sacred studies. Augustine never neglected formal and informal settings for learning. Attention is given to the history of Augustinian higher education in the United States. With the founding of Villanova College in 1842, the Augustinians began a tradition of forming a community committed to the education of the whole person. While Villanova was initially founded to help train clergy (a need of the Church at that time), the Augustinians recognized the people's secular need and offered courses to satisfy it. In 1947, Merrimack College was founded to offer higher educational opportunity to World War II veterans. Meeting the needs of the people and offering a holistic, Catholic education have become the hallmarks of Augustinian higher education. Catholic higher education in the United States is examined against the perspective of John Henry Newman and the assessment of John Tracy Ellis. How its history and its involving sense of mission affect the areas of academic affairs, student affairs and campus ministry are examined. Finally, an answer to the question posed in the dissertation is tendered: Augustinian colleges and universities educate the whole student in the Catholic tradition with emphasis on the liberal arts as the community seeks God who is truth.

Recommended Citation

Paul Gerard Shaw, "Catholic and Augustinian institutions of higher education: An identity question for the twenty-first century" (January 1, 1991). Boston College Dissertations and Theses. Paper AAI9211807.
http://escholarship.bc.edu/dissertations/AAI9211807