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Mission and Ministry PC200 Visioning Session

1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 1.  If PC were to be best known for 1 thing within the next 10-20 years, what should it be?

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  • Intellectually rigorous and authentically Catholic
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    • Faith filled and academically vibrant liberal arts college
    • A commitment to our faith – You can be intellectually rigorous and not have to compromise authentic Catholic identity. Our Catholic commitment it what empowers us to engage in rigorous academic pursuit
  • Strong/robust Dominican identity
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    • We need to tap into Dominican identity more strongly
    • Lay engagement with identity – recruit and enable staff to engage. Identify ways to creatively engage
    • Integrated formation with students. What would be the trademark characteristics of a PC graduate?
  • Who is knowing us? From what perspective?
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    • Who are we? Communicate it in different ways to different groups. What is the image association that prospective students have?
    • Catholic/Dominican identity from St Dominic – charism should shape who we are
  • A place where faith is supported, that teaches – what is virtue, what brings happiness
  • Pursuit of truth – faculty
  • Life of virtue, life of grace
  • Empowers students
  • Not be known as a party school

5 Leave a comment on paragraph 5 0 2.  What should the College be doing in the next 10-20 years that it isn’t doing today?

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  • Communicating the uniquely Catholic and Dominican charism to all faculty/staff/students
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    • Really inviting and incorporating faculty/staff/students into a shared ownership of our unique identify – Catholic & Dominican
    • Empowerment – not just knowing, empowered to incorporate into own life. Empower grads to view their lives in this manner
    • Own and apply, not just understand.   To say with pride “I am part of this Dominican community”. I have a share in this identity – belonging to the Dominican family
    • College should articulate/frame each question on campus in light of who we are – Catholic, Dominican, liberal arts. Parameters for the discussion.
  • Catholic sense of diversity – universal approach of the church. How the church represents the diverse community we are striving for. Articulated more clearly
  • What do we do to empower people to be able to do this?
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    • Other schools have training program for new faculty/staff about what it means to be part of their faith family
    • How you can contribute to mission – can do this in various ways. How I fit in the mission, everyone can play a role in a different way. We can think through ways you can incorporate and apply given your position. Not just us telling you, we want to invite you in. A journey together
    • Ongoing formation for BOT, VPs – needs to happen at multiple levels, not just for new people
    • Start before somebody is hired. Needs to be a clear articulation of mission of college, so they know what they are going to be part of, and can say they want to be part of it. Part of interview process – somebody needs to discuss with prospective hire – what does it really mean to be part of the community? Not just response to the mission statement. Making the hard choice – this is who we are, it’s not going to be for everybody
    • First year students – first year experience courses should include Catholic & Dominican identity. Not just teaching it – collaborating so that students can be part of it
    • When hiring for philosophy, literature, history – need professors that actually want to teach civ – not force them into civ. Being proactive in hiring – seeking out best Catholic, mission focused scholars. Actively recruit – this should be somebody’s job
  • Decrease drinking culture. Traditions all center on binge drinking. Need traditions that unite us as a college across all lines, that are not alcohol focused. What kind of traditions can we foster – how to unite students. Making sure all freshmen learn alma mater, etc.

8 Leave a comment on paragraph 8 0 3.  If you had $100M+ new money to spend, how would you spend it?

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  • New campus ministry center. If we want to take the mission of the college seriously, we need to put our money where our mouth is. Campus ministry needs to be noticeable/visible – this would say something to the college community. The mission of our college is integral to the college.
  • Build a retreat center – space that’s not academic – to be able to engage in discussions of Catholic and Dominican identity.
  • Investing in quality faculty – professors who have Catholic identity.
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    • 2 endowed chairs in each department. One for a Dominican friar – living witness to the incorporation of Dominican identity/mission within that department/field. One for a lay faculty member who is mission focused – foster sense of inclusion. Everybody, not just friars, are collaborators in this mission. A lay person engaged in their field that brings the mission home for that discipline.
  • Alternative pathways – certifications, competency based programs – meet the need of changing demographics.
  • Nursing school, engineering school – with a Dominican/liberal arts foundation. We’re losing students who would be a good fit for our community to other schools who offer these programs.
  • Endowing particular programs – so that programs that bring about the mission are stable and not concerned about funding.
  • Decease what students have to pay. Increase endowment, financial aid. Student scholarships – financial aid for students who couldn’t otherwise afford PC. And support for students once they get here.

10 Leave a comment on paragraph 10 0 4.  What should be the most important measure or indicator of the College’s success? Why?

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  • Ownership of identity – yes, in my time here, I have owned the identity of this school/mission of this school. In a way that worked for me. I am empowered by that identity. I am a friar because….
  • What does it mean to do well?
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    • An encounter with Jesus Christ. If you make a lot of money but can’t testify to any growth in the life of the soul, that’s not success. Yes, reflecting on my time at PC, I was introduced to Jesus in a way that has had an impact on me. My spiritual life is better for having gone here.
  • Danger in splitting measures into different categories (ie – academic, spiritual, residential, etc..). You really need success in all areas. Measure should be an integration of all those things.
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    • Survey – what is the integration? How do students experience the faith life within academic life, residential life, extracurricular life, etc.? Is there a classroom experience that is in support of, or contrary to, the mission/charter of the college?
    • How many people felt that their experience was one of disintegration? What makes you feel like your faith is not welcomed in the classroom?
    • Do we put our money where our mouth is? What % of funding goes to different divisions? Taking into account need? Does it reflect our priorities/our identity? Are we funding Catholic/Dominican/liberal arts?
    • How do alumni speak about spirit development, continued development? Both here, and in my current life. How was I prepared to handle the ups and downs, how did PC prepare me to grow, experience spiritual development?
    • Delivery on mission, charter
    • How well are you living out what you learned at the college – 5, 10, 15 years
    • How do our students do after graduation?
    • What are the types of disagreements we have. A lot of talking past each other right now
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Source: http://library.providence.edu/fhertr/index.php/mission-and-ministry-pc200-visioning-session/