President Meets with Ignatius Institute Students
A group of 75 students enrolled in the St. Ignatius Institute at the University of San Francisco met with USF President Stephen A. Privett, S.J., Feb. 12, to discuss their concerns regarding the Institute’s future in light of a recent change in leadership.
Founded 25 years ago within the College of Arts and Sciences, SII teaches an integrated and sequential ‘Great Books of Western Civilization’ curriculum that is steeped in the Catholic faith and the disciplines of history, literature, philosophy, and theology.
 On Jan. 19, Fr. Privett appointed Paul V. Murphy, PhD, assistant professor of history, as the Institute’s new director, replacing Institute co-founder John Galten, who was removed from his post along with another university staff member, assistant director John Hamlon. The president said the decision was made in order to provide the leadership of a full-time faculty person with appropriate academic credentials, to build synergies between Institute and university resources, and to better integrate SII into the life of the university.
Fr. Privett has said, “it is our hope that the St. Ignatius Institute will be widely recognized as the premier program of its kind in the Catholic intellectual tradition.”
In the aftermath of the Institute’s leadership change, five faculty associated with the Institute voluntarily resigned from teaching in the program effective at the end of this semester, saying in a letter to the president that the move “signals clearly that the University administration plans to alter fundamentally the character of the Institute.” The faculty will continue to teach in other programs at the University.
While many faculty, students, parents, and alumni supported the president’s decision, others saw the move as a beginning of the end of the esteemed program.
“The St. Ignatius Institute is not being dissolved,” Fr. Privett told the students gathered for a 60-minute question and answer session in Cowell Hall. “It is not being coalesced into some other program. It will remain a Great Books program, historically based and rooted in the Catholic tradition.”
Students expressed worry that the faculty who chose to leave the Institute would not be adequately replaced nor could “new” faculty teach their courses in the same manner. They feared the integration of Institute and university resources would lead to a less “personal” approach to dealing with their administrative transactions, such as coordinating study abroad. They also questioned Fr. Privett’s decision to appoint Murphy and remove Galten and Hamlon without consulting SII faculty. Many said they enrolled at USF primarily for the St. Ignatius Institute, and that the integration initiative would compromise the unique perspective it brings to campus.
“There may be no grounding that the Institute will collapse,” said one student, “but there is also no grounding that it will be what it once was.”
Given the changes, “Why should we risk our tuition dollars?” asked student Peter Halpin.
Fr. Privett said he did not see a “risk,” and that the structure of the Institute will be preserved. He and Murphy, who was also present at the meeting, said nearly all of the courses taught by the resigning faculty have been staffed for the fall.
“Good teachers want good students,” Fr. Privett said. “You guys are a draw. It’s not like we’re going to have a problem finding good faculty. Different faculty can teach different courses. There is a value to seeing how different professors deal with the content. The more views you can introduce in a course, the richer the learning experience is.”
The president said USF could not afford to continue duplication of support services for the Institute and the university. Previously, SII, which has a student body of 150, coordinated its own efforts for recruitment and foreign studies. The president estimated that combining resources such as these could save approximately $100,000.
Many students wondered why the dismissal of Galten and Hamlon was necessary. “We feel that these actions were unjust,” said Lilibeth Ramin.
Fr. Privett said they lacked the academic credentials to deliver decisions concerning curriculum and faculty hiring. Both were given appropriate severance packages, he said, and offered the opportunity to apply for positions elsewhere in the university.
“I did not consult with faculty because I did not think it would be productive,” Fr. Privett said. “I’m not infallible; I can make mistakes. In this case, I don’t think I did. Subsequent to my decision, it was brought to my attention that in reviews from 1991 and 1994 the Institute was hit hard on the selection of faculty not being in the hands of academics. There were very specific cases when the academic quality of the curriculum was questioned.”
Fr. Privett said he was also concerned with certain “anomalies” he came across in the operation of the St. Ignatius Institute such as daily liturgies celebrated off campus that did not allow Jesuits to preside. One student said this was a result of the Institute’s uniqueness, its founding “as a group that goes back to something that is more orthodox” than the theology of the Society of Jesus. The student cited his dismay at a recent Mass on campus in which God was referred to as the Father and the Mother.
“We are a universal Church,” Fr. Privett said. “Is it really unorthodox to address God as Father and Mother?”
Encouraging students to “wait and see,” Fr. Privett said he was confident the Institute’s new director would lead SII to new heights while maintaining the character and quality that has garnered the program an international reputation of merit.
Professor Murphy has taught in the Institute for three years and also directs the university’s Catholic Studies certificate program. He holds a doctorate from the University of Toronto and also studied at Fairfield University, Loyola University-Chicago, and the Weston School of Theology.
He has been asked to continue the Institute’s standard of academic excellence as a premier “Great Books curriculum” and to promote synergies between SII and other university programs, such as the Catholic Studies certificate. While both programs will remain distinct, Fr. Privett said he envisions joint ventures such as shared faculty, newly created courses, retreats, and co-sponsored lecture series.
|
