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SummerWest Steps Onto National Stage
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Educators in USF's SummerWest program learn Catholic education leadership from prominent professors and speakers while building community. |
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When he enrolled in the University of San Francisco's SummerWest program in 2006, Rubin Arceo, S.J., was sure he'd found a fast track to a doctoral degree in Catholic education leadership. What he didn't anticipate was discovering something more fundamental to his education - an uncommon fraternity of fellow Catholics building a community, serving others, and working for justice.
"I have never seen, in other places, a program that promotes and implements Catholic life experiences and activities that bring people together like (this one) does," said Fr. Arceo, who worked in Jesuit education for 12 years in his native Mexico before pursuing a doctorate in the School of Education's Catholic educational leadership program.
Fr. Arceo's experience is common for those who enroll in the popular summer program, which draws prominent professors, speakers, and students from around the world to teach and study. While year-round courses are available through the School of Education's Catholic Educational Leadership Program (CEL) and the Institute for Catholic Educational Leadership (ICEL) - which co-sponsor SummerWest - it's during the summer that enrollment soars.
Educators from all over take advantage of their time away from teaching to pursue advanced degrees, said Br. Raymond Vercruysse, ICEL director. A major advantage of the program is that SummerWest offers full-time educators the convenience of pursuing an advanced degree over several summers.
Through SummerWest, students can pursue master's or doctoral degrees in Catholic educational leadership, a master's degree in Catholic school teaching, a master's degree in Catholic school teaching (with an emphasis in religious education), or an administrative services credential.
While part of Fr. Arceo's goal in coming from Mexico was to bond with foreign Catholics, the sense of community, and bonding in spirit and solidarity with his classmates and professors was like finding "treasure," Fr. Arceo said, who now lives at Loyola House and attends classes year-round. Of course, discovering treasure sometimes has unintended consequences. In Fr. Arceo's case, it changed his perspective on what it meant to pursue a doctorate.
"It was (no longer) just an act of studying and getting a degree," Fr. Arceo said. "I understood from that experience that the doctorate, at least in the CEL program, was much more than just going to class, completing assignments, fulfilling requirements, getting good grades, reaching the dissertation stage, and, at the end, graduating."
In fact, community is a keystone of the program, Br. Vercruysse said. "It makes good church happen."
CEL first began offering a master's degree in private school administration in 1976, later changing the name and focus to Catholic school leadership, said Professor Michael O'Neill, ICEL founder.
Designed to respond to the needs of Catholic and private school educators and administrators (rather than public school), the first-of-its-kind program has grown into a beacon and now draws the best of Catholic educators from around the country, O'Neill said. In summer 2007, instructors included Daniel Curtin, with the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), and Timothy Cook from Creighton University.
"I think it has been one of the most important, nationally recognized programs that USF has ever fielded," O'Neill said, citing influential Catholics who have graduated from the program, including Karen Ristau, president of the NCEA.
SummerWest and CEL students can choose from a variety of classes, including the business and finance of Catholic schools, law and Catholic education, and prayer in the classroom. Master's degrees in Catholic leadership and Catholic teaching require 30 units, while a master's degree in Catholic school teaching with an emphasis in religious education requires 40 units. A doctorate in Catholic school leadership requires 60 units to complete. 
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