Lay Leaders in Catholic Higher Education:  An Emerging Paradigm for the 21^st Century

A National Conference Sponsored by Sacred Heart University and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities

June 13-15, 2003
Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Connecticut

For a long period in the Church's history, there was a perception that only formally educated priests, monks and nuns were adequately prepared to be responsible for leading and shaping the Church and its members. Of course, this was not true in the early Church when the disciples of Jesus and their followers were great leaders (and eventually the Church's great saints). In the early 1960s, during the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church recovered and rediscovered its understanding of and appreciation for the mission of the baptized laity (i.e., every member of the Church) as important participants and responsible leaders within the Church's life.

Bishop Walter W. Curtis, second bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, CT, was one of the visionaries in the Church at that time. He understood that it was the natural and appropriate role of Catholic lay scholars to exercise more responsibility for Catholic higher education and for the transmission and development of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (which had been preserved for centuries primarily by the clergy and religious orders). In 1963 Bishop Curtis founded Sacred Heart University as the first institution of Catholic higher education in the United States that was to be led and staffed by the laity.

Sacred Heart University continues this remarkable legacy in its mission and through its sponsoring of this conference,  which focused on the challenges and opportunities of lay leadership and its impact on the future direction of Catholic higher education.

The conference, "Lay Leaders in Catholic Higher Education: An Emerging Paradigm for the 21st Century," brought together professionals committed to the further development of Catholic higher education in the United States to:

1. Explore and celebrate the best practices and successful models of lay leadership within Catholic Higher Education;
2. Reflect upon the evolution of founding charisms and celebrate the unique gifts of laity in leadership as they contribute to that evolution within this new paradigm;
3. Share and develop methodologies and strategies to identify, prepare and support lay leaders of Catholic colleges and universities;
4. Identify and address opportunities and challenges around institutional identity and mission for trustees, presidents, administrators, faculty and staff, and leaders of religious communities; and
5. Present research findings and experiences to date.

The format of the conference included thought-provoking and inspirational keynotes, collaborative working groups and opportunities for each team to discuss issues, discussions of the spiritual dimensions of effective leadership within Catholic Higher Education, presentations of models of success, and opportunities for prayer and worship.

Principal Topics Discussed:

• The Emerging Paradigm of Lay Leaders: Issues, Challenges, Opportunities
• Theological and Ecclesiological Foundations for Lay Leadership
• Particular Issues for Lay Leaders (Two Workshop Sessions)
• Spirituality and Lay Leaders.