The Roman Catholic Church sponsors the largest worldwide family of educational institutions—135,000 elementary and secondary schools and 1,800 colleges and universities. Catholic identity provides a matchless opportunity for networking in an increasingly globalized world; it is sad Ex corde Ecclesiae’s exhortation to collaborate is often unheeded. Last April at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, the Society of Jesus initiated new steps to counter that sad trend. The conference brought together some 300 educational leaders from over 200 institutions around the globe for 3 days of presentations and discussions on such topics as regional challenges facing Jesuit higher education; Catholic identity and mission; theology, science, and culture; markets, inequality, and poverty; ecology and sustainability; and human rights and the university. Rev. Adolfo Nicolas, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus, gave a keynote address, “Depth, Universality, and Learned Ministry: Challenges to Jesuit Higher Education Today,” which highlighted three interrelated challenges to higher education. The first, “promoting depth of thought and imagination,” addressed the gradual process of dehumanization in the wake of our globalized and technological society where information is readily available, but seldom processed at a deeper level. “People lose the ability to engage with reality,” Fr. Nicolas asserted.
Discussion on just what makes a university Catholic, and how a Catholic university should relate to the Church and the local bishop, date long before Ex corde Ecclesiae, and indeed go back to the early universities of Bologna, Paris, Oxford, and Cambridge, including St. Thomas Aquinas and his troubles with the Archbishop of Paris. More recently, we can cite 1949 and the establishment of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU), in collaboration with the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education (Gallin, 1992, 1996; Gleason, 1995; Leahy, 1991; O’Brien, 1994; O’Keefe, 1997). Under the leadership of Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., and with the support of Pope Paul VI, IFCU evolved into an organization increasingly independent of the Congregation. This foreshadowed the tensions accompanying the development of Ex corde Ecclesiae. Meeting in Tokyo in 1965, IFCU decided to develop a document on the distinctive character of a Catholic university in the context of the recently published Vatican Council II (1965) document The Church in the Modern World. Prior to the 1968 IFCU meeting, a number of delegates met at Land O’Lakes, Wisconsin, to develop the Land O’Lakes Statement: The Nature of the Contemporary Catholic University (as cited in O’Keefe, 1997). This statement helped frame the issues that have been the basis for tensions between Church authorities and American Catholic higher education for over 40 years, especially its insistence that
The purpose of this paper is to establish the unity between the missions of the Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) discipline and Catholic higher education by demonstrating relationships among (a) Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and the role of the service principle to FCS; (b) Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT) and the centrality of intellect to FCS; and (c) the institutional charism and the shared calling of FCS professionals, exemplified by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, sponsors of Fontbonne University. Key philosophical and foundational FCS papers along with documents pertaining to the principles of CST, CIT, and the charisms of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul, and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet were examined and shared meanings were identified; institutional mission statements from respective sponsored institutions were likewise compared. The review process permitted a very pointed comparison between the disciplinary and institutional missions, substantiating the congruity between the two. The parity between professional and Catholic institutional missions outlined in this paper suggests that the longevity of FCS programs could be fostered by taking root in Catholic institutions.
This paper describes a 2-week global study course to Doha, Qatar for graduate students in the higher education leadership and student affairs program at the University of San Diego. The course sought to develop intercultural competence with a specific focus on understanding Qatari and Middle Eastern perspectives and culture, understanding the unique challenges in higher education student affairs for Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries, and identifying ways for students to apply learning from the course to student affairs practice. These learning outcomes are discussed in the context of the profession of student affairs and the University of San Diego and its Catholic mission. An overview of the global course components is presented along with student and instructor reflections of learning from the course. Challenges from the course are discussed followed by recommendations for similar global study courses.
Although school counseling candidates in faith-based schools may possess an extraordinary resume, it is essential that their beliefs and behaviors be compatible with the mission and philosophy of the school for which they are interviewing. If hiring practices are not addressed in faith-based schools, these schools run the risk of losing their identity. This article offers a pastoral model for interviewing and hiring Catholic school counselors. It is a model that assists school leaders and those responsible for hiring school counselors in faith-based schools to transform what would otherwise be a functional job into a pastoral ministry, thereby advancing the religious identity and unique mission of their schools.
The Historical Influence of Railroads on Urban Development and Future Economic Potential in San Luis Obispo Today the sound of a train passing through San Luis Obispo may be intermittent and faint, but persistent nonetheless, a reminder that the railroad (displaced eventually by the automobile and accompanying expansion of highways and road systems, and later by air connectivity) was a significant force in the development of the City of San Luis Obispo. The sound of railroads evokes a sentimental reminder of the past, but the railroad's continued presence in the city, cutting through its urban fabric, raises intriguing questions as to what constructive role it can play in the evolving city economy. Can the railroad make a contribution to the new economy of the 21 st Century? And if so, how? These questions are worth considering beyond nostalgia for a railroad-dominated past as we become more concerned, nationally and especially so in the State of California, about living sustainably. The aspiration to create communities that reduce dependence and expenditure on the automobile and the petroleum based economy that it represents has surfaced as an important goal, one that might enable us to live within our resource base. In this emerging context of heightened concern about integrating sustainability into current development, what role will, and might, the railroad play in shaping future developments and influencing land use? This work explores these questions by tracing the intertwined histories of transportation and land use in the City of San Luis Obispo from the 18 th century Spanish mission era to the 19 th century railroad era to the present-day automobile and air travel era. Although the heyday of rail as an economic driver in the city has come and gone, San Luis Obispo's Railroad District, with the award-winning Railroad District Plan for its place-making Page v guide, is poised for continued revitalization. Public and commercial entities such as the Amtrak Station, the Railroad Museum, the Park Hotel building and its restaurants, and the Railroad Square Channel Commercial Building anchor the district and serve as pulse points of activity for locals and tourists alike. In addition, the Railroad District's excellent pedestrian and bicycle connectivity helps to link it with the rest of the city and channels people to it. Given the present concern over greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from motor vehicles, rising fuel costs, shortages of oil, and the centralized land-use patterns popular in …
The paper describes the background and concepts behind a master's thesis platform known as COMET (Constrained Optimization of Multiple-dimensions for Efficient Trajectories) created for mission designers to determine and evaluate suitable interplanetary trajectories. This includes an examination of the improvements to the global optimization algorithm, Differential Evolution, through a cascading search space pruning method and decomposition of optimization parameters. Results are compared to those produced by the European Space Agency's Advanced Concept Team's Multiple Gravity Assist Program. It was found that while discrepancies in the calculation of ΔV's for flyby maneuvers exist between the two programs, COMET showed a noticeable improvement in its ability to avoid premature convergence and find highly isolated solutions. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Almonds are one of the first commercial nut trees to bloom in early spring and thus are susceptible to temperature patterns prior to and during bloom which affect bloom timing, bloom length, pollination and nut set. Data used in this project include yearly dates of 90% bloom from 1996-2006, bloom length in days and final crop yields in pounds per tree for Nonpareil and Mission varieties. Data were collected from the prior to bloom were used to predict the date of 90% bloom for each variety, site and year. Temperature model results were compared to averaged actual dates of 90% bloom by site and variety used to predict bloom timing (Calendar Model). The relationship between bloom length in days and GDH° during bloom and the relationship between bloom length, GDH° during bloom and final crop yields were also evaluated. The average error in predicting the 90% bloom date for both Nonpareil and Mission was smaller using the Calendar Model compared to the four temperature pattern models. The Chill Portion model did not have significantly higher average error in predicting the date of 90% bloom than the Calendar model in Nonpareil. The Chill Unit and Chill Portion models had smaller errors in predicting 90% bloom date than the Chill Hour or GDH° model in Mission. GDH° during bloom was positively correlated with bloom length. GDH° during the first four days of Nonpareil bloom was significantly correlated with crop yields, with each additional GDH° during bloom correlated with a 0.4 lbs./tree increase in crop yield. Further research is needed on specific temperature thresholds and their relationship to physiological changes during almond bloom and pollination. The practice of monitoring chilling and heat accumulation will allow growers to anticipate bloom, prepare to optimize bee activity during bloom, and plan for possible crop yield variations due to adverse weather conditions during bloom in almonds. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the many people who have helped guide me to Cal Poly and through the process of completing this project. Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to Farm Advisor Joe Connell and Bob Curtis, Senior Manager of Production Research and the Almond Board of California, who were instrumental in inspiring, formulating and funding this project. This project would not have been possible without their gracious generosity and support. I would like to sincerely thank Dr. Mary Pedersen, my Graduate Advisor, who provided many …