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Catholic Studies Governance

Catholic Studies Mission: The mission of the Catholic Studies Program is to foster engagement with Roman Catholic intellectual life in all its depth and breadth – e.g., material and spiritual, personal and social, moral and artistic, religious and secular, philosophical and theological – throughout all parts of the Loyola community (students, faculty, staff, and administrators).

I. The governance of Catholic Studies aims to full the Mission of the program (see above).  This governance or any revisions of governance must be approved by the Dean of Arts and Sciences in close consultation with the Director (see II. below) and members of the Catholic Studies Executive Board (see II. below).

A. The Director (or co-directors) of Catholic Studies is (or are) appointed for a three-year term (ordinarily only renewable one time) by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, in consultation with the Catholic Studies Executive Board.

B. The Director reports to the Dean of Loyola College and regularly consults with the Dean as well as the Catholic Studies Executive Board.

C. The Director is responsible for selecting* and regularly consulting with members of the Catholic Studies Executive Board as well as coordinating the Board’s oversight of all Catholic Studies programs (see II. Below).

D. The Director is also responsible for coordinating activities that support the Catholic intellectual life (such as worship, social action, and retreats.  

E. The Director is also responsible for monitoring the Catholic Studies budget; conducting ongoing and periodic review of Catholic Studies; and liaison with Catholic Studies programs at other universities.

F. The Director, having consulted members of the Board, submits an annual report to the Dean by the end of each academic year, including plans for the subsequent year.  The Director also reports her or his activities to the Dean as part of annual review, and the Dean solicits evaluation of the Director from Board members at the mid-point and end-point of the Director’s term.

G. The compensation of the Director(s) (e.g., evaluation for annual review and promotion, course releases) is determined by the Loyola College Dean in light of the importance of the mission of Catholic Studies for Loyola University Maryland as well as the compensation of comparable programs across the University.

II. The Catholic Studies Executive Board is constituted by four to six faculty from across the University. 

A. Members ordinarily serve for three consecutive years and for no more than two consecutive terms.

B. The members include faculty (tenured, tenure-track, and affiliate) representatives from Loyola College (natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities), the Sellinger School of Business and Management, and the School of Education – along with at least one student representative.  The Board works to assure that the concerns related to Catholic Studies from all academic units of the University are represented on the Board (especially the College of Arts and Sciences), including in cases when one of these academic units of the University cannot have a member for some period of time. 

C. The members of the Board commit themselves to regular meetings (at least one meeting per semester) as well as to overseeing at least one of the Catholic Studies programs (e.g., CS minors, Special Events, Student and Faculty Grants, Family Eucharists). 

D. The members of the Board are chosen by the Director, in consultation with the LCAS Dean and the current members of the Board.  Any controversies over Board membership will be settled by the Loyola College Dean

E. The Board (including the Director) proceeds collegially, ordinarily seeking a level of agreement well-beyond majority rule.  However, as needed, at least a majority of the Board must ordinarily approve any event or program sponsored by Catholic Studies, with the Director (or, if needed, the Dean) deciding ties.

III. Changes to the Catholic Studies Mission and Governance Statements can be made after the Dean and Board (including the Director) discuss proposed changes and post the proposed changes for Catholic Studies faculty to review.  Changes require the approval of the Board (including Director) and the Dean.


*The Director and members of the Board shall solicit volunteers from the faculty, particularly from those who teach Catholic Studies courses and/or who have a scholarly expertise in Catholic Studies.  The Director and Board shall discuss candidates and vote on membership, with the Director’s vote breaking any ties.  The Director receives nominations for student representatives from Board members and appoints students in consultation with the Board.