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Photo: Ron Hewson Michael W. Higgins is President of St. Jerome's University. The next stage of evolution by Michael W. Higgins Our much respected Chancellor, John Sweeney, died this past July. He was a friend and a trusted advisor. I had many occasions to seek his counsel, to explore new possibilities for post-secondary Catholic education in the Province of Ontario, and to debate in an always honest and supportive way the issues and priorities facing university education. A devout but not credulous Catholic and a professional but not cynical politician, John sought both in his public life and in his private life to embody the simple and radical witness of Jesus in his time and in his place. He did this without fanfare and he did it with integrity. He was a worthy chancellor and a forthright friend. The entire St. Jerome's community treasures the many years of service he provided and will remember him for many more years to come. John would be particularly proud of the developments I am about to speak of because he was a critical player in planning and effecting the strategy that will bring St. Jerome's University to a new threshold in its life as an institution of higher learning in the Roman Catholic tradition. We are all conscious of the many changes that have occurred and continue to occur in the Catholic world. The post-Second Vatican Council church is a vibrant one, full of challenge and grace, but not without division and crisis. One of the challenges facing the Roman Catholic Church is the need to educate future ' Catholic leaders for positions of governance and responsibility in their community. With the decline of clerical and religious personnel over the last two decades, many of our Catholic institutions lack the public signature of Catholic identity. In turn, responsibility has increasingly shifted to the laity with numerous pressures and demands on their time and competence. It is the responsibility of Catholic universities to undertake the task of educating at the postgraduate level those Catholic professionals eager to contribute their service and skills to positions of leadership in the Roman Catholic community. Two years ago, at a specially convened meeting of the Mission Committee of the Board of Governors of St. Jerome's, I reported on my efforts to find strategic alliances, university cooperative partnerships, and satellite arrangements with various theological institutions in order to respond to the growing demand in the Hamilton Diocese for post-graduate training in theology. John Sweeney, an active member of this committee, as indeed he was an active member of so many initiatives at St. Jerome's, asked me point-blank why it was that St. Jerome's University could not offer our own degrees in theology. John encouraged me to pursue this possibility because he felt strongly that it was the next stage in St. Jerome's evolution as a university serving the Catholic community in the Province of Ontario and, to put it boldly, if we didn't do it, who would. With the encouragement of the Mission Committee, the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors, College Council, and the Board of Governors, I proceeded to do precisely as John suggested. Working out the legal challenges was a comparatively easy undertaking. We then turned our attention to the far more demanding issue of funding. As you may know, provincial funding for a theological program is not directly available, so it would be necessary to secure external funding to enable our theology program to evolve. We worked assiduously with several Catholic partners in the Diocese of Hamilton to determine precisely the level of support we could be guaranteed. We met with all six Directors of Education in the Diocese of Hamilton and received from them solid endorsement for our fledging proposal for a master's degree in the Roman Catholic tradition. As well, we met with several CEOs of the hospitals in the Catholic diocese as well as leaders and CEOs from Catholic social services, religious orders, and other Catholic organizations in the larger community. We heard from these leaders, as well as many other individuals we canvassed during the course of the last two years, a common refrain: if you provide us with the resources and the opportunity we can assure you that various individuals will come forward to be candidates for the graduate degree. The master's program will be phased in over several years as we undertake to raise money to ensure that we have the resources, secure financial basis, and expanding constituency to sustain this post-graduate undertaking. The full amount to be raised is between 2.5 and 3 million dollars and will include the establishment of a Chair in Catholic Theology. We have developed a three-part strategy that involves the raising of $600,000 as phase one (this allows us to begin the program), moving on to the establishment of a visiting professorship in theology as phase two (an interim undertaking that would allow us the opportunity to bring established scholars to the St. Jerome's campus to make themselves available for a year at a time), and culminating with the establishment of the Chair as phase three. As graduates and friends of St. Jerome's University you have a special role to play in this next stage in the evolution of your alma mater. If you wish to help us financially, to provide us with names and ideas that you think would be helpful in our campaign, or to consider enrolling yourself in our new program, please do not hesitate to contact either Harry Froklage, Director of Development and Graduate Affairs, or myself and we would be happy to speak to you about this pioneering moment in the history of St. Jerome's. And this all started with a committed Chancellor's simple query. 2