MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of The Catholic University of America is to render service in the United States as an intellectual center of the highest quality where every dimension of truth, natural and revealed, can be examined with competent expertise. The university seeks in particular to maintain a position of excellence in biblical and liturgical studies, church history, religion and culture, religious education, ethics, spirituality, and theology. The university accords priority to theology and to religious studies and to programs that explore the Roman Catholic tradition of humanistic learning and its relevance to the needs of society and the Church.
To help realize the mission of the university, the School of Theology and Religious Studies sets itself two goals, namely, to promote excellence in teaching, research, and publication in the area of theology and religious studies, and to provide the professional training of lay and clerical leaders who will serve the Roman Catholic community in the United States and throughout the world. In pursuit of these goals, the school places emphasis on an interdisiciplinary approach and collaboration with other schools of the university, on the ecumenical and interreligious dimensions of all theological studies, on the exploration of relations between religion and culture, and on the promotion of informed efforts to work for justice and peace, both within the Church and in the world, in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL
From its foundation The Catholic University of America has given academic priority to theology and religious studies and related disciplines. Initially, the academic programs in these areas were offered in the School of Sacred Sciences (1889). In time there emerged the School of Canon Law (1923), followed by a Seminary Program (1931) and, within the School of Arts and Sciences, the Program of Religion (1932). The original School of Sacred Sciences was later divided into a School of Sacred Theology and a School of Philosophy (1937). In 1970 a Liturgical Studies Program was instituted.
After an extensive review of programs and structures, the Board of Trustees approved a recommendation by the Academic Senate to establish a new School of Religious Studies in September 1973. The School was composed of five departments: Biblical Studies, Canon Law, Church History, Religion and Religious Education, and Theology. In 2002, the Board of Trustees, after the recommendation of the Academic Senate, voted that Canon Law be reestablished as a School of Canon Law and that the remaining academic units of the School become programs in a School of Theology and Religious Studies. By thus coordinating existing units, The Catholic University of America established a School of Theology and Religious Studies as a national center of academic research, instruction, and service.
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ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS
The Shakespeare Caldwell-Duval Professor of Theology
The Founders Professorship is supported by gifts donated by or honoring the following benefactors: Shakespeare Caldwell (May 1885), Francis A. Drexel (July 1888), and George L. Duval.
The Andrews-Kelly-Ryan Professor of Biblical Studies
The Andrews-Kelly-Ryan Professorship is supported by gifts donated by or honoring the following benefactors: Dr. Thomas F. Andrews (March 1901), Margaret Hughes Kelly (November 1889), and James J. and Hannah Cusack Ryan (November 1911).
The Kelly-Quinn Professor of Ecclesiastical and Legal History
The Kelly Professorship was established by Eugene Kelly in November 1889. It is also supported by a gift from Patrick Quinn given in July 1889.
The Warren-Blanding Professor of Religion and Culture
The Warren-Blanding Professorship was established by the Riley J. and Lillian N. Warren and Beatrice W. Blanding Foundation in January 1973.
The Catholic Daughters of the Americas Professor in American Church History
The professorship and endowment was established by the Catholic Daughters of the Americas in August 1975.
The John C. and Gertrude P. Hubbard Professor of Religious Studies
This professorship was established in October 1989 by Gertrude P. Hubbard in memory of her husband, Dr. John C. Hubbard, a former professor at this university, from "The Dr. John Charles Hubbard and Gertrude Pardieck Hubbard Endowment."
The Carl J. Peter Professor of Systematic Theology and Ecumenism
The Peter Professorship was established in 1995 to honor the memory of the Rev. Carl J. Peter, former Dean of the School of Theology and Religious Studies (1977-1985). The holder of the chair lectures in those areas of theology to which Father Peter devoted his life of research, service, and teaching.
The Monsignor J. Schmitz, S.S., Professor of Liturgical Studies
In 1995 the Very Rev. Walter J. Schmitz, S.S., Chair of Liturgical Studies was established through a bequest from the estate of Father Schmitz, a former Dean of the School of Sacred Theology.
The Katharine Drexel Chair in Religious Studies
The Katharine Drexel Chair in Religious Studies was established in 1997 to honor the memory of a woman who devoted her efforts to the work of evangelization and charity within the nation's native and African-American populations. |
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Last Revised 11-Dec-07 02:04 PM.
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