Cultural Catholics: Implications for Catholic Higher Education

According to a recent national survey, 53% of people who identify as Catholic attend Mass just a few times per year or less frequently. How might we better reach these students, faculty and staff who still hold a Catholic identity, but aren’t the usual suspects frequenting our university ministries? Discern the data with sociologist Dr. Maureen Day and university president Dr. Sinda Vanderpool as we think through how to apply the findings to your campus community.

Speaker: Maureen Day
Visiting Research Fellow, Villanova University

Respondent: Sinda Vanderpool
President, University of St. Thomas (TX)

Moderator: Chris Haug
Provincial Assistant & Director of Apostolic Mission and Charism, Congregation of Holy Cross

It Ain’t Necessarily So: Creative Alternatives to Mergers & Acquisitions

There is increased energy in our sector focused on strategic combinations that require potentially significant integration but preserve institutional autonomy. This session will discuss three very different approaches and also emphasize key steps and processes necessary for such initiatives to be successful.

Refugees and Migrants in Our Common Home: Our Mission Calls Us to Action

Responding to Pope Leo XIV and Pope Francis’ calls, Refugees and Migrants in Our Common Home is a global community of academics, community partners, and refugees and migrants working together to advance Action in the areas of Teaching, Research, Advocacy and Service with migrants and refugees. Your university communities are eager to learn and do more – this panel provides concrete action items and a community of like-minded engaged academics. Join us to learn how your university community members can take action and become part of the solution.

Speakers:

• Michele Pistone, Professor of Law; Founder & Faculty Director, Mother Cabrini Institute on Immigration, Villanova University
• Amanda Pinheiro, Associate Director, Master of Arts in International Migration and Refugees, Assistant Teaching Professor, Georgetown University

Moderator: David Sylvester

How Catholic Colleges Can Scale Peer Support to Provide Access for Every Learner

What do academic, social, and financial support have in common? Each plays a critical role in student success and each can be meaningfully advanced through peer learning and student-centered technology. Representatives from the University of San Diego will share how they are expanding access to timely academic help, building community through near-peer relationships, and creating jobs for students that strengthen access and career readiness. You’ll hear campus-level insights, explore scalable strategies, and leave with a practical framework for aligning your own support services to the outcomes that matter most.

Speakers

• Page Keller, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Knack Tutoring
• Truc Ngo, Vice Provost for Research and Administration, University of San Diego

Sponsored By Knack Tutoring

Enhancing Institutional Mission and Academic Goals with the Support of Simultaneous Interim Administrative Support

With solid and dedicated presidential leadership, St. Catherine University is carrying out its special mission and strengthening academic programs with the assistance of the expertise and experience of carefully selected interim administrators in key areas.

Breaking Records, Building Momentum: Strategic Leadership Behind a Record-Setting Fall Start

As many institutions strive for stability and sustainable growth, these universities charted a new path, achieving record-breaking enrollments by aligning technology with mission, fostering collaboration across campus, and reimagining their approach to student success. In this engaging conversation, these leaders will share how they aligned their campuses around a shared vision, used data to drive decisions, and led with confidence to achieve measurable, mission-driven success.

Speakers:

• Christopher Dougherty, President, Madonna University
• Glynis Fitzgerald, President, Alvernia University
• Lisa Lori, President, Marywood University
• Ann McElaney-Johnson, President, Mount Saint Mary’s University-Los Angeles

Moderator: Msgr. James Shea
President, University of Mary

Sponsored By: Dynamic Campus

Crises and Opportunities in Today’s Catholic Higher Education

In this environment, Catholic institutions can use their strengths to keep from being pulled back and forth as we meet current challenges. This session will discuss real-world perspectives on responding to crises connected to current events, as well as finding and navigating opportunities for growth. By bringing together the perspectives of a school president, its board chair, and legal counsel, we’ll discuss how to successfully meet the challenges and stay true to faith, mission, and community.

Speakers

• Anne Prisco, President, Holy Family University
• Willliam Mandia, Partner, Co-Chair, Insurance & Reinsurance, Stradley Ronon
• Jennifer Gniady, Partner and Chair, Religious, Educational & Nonprofit Organizations, Stradley Ronon

Sponsored By Stradley Ronon

Mission, Market, and Messaging: What the Data Tells Us About Catholic Identity in Enrollment

Catholic colleges today face enrollment challenges driven by demographic change, cultural polarization, and questions about mission authenticity. This session presents findings from a national study on how prospective students and families perceive Catholic identity. Attendees will gain practical insights into how Catholic identity shapes enrollment choices, which messages resonate most, and how leaders balance faith, tradition, and market alignment in a competitive higher education landscape.

Extending Equitable Access While Advancing Catholic Identity

This session explores how institutions can reach underrepresented adult learners without compromising academic quality or Catholic identity. With strategic technology partnerships, institutions can launch online programs efficiently, offset risk, and drive sustainable growth that reflects institutional values and community needs. Join us to learn how Catholic institutions are embracing innovation to serve more students, strengthen their missions, and build bright futures.

Speakers:

• Susan Burns, President, University of Mount Saint Vincent
• David Armstrong, President, St. Thomas University

Moderator: Dan Bartell
VP, New University Partnerships, Risepoint

Sponsored By: Risepoint

Incorporating Respect for Human Life Into the Curriculum

Catholic colleges and universities are called to respond to the dignity of the human person and the inviolability of human life in their curriculums and course offerings. This panel will discuss the structure of a Sanctity of Life Minor and its place in the curriculum with a particular emphasis on the importance of studying science and law. Through the lens of hospitality, the panel will reflect on respect for life as the heart of the gospel, discuss the purpose of theology courses included in the minor, and the ways in which students reacted to learning what the latest research reveals about life issues.

Speakers:

• Jerome C. Foss, Professor of Politics & Endowed Professor of Catholic Thought and Culture; Director, Center for Catholic Thought and Culture; Director, SVC Core & SVC Honors Community, Saint Vincent College
• Eric Kocian, Associate Professor & Chair of Criminology, Law, and Society, Saint Vincent College
• Patricia Sharbaugh, Associate Professor of Theology; Rita M. McGinley Fellow of the Fred Rogers Institute, Saint Vincent College

Featured Guest: Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ
Author and Leading Voice for the Abolition of the Death Penalty, Ministry Against the Death Penalty

Moderator: Fr. Paul R. Taylor, OSB
President, Saint Vincent College

The Value and Values of Athletics at Catholic Colleges & Universities

Athletics has long played a distinctive role in American higher education — as a vehicle for student development, institutional identity, and community connection. For Catholic institutions, athletics has also historically intersected deeply with mission: the formation of the whole person, community and school spirit, and advancing the common good. Yet the landscape is changing rapidly and threatens to challenge the values if not the value of our Catholic institutions. Presidents from diverse backgrounds and athletically diverse schools will explore the current athletic reality and reflect on the changing environment.

Speakers:

• Keith Elder, President, Saint Xavier University
• Linda LeMura, President, Le Moyne College
• Fr. Brian Shanley, OP, President, St. John’s University
• Mary Volmer, Athletics Mission and Ministry Fellow; Director, Sport for Humanity Higher Ed. Initiative, Saint Mary’s College of California

Moderator: Eric Spina
President, University of Dayton

Data as Discourse: Conversations for Mission-Driven Movement

All planned change starts with a conversation. We will discuss the social role of data, and how data-rich conversations across our campuses can mobilize and motivate faculty, staff, and students.

Speaker: Leonard Taylor
Associate Professor; Director of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), Indiana University Bloomington

Respondent: Glena Temple
President, Dominican University

Moderator: Marcheta Evans
President, St. Catherine University

Sponsored By: DegreeSight

Combining General and Specific Education: The “Secret Sauce” of Economic Vitality

As Catholic higher education reconciles its foundational commitment to the arts and humanities with increasing pressure from employers, regulators and our own families to prepare students for careers, this session focuses on the “both/and.” The new CEW values framework presents a strong case for the continuing importance of a liberal arts education. At the same time, Catholic “opportunity” colleges and universities, those serving large numbers of first-generation, lower income students, are combining general and specific offerings with strong outcomes. Tensions persist.

Speakers:

• Jeff Strohl, Research Professor and Director, Center on Education and the Workforce, Georgetown University
• Jenai Grigg, Assistant Dean of General Education, Professor of Sociology, Holy Family University

Respondent: Mary Geller
Associate Provost for Student Success, College of St. Benedict’s and St. John’s University

Presentations (2):

Daring to Walk Together: Integrating DEI and Mission Through Synodality

Big shifts are underway in the Catholic Church towards synodality, a Church characterized by encounter, stories, listening, dialogue, communal discernment, and centering those on the margins. We will consider — experientially — how synodality can ground our missional commitments to building together communities characterized by diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Speakers:

• Maureen O’Connell, Program Director of the CENTERS initiative, Institute for Pastoral Ministry, Loyola University of Chicago
• Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos, Vice President for Mission Integration, Seattle University

Moderator: Krishauna Hines-Gaither
Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships, Mount Saint Mary’s University-Los Angeles