Thesis advisor: Karen D. Arnold / The purpose of this research was to identify the primary duties and responsibilities of mission officers in Catholic higher education and develop an accompanying set of core competencies for professional development purposes. Mission officers first appeared in Catholic colleges and universities in the 1980s, in response to declining numbers of priests and religious on campuses, increased secularization of the academe, and reduced course requirements in the liberal arts, particularly philosophy and theology. These changes as well as others within higher education, American society, and the Catholic Church raised concerns about the distinctive Catholic identity and mission of Catholic colleges and universities. Although 80% of Catholic colleges and universities have appointed a mission officer to galvanize campus-wide efforts to strengthen the religious character of these institutions (Gilroy, Sloma-Williams, & Galligan-Stierle, 2014), as of yet there are no established educational qualifications, professional norms, or set of competencies to guide the professional practice and development of current and future mission officers. Thirty-seven experienced mission officers participated in four rounds of data collection using a modified Delphi research method. Seventy-four percent of the 27 duties and over eighty percent of the 32 competencies identified, refined, and prioritized in this study reached consensus as critically important or very important by more than three-quarters of the study participants. The study findings indicate that mission officers interact on a regular basis with many groups and individuals at both senior and lower levels within the institution. Many mission officer duties involve efforts to galvanize the campus community, particularly faculty and student affairs professionals, in order to integrate the mission across the institution. Effective mission leadership requires both a top-down and bottom-up approach to mission integration along with leadership skills, knowledge of the Catholic intellectual tradition, collaboration and communication skills, and a demonstrated commitment to the Catholic identity and mission of the university. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BOSTON/oai:dlib.bc.edu:bc-ir_103551 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Lehman, Joseph John |
| Publisher | Boston College |
| Source Sets | Boston College |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, thesis |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. |
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