For many faculty, fall brings a refreshed focus on student learning, so it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what it means to be an educator at a Jesuit institution.
The tradition of students learning under the tutelage of a wise professor is one that dates back to ancient Greece. For centuries, Greek philosophers shared a firmly-held common belief: that teaching a liberal education is a mechanism through which good citizenship can be taught and sustained.
Greek philosopher and mathematician, Pythagorus, taught a years-long philosophy course of study for men who would ideally pursue the good of the community. Pythagorus' lessons were founded on the notion that truth was known, marking the early foundations of a liberal education. Socrates also supported students in the pursuit of truth, though his lessons suggested the existence of independent thought and focused on questions of morality and how we ought to live. Plato, also focused on the quest for truth, held a strong belief that truth is objective; of course, that belief required him to teach his students how to defend their arguments and assertions. It is this pursuit of truth, and a continued belief in the power of communal learning, that lies at the heart of education even today.
After the first Roman universities were created, the pursuit of truth remained at the center of educational endeavors. But the Jesuits have known for centuries a key ingredient in creating men and women for others. They have long been pursuers of the heart, for they know that the mind is most compelled to change when the heart is deeply touched by an experience. As you plan your lessons and meet your new students, as you strive to compel them to lead for the good to improve society, as you create safe opportunities for them to struggle with hard concepts and questions, remember that transformation is both the means and the end. In other words, society is transformed because you create individual transformation. And here we see an important difference from the aforementioned early philosophers: a shift from a single focus on teaching to an equal focus on learning.
While your students differ in terms of their readiness to learn and their life experiences, they share an important commonality: they chose us. They chose our university... a place of learning that promises them a commitment to service, reflection, and a steady focus on the dignity of all persons. Whether you stand before them in a classroom, correct and coach them in a clinical or educational setting, or facilitate virtual learning experiences, they are looking to you. Waiting, listening, watching. You are powerful and important, perhaps more so than you realize. You are, individually and collectively, Regis University.
Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
cetl@regis.edu