The Rockhurst Office of Mission and Ministry provides a number of opportunities throughout the year for faculty and staff to deepen their understanding of the mission and core values of the University.
Dine and Discuss
Several times each semester the mission office hosts "Dine and Discuss" on campus. These are one-hour meetings for faculty and staff, over breakfast or lunch, where we discuss mission and core value-related articles from Conversations on Jesuit Education magazine. The magazine is produced by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) and is distributed free to all faculty and staff twice a year. The mission office advertises these events via email.
Cardoner Ignatian Formation Program
The Cardoner Program (a Rockhurst University formation program engaging people in our Jesuit charism) is required of all new full-time faculty, while staff members and continuing faculty are invited to attend. The program extends over fall and spring semesters, focusing on the University’s Jesuit, Catholic Identity (including an overview of the life of St. Ignatius, of the history of the Jesuits, and of Ignatian Spirituality), Rockhurst’s mission and core values, as well as Ignatian pedagogy. The Program also provides the opportunity to hear from experienced Rockhurst faculty and staff about incorporating Ignatian values into their work.
Collegium Summer Colloquy
Collegium is a joint effort by 65 Catholic colleges and universities in the United States and Canada to help their faculty think creatively about ways to articulate and enrich the spiritual and intellectual life of their institutions. Annually it sponsors summer colloquies for scholars from diverse backgrounds, faiths, and disciplines to explore compelling components of Catholic intellectual tradition and to think about how a Catholic college or university setting can enrich their academic vocations and how their academic vocations can serve their students, the academy, and the world.
Department Mission Moments
Throughout the year the mission office staff meets with all the units of the University to lead "mission moments" discussions. The purpose of these gatherings is to deepen the understanding of the Ignatian mission, pedagogy and worldview among all members of the University community. Mission moments are scheduled through department and division chairs.
Faculty Fellow in Mission
The Faculty Fellow in Mission and Ministry is a one-semester (possibly two-semester) internship for faculty who wish to develop further and experientially their understanding of the Ignatian heritage and the Catholic, Jesuit Mission of Rockhurst University. The Fellowship provides time – through a one-course release per semester – for the fellow to serve in the Mission and Ministry Office, assisting with daily activities and events, as well as engaging with members of the Rockhurst community as a steward of the mission. In addition, the Fellowship provides time to pursue a personal project that engages more fully with the Ignatian heritage. The goal of the fellowship is to enable faculty to engage more deeply with the charism of the Ignatian heritage, to integrate this engagement into one's leadership in and service to the university community or one's teaching and scholarship, and to share the outcome of this process with the university community and possibly beyond it.
Ignatian Overnights
Throughout the academic year faculty and staff are invited by the mission office to “come away and take a break” from the hectic pace of the University to explore in a deeper and more intentional way the core values and mission of the university. The overnights bring together faculty and staff (separately) at various stages of their careers in order to explore in depth the underlying values and reasons for staying at Rockhurst.
Ignatian Colleagues Program
The Ignatian Colleagues Program is an 18-month online program of study of Ignatian values and pedagogy as well as Jesuit history and tradition in academics. It is open to administrators and faculty and is an invitation-only program. For further information on this program please contact 816-501-4599.
Jesuit Education Reader Discussions
Another Ignatian formation program that is open to faculty and staff, these discussions center upon selected articles in A Jesuit Education Reader, edited by George W. Traub, S.J. Articles range in topics from the Jesuit Mission in Education, Ignatian Principles, the Issue of Catholic Identity, Practical Applications of the Ignatian Way, and so on. Discussions take place twice each semester.
Mission Leave Policy for Faculty and Staff
In regard to our mission of learning, leadership and service, Rockhurst University encourages its faculty and employees to live out service to others. The purpose of the mission leave policy is to allow faculty and employees to voluntarily participate, with pay, in University-sponsored spiritual retreats or in approved mission-related or service-related activities that occur during regularly scheduled work hours. To the extent employees voluntarily choose to participate in similar activities outside of regularly scheduled working hours, such time will not be compensated. This policy is designed to support the objectives of increasing voluntary service and encouraging reflection as an integral part of our University’s mission. Click here for further information: Mission Office Leave Policy