Rizzi, Michael T.
(2017)
Carlow University's Catholic, Mercy Mission and Identity: Faculty, Staff, and Student Perceptions.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
This study explores how current faculty, staff, and students at Carlow University (located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) conceptualize and experience their institution’s Catholic, Mercy mission and identity. Through the use of focus groups, it examines how current stakeholders perceive the University’s mission, define what it means to be a Catholic institution, and experience that unique identity from a “ground-level” perspective. Results suggest that the values and the heritage of Carlow’s founding religious order, the Sisters of Mercy, continue to influence the campus environment in both subtle and profound ways, even as the Sisters themselves occupy increasingly fewer positions in the University, and even as the campus community diversifies, embracing students, faculty, and staff of all religious backgrounds.
The dissertation also provides a broad historical overview of Catholic higher education in the United States, including the modern challenges Catholic universities face as they express their religious identities in an era that that is demographically, socially, and legally very different from the one in which they were founded. It explores the conceptual challenges of studying Catholic identity in an institutional context, the difficulties of defining the role of the Catholic university, and the theoretical debates surrounding the goals, standards, and principles of contemporary Catholic higher education.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
10 July 2017 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
3 March 2017 |
| Approval Date: |
10 July 2017 |
| Submission Date: |
30 May 2017 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
192 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Education > Administrative and Policy Studies |
| Degree: |
EdD - Doctor of Education |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Catholic universities; Catholic higher education; university mission; university identity; focus groups; Catholic university mission |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Jul 2017 18:38 |
| Last Modified: |
10 Jul 2017 18:38 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/32266 |
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