Mission Forward: SLU Nearing End of Year-Long Discernment of University’s Commitment to Catholic, Jesuit Mission

10/28/2024

ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University will wrap up its year-long institutional process of discernment with an on-site peer visit this week. The visit will be conducted by colleagues from three peer Jesuit universities.

The Mission Priority Examen (MPE) is a self-led process intended to reaffirm a Jesuit university’s commitment to its Catholic, Jesuit mission and the ways the University might continue to live out the mission in the future. The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) and the North American Jesuit Provincials have established the MPE for Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States and Belize, a process requested by the Superior General of the Society of Jesus. 

The MPE process is grounded in the examen, a practice of Ignatian reflection, and invites the campus community to reflect upon areas of strength in embodying our Jesuit, Catholic identity and opportunities for deepening SLU’s mission. SLU last conducted the MPE in 2018-19.

The process began with a University-wide consultation,  which led to several small group meetings to assess the mission and how students, faculty, and staff saw that vision play out on campus. Focus groups included students, faculty, staff, members of the Board of Trustees, alumni, donors, parents of current students and community and neighborhood partners.

“The MPE gave us the opportunity to engage our SLU community in substantial conversations about what it means to be a Catholic, Jesuit university,” said David Suwalsky, S.J., vice president for Mission and Identity and chair of the MPE steering committee. “Our outcomes were hopeful as well as aspirational. Who could ask for more?”

A preliminary report was drafted over the summer. Following the Peer Review Committee visit to campus, SLU’s self-study and the peer review report will be shared with the Provincial of the Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus in December.

The MPE process offers an opportunity for open reflection on the ways that the University can more fully live its values and work toward its aspiration to transform society in the spirit of the Gospels. Four priorities were identified for SLU to proceed with over the next few years. They are:

• Priority 1: We will bolster our university culture of mission.  Unless a culture of mission exists, mission commitment is sporadic at best and superficial at worst. Recognizing the need for integrity and accountability in the life of the Catholic, Jesuit mission of the university, we will prioritize two large-scale actions to strengthen the mission culture of SLU: a university mission survey for continuous feedback and improvement, and infrastructure support for students in need.
• Priority 2: We will integrate mission formation programming for all levels of university leadership.  While mission formation programming for faculty and staff has become much more robust in recent years, there remain gaps in the same formation opportunities for upper administrators and trustees. Although mission formation programming is universally offered, a lack of incentivization and recognition precludes greater participation and investment. Recognizing the need for more deliberate mission integration, we will prioritize two initiatives to bolster mission formation for the entire SLU community: university leadership formation for mission and mission incentivization for faculty and staff.
• Priority 3: We will enhance curricular and co-curricular student initiatives to teach and mentor students in the practice of Ignatian discernment. Particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 disruptions to student life, we recognize the increasing importance of providing the mental and spiritual tools needed for students to learn vocational discernment in the Ignatian tradition. Beyond this, however, students can derive great benefit from the practice of Ignatian discernment in their everyday interactions, choices, and relationships. SLU’s undergraduate Core curriculum has been designed to incorporate Ignatian practices, but there is still much room for growth and development throughout all curricular and co-curricular student activities. To this end, we will prioritize ongoing curricular integration of Ignatian discernment practices and targeted co-curricular efforts to provide students with opportunities to learn and practice discernment.
• Priority 4: We will promote the Catholic, Jesuit identity of the university with clarity and collaboration. Recognizing the various contemporary challenges in higher education, we likewise recognize that it is SLU’s Catholic, Jesuit mission that distinguishes us from our local institutional peers. Strengthening our commitment to that mission and clarifying university messaging around it (both internal and external) thus becomes all the more important. As one of the few institutions of higher education in the City of St. Louis, SLU is dedicated to collaborating with our community partners as well as the Archdiocese of St. Louis. As a member of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) and an apostolate of the Central Southern Province of the Society of Jesus, SLU is eager to expand opportunities to collaborate in order to strengthen our common Jesuit mission. We therefore prioritize ongoing support of Jesuit presence on campus and the strengthening of ties to our local and national Catholic and Jesuit partners.  

“The mission priorities outlined for our SLU community are an expression of what the participants had to say about the future of our Catholic Jesuit mission,” said Virginia Herbers, director of mission formation at SLU and MPE steering committee co-chair. “As we prepare for a transition in University leadership, I hope the articulation of this vision can serve as a compass for the next president.”

The full preliminary report is available for the SLU community to read.

The peer review process visit begins Tuesday, Oct. 29, and continues through Thursday, Oct. 31. The three-person team is chaired by Mardell A. Wilson, Ed.D., provost at Creighton University. Wilson served as the Dean of the Edward and Margaret Doisy College of Health Sciences at SLU from 2014 to 2020. Additional reviewers include Daniel R. J. Joyce, S.J., vice president of Mission and Ministry at Saint Joseph’s University, and Michael Serazio, Ph.D., professor of Communication at Boston College.

While on campus, the team will participate in listening sessions with groups around campus, asking questions such as:

• What are you grateful for, as you consider the ways in which the Saint Louis University community lives out its Jesuit, Catholic identity and mission values?
• What aspirations and hopes do you have to enhance the understanding and expression of these mission values in the future?
• Where do you see yourself and your work in the Mission Priorities advanced in the self-study?
• In what ways might you work toward the Magis (i.e., the greater or more universal good) for Saint Louis University’s students and those who guide and work with them?

Read a letter from Wilson to the SLU community

The MPE process was launched in December 2023, at the invitation of Thomas P. Greene, S.J., provincial superior of the Central and Southern Province. University President Fred Pestello, Ph.D. invited a steering committee representing the university community to begin its work. Comprised of faculty, staff and administrators from every academic unit, the steering committee convened focus groups on the north campus, south campus, School of Law, Madrid and virtually.

 “The SLU community has spoken and the self-study is thoughtful, thorough, and creates a clear path forward,” said Thomas Reynolds, provincial assistant for higher education for the Central and Southern Province.

Saint Louis University

Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 15,200 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University’s diverse community of scholars is SLU’s service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place.