The Clarion Call: St. Catherine University’s Academic Master Plan BY ANITA THOMAS, PhD, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND PROVOST
CLARION CALL: A strongly expressed demand or request for action. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet followed a clarion call — a gospel call to love God and neighbor without distinction and a wholehearted response to do all of which women are capable. In 1905, they established the College of St. Catherine (now St. Catherine University) to educate and empower women as a part of that calling. And to this day, St. Kate’s responds to this clarion call — now resounding globally — to educate women to lead and influence by powering lives of meaning. The importance of postsecondary education has never been clearer: to produce global citizens engaged in meaningful careers. The COVID-19 pandemic, accompanying economic crisis, and racial unrest have highlighted the importance of leadership: leaders who are f lexible and can work through a crisis, leaders who can understand and work within systems, and leaders who have global awareness and cultural fluency. Students today need to develop critical inquiry and thinking skills in order to address these complex problems from multiple perspectives with creative solutions — as well as work on and lead collaborative interdisciplinary teams, translate science and research for lay audiences, and engage others in change. Oftentimes, employers are looking for graduates who have 21st-century or soft skills, including good communication (oral and written), collaboration and teamwork, the ability to show initiative, and others. At St. Catherine University, it is our responsibility and commitment to provide curricular and cocurricular activities that prepare students to meet these needs, be responsive to the times, and be the leaders our society is seeking. The University’s
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strategic plan, Setting Our Sails, outlines initiatives and objectives to meet this charge while strengthening academic excellence and outcomes for students across all degree levels. To this end, when I arrived as provost, I established a steering committee to develop the Academic Master Plan and related initiatives to provide a path for students to develop the skills and outcomes that guide them to be informed global citizens, influential leaders, and in-demand with employers. The plan sets intentional curricular and co-curricular programs and activities for all students that promote cultural fluency through the expansion of interdisciplinary programs, develops the Katie Compass pathways, and establishes the Office of Scholarly Engagement. Lastly, the plan embraces the Sisters’ call with the needs of today’s world and sets forth a renewed clarion call to the next generation of Katie leaders and influencers.
Interdisciplinary Programs The first initiative of the Academic Master Plan creates interdisciplinary opportunities that offer students a distinctive approach to develop critical thinking, purposeful knowledge, and intellectual breadth. This includes several components to enhance and expand interdisciplinary offerings, such as the option for students to pair liberal arts and professional training and create pathways between degree levels. The plan also expands opportunities for dual degrees at the graduate level (i.e. public health and social work), and post-graduate interdisciplinary certificates.
