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LINK LEE sits on the corner of Montrose Boulevard and West Alabama Street and serves as a symbol of both the University and the Basilian fathers.

Basilians support current core

Fathers express concern regarding removal of theology, philosophy minimums

By: Abby Haun

Posted: 5/1/08

A recent letter posted by the Rev. Robert Barringer and UST's Basilian fathers on a faculty discussion web site states that they will not support a revised core curriculum which reduces the required hours of theology and philosophy courses.

Although a proposal by the Core Curriculum Reform Committee has not yet been made, the letter was posted in early April because the CCRC encouraged open and public debate on the issue, and because the University community was curious about the Basilians' opinion, Barringer said in an e-mail. The Basilian fathers declined to comment further.

A draft proposal of a revised core curriculum will be presented to the University community May 5, according to an e-mail sent by President Robert Ivany on April 17. Although the official presentation of a proposal to the UST board of directors was set for its June 26 meeting, it has been pushed back until the Oct. 24 meeting at the request of Vice President of Academic Affairs John Hittinger and Dean of Arts and Sciences Dominic Aquila, the e-mail said.

Members of the CCRC declined to comment.

According to their letter, the Basilian fathers believe that "the best" theology and philosophy are required for leaders of faith and character to navigate the secular world, and that, to reduce the hours currently required, would change the nature of the University from "an institution that combines liberal arts with preparing students for professional careers to an institution that prepares students for professional careers and adds a weakened core curriculum that cannot achieve the very important goal for which it exists."

The letter emphasizes the importance of the humanities in the core, and that further unity and integration among all core courses is required to more closely follow the ideal curriculum described by pope John Paul II in Ex corde ecclesiae, the 1990 document that describes his vision of what a Catholic university should encompass.

However, not all priests affiliated with the University agree that the philosophy and theology hours should remain the same. The Rev. Leon Strieder, UST alumnus and associate professor in the School of Theology at St. Mary's Seminary, said in a Feb. 26 faculty Blackboard discussion that he thinks the core should include six hours in philosophy and six in theology, with one more course in either department chosen by the student. He also said that the core English requirement should be reduced to six hours.

Strieder, who is not a Basilian, said that the current core is harming retention rates and could cause potential transfer students to look elsewhere.

"It seems obvious to me that our core is a lot higher than any other Catholic university," he said. "I remember taking 18, 21 hours every semester to finish…A lot of folks, they also had to work or something, and I know that's the reality for students. My first concern is that we have to live in a realistic world if we want to take as many students as we can and prepare them to be better people. One size can't fit all."

Strieder said that he would like to see the University grow, but that the growth would likely have to come from the Houston area. "I'll just be quite honest, if a student has the wherewithal and the brains to go almost anywhere, why would they go to St. Thomas?" he said. "It's a service to our local church. We have to attract as many students from this area as we can, it seems to me."

He also said that he agrees with the Basilian fathers and their wish for a more integrated core curriculum, in part because he fears some students may simply compartmentalize and forget the knowledge gained in philosophy and theology courses because they do not see how it relates to everyday life.

"I think any course and every course that one teaches has to have a sort of universal and therefore Catholic outlook," Strieder said. "You approach it at least from the standpoint of respect and dialogue and different ideas…in all of the other courses you should be able to think ethically, morally, be able to write well, be able to think logically."

Although he said he supports the philosophy and theology courses offered at UST and encourages students to take as many as possible, Strieder said that it is important to remember the reality of the situation.

"It's not that I'm opposed to any of [the current core]…we have to be realistic," he said. "Otherwise we will not grow, we will shrivel."

Some students, such as junior communication major Cimela Kidonakis, agree that the core curriculum as it stands is vital to the education provided to UST students. "Although the core curriculum seems heavy at times, I believe that it makes UST students more well-rounded," she said. "The core classes that St. Thomas requires are pretty awesome."

Senior transfer student and French major Molly Blanchard disagreed. "I understand that it's a Catholic school, but it begins to feel like they're bogging you down with dogma and proselytizing," she said. "[The current core] makes it so that it's nearly impossible for the average student in a liberal arts environment to graduate in less than five years. There's no time to explore and figure out what you want your major to be."