Catholic Social Thought: Highlights, 2006-07

• Expanded committee membership to include faculty and staff from all schools.
• Provided resources for the campus community:
  • Expanded the Catholic Social Thought website to include scheduled events and text or videos of presentations.
  • Distributed copies of Catholic Social Teaching: Our Best Kept Secret, by Edward P. DeBerri and James E. Hug, to faculty and university departments.
• Arranged presentations for the campus community:
  • Fr. Kenneth Himes, O.F.M., chair of the the theology department at Boston College, gave two public lectures in October.
  • Florence Gillman and Fr. Ron Pachence led a discussion on Catholic Social Teaching: Our Best Kept Secret in November.
  • Larry Gardepie led a "Lunch and Learn" discussion session for staff in November.
  • David Herrera spoke about Mondragón at the Social Issues conference in November.
  • Pat Drinan and Virginia Lewis led a discussion on the political/historical context of the papal encyclical, Rarum Novarum.
  • Michael Naughton, professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas, gave two public lectures in March on labor and work.
• Studied integration of CST at other Catholic universities:
• Committee members contacted other schools for follow-up discussions of last year's survey.
• Representatives of the committee visited Villanova, Notre Dame, and Santa Clara universities for in-depth discussions and observation, and wrote summary briefs.
• Representatives of the committee attended the Catholic Social Teaching Conference of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in February.
• Formulated a proposal to transition from committee structure to an established place in USD's organizational structure:
• Proposal included a summary of all the committee's work since its inception.
• Transition Committee was formed in May.