Catholic and Dominican Institute celebrates its 15th anniversary
Photos by Lee Ferris
The Fall 2024 semester marked the 15th anniversary of the Catholic and Dominican Institute (CDI) of Mount Saint Mary College. Created by the college’s 2009-2014 Strategic Plan, the mission of the institute is to deepen the college’s awareness of, and appreciation for, its cultural and intellectual heritage. It’s a tradition that extends over 800 years and finds its origin in the life of Saint Dominic de Guzman. It’s expressed in the Dominican charism of a “passion for truth” and through the four Dominican pillars of spirituality, study, community, and service.
Today, the mission of Dominican higher education is articulated in a document titled A Vision in Service of Truth. It expresses it this way: “True to the Dominican motto, ‘contemplare et contemplata aliis tradere,’ Dominican schools provide time and space for students to reflect on all reality – the self, God, nature, the cosmos, the world, and its people near and far… In the Dominican world-view, creation is sacred; grace builds on nature; and faith and reason are in harmony.”
Inspired by this, CDI has striven to continually seek ways to cultivate this vision throughout the Mount community.
Sr. Agnes Boyle, O.P., former Vice President of Academic Affairs, was one of the first individuals to formally raise campus awareness of the importance of the Mount’s Dominican heritage. During her time at the Mount, she promoted a greater understanding of the Dominican charism among various campus constituencies and helped to organize archival material related to the school’s founding and history. Eventually, her efforts helped to pave the way for the creation of CDI.
Since its inception, CDI’s programming efforts have been three-fold: to cultivate the Catholic and Dominican heritage of the Mount, to promote programs related to ethical issues, and to cultivate Jewish-Catholic dialogue. Each of these objectives reflects the fundamental values of Dominican higher education in general, and the particular ethos of the Dominican Sisters who founded the Mount.
During the academic year, CDI sponsors several campus-wide events that celebrate the Mount’s Dominican heritage. One of the most important is the annual Founders Day, when the campus community remembers with gratitude the founders of the college and honors the Dominican Sisters of Hope for their continued support.
Founders Day Celebration.
To cultivate the Dominican intellectual tradition within the campus community, CDI hosts guest lectures on themes related to one of the Dominican pillars and named in honor of a Dominican saint. Often, CDI partners with campus academic divisions or committees to promote the relevance of these talks for academic disciplines or campus interests. For example, the Blessed Fra Angelico lecture focuses on the significance of beauty and the arts, and the Saint Martin de Porres lecture relates to the theme of social justice. To elevate campus appreciation of Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment, Laudto si’, CDI is working collaboratively with the campus’s environmental awareness committee to bring guest speakers to campus who have spoken about environmental issues and their relation to spiritual values.
One of the most important events for CDI is the annual summer philosophy workshop on Thomas Aquinas. The event is a collaboration between CDI and the Thomistic Institute of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. Held in the campus’s Dominican Center, the three-day workshop brings together graduate students and visiting scholars from across the world who gather to discuss some specific aspect of Thomistic philosophy or theology.
Talks on interreligious dialogue are also part of CDI programming efforts, but specifying Jewish-Catholic dialogue was important in creating CDI’s mission because of the close relationship the Dominican Sisters and the college have had with the local Jewish community of Newburgh. CDI has sponsored several campus lectures delivered by noted Jewish scholars and hosted several Seder meals attended by faculty and support staff, presided over by Rabbi Daniel Polish. One of the best examples of the importance of Jewish/Catholic dialogue for the life of the campus community is when CDI and the Kaplan Family Library dedicated the Mount’s own copy of the Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition. The volumes were blessed by both Rabbi Daniel Weintraub and the campus minister at the time, Fr. Francis Amodio, O. Carm.
Appreciation for the Mount’s Dominican heritage is also cultivated through CDI’s facilitating campus participation in the Fanjeaux summer study program, held in collaboration with Dominican colleges and universities from across the United States. Faculty, staff, and students apply to participate with groups from various Dominican schools across the United States. They travel to southern France, where Saint Dominic founded the Order of Preachers to learn more about his life and legacy. Many members of the Mount community have taken part in this program, and all have returned to the Mount with a greater understanding of its mission and a deepened commitment to the Dominican pillars.
Another way CDI engages directly with students is through its creation and sponsorship of the Dominican Scholars of Hope. The club is student-directed and open to all Mount students. Its chief aim is to encourage students to be mindful of their own academic and spiritual development and growth. The organization’s activities reflect the values expressed in the four Dominican pillars. Students engage in experiential learning exercises, community service projects, and are required to submit periodic reflections about these experiences.
Mount Saint Mary College’s Dominican Scholars of Hope presented the Baby Steps Baby Pantry at Christ Lutheran Church with a donation of $700 on December 4, 2024.
Looking forward, CDI has announced the Mount Saint Mary Academy/High School project. This venture initiative seeks to document the history and impact of the school and highlight the contribution the Dominican Sisters have made to education in the Hudson Valley.
While 15 years is a mere moment considering the richness of the 800-year-old Dominican intellectual tradition, in this relatively short span of time, CDI has helped to lead the Mount campus community in developing a greater understanding of its Dominican heritage and making more explicit the relevance of St. Dominic’s mission and vision in light of contemporary higher education.
As director of the institute, I cannot wait to see where the future will take us.