"He also called for an attentiveness to the percentage of Catholics among the faculty and students, noting that he had recently turned down an opportunity to serve as president of a Catholic college where the vast majority of both students and teachers are non-Catholic."
I'm struggling to view this comment charitably. It comes across as self-serving and intentionally misleading. He turned down a position at "a Catholic college" because it isn't Catholic enough... but remains at Dartmouth? He's spent the majority of his academic career in the United States working at public universities, with four years total spent at Notre Dame. That's four more years than I've spent in Catholic higher ed., but does he really qualify as an expert on the subject? He's only been at Dartmouth for a year so it's understandable that he wouldn't want to jump ship so soon, and I'm sure it's a coveted gig in academia, but why not just say that?
I absolutely support his decision to stay at Dartmouth. It is much better to be a faithful Catholic at a secular univeristy than a Catholic college where the vast majority are non-Catholic. "Catholic non-Catholic colleges" act like vaccines to the faith. There is just enough non-challenging Catholicism there to innoculate administrators, faculty, and students to the fullness of the faith.
"He also called for an attentiveness to the percentage of Catholics among the faculty and students, noting that he had recently turned down an opportunity to serve as president of a Catholic college where the vast majority of both students and teachers are non-Catholic."
I'm struggling to view this comment charitably. It comes across as self-serving and intentionally misleading. He turned down a position at "a Catholic college" because it isn't Catholic enough... but remains at Dartmouth? He's spent the majority of his academic career in the United States working at public universities, with four years total spent at Notre Dame. That's four more years than I've spent in Catholic higher ed., but does he really qualify as an expert on the subject? He's only been at Dartmouth for a year so it's understandable that he wouldn't want to jump ship so soon, and I'm sure it's a coveted gig in academia, but why not just say that?
I absolutely support his decision to stay at Dartmouth. It is much better to be a faithful Catholic at a secular univeristy than a Catholic college where the vast majority are non-Catholic. "Catholic non-Catholic colleges" act like vaccines to the faith. There is just enough non-challenging Catholicism there to innoculate administrators, faculty, and students to the fullness of the faith.