At the present time, when the life and purpose of Catholic Universities has become the subject of many important discussions, it is helpful to turn to the past and investigate thoroughly the nature and foundations of the history of Catholic higher education and its Catholic identity. ;The current dissertation contributes to this larger discussion by examining one of the most significant proponents of Catholic higher education in recent centuries, John Henry Newman . Newman's vision from first to…
Read moreAt the present time, when the life and purpose of Catholic Universities has become the subject of many important discussions, it is helpful to turn to the past and investigate thoroughly the nature and foundations of the history of Catholic higher education and its Catholic identity. ;The current dissertation contributes to this larger discussion by examining one of the most significant proponents of Catholic higher education in recent centuries, John Henry Newman . Newman's vision from first to last was driven by the need to found an institution that would address the ongoing tension between faith and reason. During a time of vast social, political, and educational change, Newman set out to help create an institution that would be a powerful servant to the Church in a civilization that had increasingly become characterized by nationality, science, technology, and industrialization. ;To understand Newman's developing view of the nature, purpose, and structure of the Catholic University, this dissertation examines his writings from the initial days in 1851 when he was invited to participate in this project until the end of his rectorship in 1858. This dissertation discovers in these writings some practical and intellectual developments that occurred during this relatively short period. Newman began to spell out the goal of a university in his inaugural lectures in 1852; this grew into a vision of an intellectual empire as he returned to Birmingham, England in 1858. The intermediate steps furnish a fascinating account of a man who possessed acute intellectual powers and a growing comprehension of the practical needs required to bring a effective Catholic University into operation. ;What emerges is the integral unity of the purpose of a Catholic University and its institutional structures. Such integration allows the University to become an intellectual light that preserves and develops the unity of natural and revealed knowledge within the entire region that it serves