School presidents celebrate the value of faith-based higher education
Over 50 college and university presidents gathered Monday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the nation's capital and vigorously applauded after watching the first episode of a new BYUtv documentary series, 'Higher Ed: The Power of Faith-Inspired Learning in America."
'Faith-based institutions are the bedrock of American higher education, and we've not paid adequate attention to that role and to that responsibility,' said Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education.
ACE launched a Commission on Faith-based Colleges and Universities last year and Monday's event drew the presidents of dozens of commission member schools, including Notre Dame, Yeshiva University and Brigham Young University.
The event also drew representatives of the U.S. Department of Education, the Faith Angle Forum, the American Enterprise Institute and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, as well as reporters from The Washington Post and other media outlets.
The new BYUtv documentary highlights students and presidents at three faith-based schools — Catholic University of America, Taylor University and BYU-Hawaii.
'This is a way of saying, 'Faith institutions have a contribution to make,'' said Elder Clark G. Gilbert, the commissioner of education for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Two additional episodes will be released in August and will include students from other commission schools. Those schools amount to 10% of the nation's colleges and universities and are excited to tell their stories, four presidents said during a panel discussion.
Their stories need to be told even to people of faith, said Ryan Burge, the event's keynote speaker and a well-known analyst of data on faith and religion at Eastern Illinois University.
Burge said it's a myth that college is a place where students lose their faith.
'College is not antithetical to religion,' he said. 'In some ways, it accelerates religion, enhances religion.'
Data shows that the more educated Americans are, the more faithful they are, Burge said. He has found that the more Americans are educated and faithful, the more they flourish in numerous data sets.
'To summarize, education is good. Religion is good. Education plus religion is good,' he said. 'It causes trust. It makes us more loving of our neighbors. It increases our income. It increases all these outcomes.'
In the documentary, Isabela Barboza said she decided to attend Catholic University of America because she decided that 'if religion is part of my life, it has to be part of my education and formation.'
Taylor University student Hannah Wylie, whose parents attended Harvard and Brown, said she struggled before turning down her own Ivy League offer to attend the small evangelical school in Upland, Indiana. She is grateful she did.
'I wanted to be taught to think deeply about things I was doing,' she said in the documentary. 'I wanted to do things for a purpose.'
Every college and university president in America is grappling with data that shows students facing a crisis of meaning in their lives.
Rabbi Avi Berman, the president of Yeshiva University, took a moment of gratitude during the panel discussion because he found the documentary powerful.
'Young people are looking to university to find themselves and their values because they are not seeing answers to their deep, existential questions in the ephemeral choices being offered them in other institutions,' he said.
Lipscomb University President Candice McQueen said she was grateful the documentary illustrated what colleges and universities like her Churches of Christ school in Nashville, Tennessee, bring to the table.
The Rev. Robert Dowd, president of the University of Notre Dame, said his school takes a both-and approach to the holistic growth of its students.
'Notre Dame is a place where we educate the whole person, where both faith and reason are engaged, where matters of the heart as well as the life of the mind are very much valued,' he said. 'We want our students to grow not only in understanding, in knowledge and in technical skills but in wisdom, and we want them to grow in faith, hope and love.'
Among those in attendance were BYU President Shane Reese, BYU-Idaho President Alvin Meredith, BYU-Pathway Worldwide President Brian Ashton and Ensign College President Bruce Kusch.
BYU-Hawaii President John Kauwe wasn't at the Kennedy Center, but he was seen in the documentary riding a skateboard on the Laie, Hawaii, campus in white Nikes with a black swoosh and a splash of blue.
'What faith-based institutions offer is another type of belonging,' Kauwe says in the 30-minute film.
The presidents met in working groups in the morning to learn about best practices around issues like hiring people who fit a school's mission and how to share and elevate stories about their faith-based schools.
Elder Gilbert said the Commission on Faith-based Colleges and Universities creates a friendship for every school.
'There is connectivity for those who always feel like the odd man out,' he said.
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This isn't over, but we don't know how it will end. Let's pray the Constitution survives." "I have served 22 years for my country. This clown that was elected to represent us all is, by far, the most corrupt president to date. He thinks he can do anything and disrespect anyone; he has done nothing to unite this country for the better. Additionally, the Supreme Court is a joke and just as corrupt as Trump. I served to protect and defend and follow lawful orders, not a dictator." —superlatte284 "I'm a 21-year retired SFC war veteran. Trump is doing a fine job so far. All of these idiots using the hyperbole that Trump is the 'worst president ever' need to get a clue. He's not perfect, but he is 1,000 times better than the clown we had before him. Many of you KNEW Biden was compromised in more ways than one and said nothing. NOTHING. So, sit back and enjoy the next four years of Trump, because you were too cowardly to speak up against Biden." "I am a six-year Navy veteran and a three-year Army veteran who was honorably discharged under medical conditions at 100% disability, and I thank God that President Trump is in office. It is about damn time we have someone in office who knows business and isn't afraid to stand up for AMERICA FIRST! We have been on the shitty end of the stick long enough, paying the rest of the world's bills for squabbles between countries, and I'm glad that Trump put a stop to it and the wasteful spending of the Democratic party." "As a 20-year retired Army veteran, I've served under numerous leaders and have supported generals, Secretaries of Defense, and Chiefs of Staff. Leadership matters, and this administration has made it clear that reckless governance weakens institutions. I once encouraged young people to consider military service. Now, I can no longer offer that advice in good conscience. This turbulent area will pass, but not soon enough." "As an Air Force veteran, I am insulted by those who don't understand how Trump is disobeying the Constitution. Any ex and current military member who doesn't feel the same should be ashamed of themselves. Biden wasn't a great president, but he was a good one who dug us out of a deep hole that the previous Trump administration put us in. To deny what Biden did is to deny reality; Biden wasn't corrupt like Trump. Any president who openly states they are unsure if they have to uphold the Constitution should be immediately impeached. It is also shameful that the other two branches of government don't seem to have the morals or decency to stand up to Trump. If America survives, history will surely look at this period as a far darker time than during the Civil War." —Anonymous "I'm a 24-year veteran and a three-tour combat veteran. I am struggling to understand veterans who like him. This behavior is not okay in any form. People actually believe the stuff Trump and his administration say, and it makes me embarrassed and angry. I will definitely fight against the MAGA community if it comes to it. My country and its three WORKING forms of government NEED TO WORK CORRECTLY!" "I'm an 80-year-old combat veteran of the Marine Corps, and I find the current administration incompetent, shameful, and dangerous. Trump and his enablers would benefit from devoting more time to self-reflection, self-improvement, and self-discipline. Instead, it seems to me that with their power-hungry appetites, they favor self-aggrandisement, money-grubbing, and boot-licking." "As a former active duty, combat arms platoon leader during the 1970s, I learned leadership principles from the world's finest leaders. The first lesson I learned and practiced every day was to take care of your people. We were taught that you are responsible for your people's well-being, which included giving them realistic training, adequate shelter, food, health, and pay and promotions. Trump doesn't give a damn about taking care of anybody but himself." "I'm a Cold War veteran who served for four years on active duty when the Soviet Union was a real threat. Now, the biggest threat to my country is the current administration in DC. I never did think that there would be troops deployed against our fellow Americans just because the president gets offended when someone calls him out on his lies. Every single day, there's a new lie fed to the MAGA cult. It's absolutely disgusting and disgraceful. Service members swear an oath to the Constitution, not to a person. We are obligated to disobey orders that are illegal. We need military leadership to stand up and call him out for his actions." —John, 55, Connecticut "The convicted felon residing in the White House is a true danger to all of democracy. I served 10 years in the Army and am proud to have served. I worked closely with other NATO soldiers and know what they admired the United States for. I look around now and wonder what happened. Felon Trump and his asslicking, self-serving sycophants have created an image of our country that embarrasses and frightens me as a father and grandfather." If you're an active duty or reserve US military member or a veteran, what are your thoughts on Trump's presidency so far? Let us know in the comments, or you can anonymously voice your thoughts using the form below.
