I won’t call it ‘divine inspiration.’ But good advice is good advice.
Last week, Pope Francis called on Catholic universities to re-engage with the Church’s teachings. The recent Time magazine, New Yorker and, oddly enough, Rolling Stone cover boy spoke of the need for “the uncompromising witness of Catholic universities to the Church’s moral teaching.”
“It is my hope that the University of Notre Dame will continue to offer unambiguous testimony to this aspect of its foundational Catholic identity,” Francis said, “especially in the face of efforts, from whatever quarter, to dilute that indispensable witness.”
Take that lesson to heart, ye universities of a less sacred variety. Shed the piety from his words, and you find valuable counsel for us all: Do what you do well, no matter what the nay-sayers say, and anchor it on the principles that made you who you are today.
Say what you will about the Pontiff, but this guy knows sales. Seriously, he makes Chris Hadfield seem camera shy.
I am not out of line to suggest universities are suffering through an identity crisis. After a millennia of providing the passport to knowledge, as well as the key to middle-class and above standing, universities are taking uncertain steps into the future. Questions swirl: Do employers still value us? Can families still afford us? Do governments still support us?
For those ardent supporters of what we do, in whose camp I count myself, this navel-gazing in response to external challenges has been frustrating, even infuriating. Why is it, at a time when the public places its highest value on us, and when society needs what we do the most, that we have the least self-confidence in what we do?
Just look at the numbers.
Last week, a Gandalf Group survey showed what Ontarians think about universities. The picture is clear about where we stand.
Nearly 9-in-10 (88 per cent) people said universities’ overall contributions to the province are important, behind only hospitals and elementary and high schools. More than 8-in-10 (83 per cent) of those who attended universities felt their education played a role in their personal success. More than 7-in-10 (72 per cent) said university teaching is a ‘very important contribution to society.’
With numbers like those, one would think we’re defining our own future. Any politician, any industry, heck, any NHL commissioner would kill for approval numbers like that. What would Tar Sands developers be doing if 7-in-10 people found their work ‘very important to society’?
But can you honestly say we offer ‘uncompromising witness’ to what a university degree means to the world? Do we always stand up in ‘the face of efforts, from whatever quarter, to dilute that indispensable witness’? Not always.
This isn’t just a Canadian problem. I see it Stateside, and even in pockets across the globe. Universities continue to be too polite. Perhaps it’s because university communities don’t fully control our own purse strings, and we don’t want to offend the money men. Perhaps it’s because we don’t want to be labeled elitist in a world slowly embracing ignorance in 140 characters or less. Or perhaps we just assume people will come around because they always have.
What the Pope is demanding of his flock, perhaps we should expect of ourselves. We shouldn’t fear standing up to the 800-pound gorilla in the room, because we are the 800-pound gorilla in the room.
Universities should proudly proclaim that a world without what we do every day is not a world anyone – no politician, no parent or no pope – wants to live in.