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Can Academic Freedom Co-Exist With Catholic Schooling?

Question posed Sept. 29 at first in year-long series exploring ethics in education

CHICAGO (Sept. 19, 2003) – Is it possible to maintain academic freedom while upholding the values of a Catholic education?

How can a Catholic university teach and research the subjects in the pursuit of truth, without Catholic Church interference and without threat to the university’s status as a Catholic institution?

Titled “Academic Freedom and Responsibility in Catholic Education,” the first in a series of panel discussions will probe this complex topic. The discussion will be held 3:30 to 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29, in the main reception room at Saint Xavier University, 3700 W. 103rd St., Chicago.

The series, “Ethics in the Educational Community,” is sponsored by the Center for Religion and Public Discourse, the Center for Educational Practice and the SXU chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

“In sponsoring this series of discussions, (we) seek to raise some of the concerns of the campus community in terms of higher education, in general, and higher education at a Catholic university such as Saint Xavier, in particular,” said Sister Sue Sanders, RSM, director of the Center for Religion and Public Discourse.

Speaking on the panel will be Dr. Christopher Chalokwu, vice president of academic affairs, Saint Xavier University; Beth Gierach, managing director of admissions at SXU;

Genie McAvoy, Faculty Senate president and assistant professor of communication at SXU and Sister Rose Wiorek, RSM, principal of Mother McAuley High School. James Antos, principal of Brother Rice High School, will moderate the panel discussion.