Tag: Wheeling Jesuit U.

Helping Jesuits get their groove (back)

New v.p. for mission & ministry at the Jesuits’ St. Louis U. The post is not new. It caught my attention because the same appointment was made last March at Wheeling (WV) Jesuit U., where it is new, apparently in anticipation and certainly expectation of Wheeling Jesuit’s hiring its first non-Jesuit president.

The position allows educationally experienced Jesuits who do not want to head a college or university and/or would not be considered for such a job to help shape one in the Jesuit tradition.

This one at St. Louis U. held a similar position at Wheeling Jesuit, in fact, as director of campus ministry — maybe also as director of Mission and Identity, as the release has it. Hmmm. “Campus chaplain” begot “director of campus ministry” begot “director of mission and identity” in the ever-vibrant world of denominating people assigned to college or university.

Point is, the fellow is supposed to steer the institution — St. Louis U. has a Jesuit president, by the way — in direction of its “Catholic, Jesuit identity, character, history and heritage,” which by no means can be taken for granted in the ever-vibrant world of Catholic, Jesuit higher education.  Stay tuned, my friends, stay tuned.

Wheeling Jesuit enrollment reported stable

Two college students wrestling (collegiate, sc...
Fun on campus

Don’t know how much to make of this, but in view of various reports of declining Wheeling (WV) Jesuit U. enrollment in the wake of its precipitate firing of a popular president 13 months ago, this is interesting:

NEWS9 checked in with every college in the Valley. Both Wheeling Jesuit and Franciscan universities report stable enrollment. But six other schools are seeing a significant increase in students. That includes Belmont Technical College, Bethany College, Eastern Gateway Community College, Ohio University Eastern, West Liberty University and WVNCC.

Stable is not bad, and same is true of nearby Franciscan U. (of Steubenville OH), which would seem to be in the same market, vs. the other six, which are not Catholic schools.

Flunking govt test ain’t necessarily bad

Wheeling Jesuit U. is not alone in flunking the government’s “financial-responsibity” test, as was reported yesterday. Some of the others are knocking down the feds’ argument:

The test is founded on a business model, and nonprofits dont really operate in the same way, Daniel Anderson, who since 1981 has served as president of Appalachian Bible College near Beckley said.

Because the test rewards schools that have a large amount of liquid assets, a school thats expanding and spending money on new facilities will score lower, Anderson said.

. . . theres a fallacy in the formula the Department of Ed uses, and Ive been saying that for many years, he said. A school like ours isnt going to just build up cash. When we get money, we want to put it into use.

Another days it’s old news:

At Ohio Valley University in Wood County, the news, well, wasnt news. I still dont understand all the excitement about OVU being on the (Education) Departments list, Steve Morgan, the schools executive vice president, said in a news release.

Morgan, who previously served as the schools chief fiscal officer, said Ohio Valley has been on the list for a decade as it purchased land and made other upgrades to become a full baccalaureate program.

The Education Departments tool to measure financial strength depends heavily on a comparison of a schools debt to its assets, Morgan said. By that definition, he said, Ohio Valley University has continued to score poorly despite growing enrollment, a top ranking in US News & World Report and other indicators of strength.

Anyhow, Ohio Valley U. is staying on the flunk list: Its a fact of life here and will continue to be so for years to come, said Morgan. The OVU president, E. Keith Stotts also demurred:

What I regret is the implication that Ohio Valley University is teetering at deaths door, he said. . . . . Just because the school shows up on the governments list doesnt mean the school is struggling, Stotts said. OVU is a true success story, the Departments list not withstanding, Stotts argues. Lord willing, our university will continue its mission of transforming lives for many years to come.

Besides Wheeling Jesuit, two other West Virginia institutions were cited: Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi; and Davis & Elkins College in Elkins.

I like the spirit the first two show.