The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul is moving from a small Catholic liberal arts college to a more nationally visible, comprehensive Catholic university, said Rob Vischer, named the university’s 16th president Dec. 19, and the second layperson in that role. Doing so requires strengthening the culture of the student experience, integrating faith and reason and “the stretching and support as we want to develop every student’s sense of vocation,” Visser said.
One way to grow enrollment and visibility outside Minnesota is through “our leadership on Catholic thought,” Vischer said. “We’ve got to emphasize and find the synergies in our really strong areas of Catholic thought leadership … where we have really good research and teaching at the intersection of Catholic thought and the discipline. So, visibility and culture — those are the two big areas of emphasis you’ll see in my leadership.”
Vischer and Father Joseph Taphorn, rector and vice president of the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley to discuss the intersection of faith and leadership.
Father Taphorn said in many ways, he is blessed in his role because “the opportunities to tend to the personal faith life is sort of built into the schedule” at the seminary. And in giving a heavy emphasis on spiritual formation of those preparing for ministry, one needs to lead by example, he said.
He described a strong Catholic leader as someone who can “be constantly discerning, listening to what is God’s voice, appropriating that, listening to that and then being confident and moving in that direction,” Father Taphorn said. “If we can stick with sort of the divine wisdom, ‘what is God doing and moving,’ that’s really what’s going to be most important.”
“I think a strong Catholic leader is somebody who can be constantly discerning, listening to what is God’s voice, appropriating that, listening to that and then being confident and moving in that direction,” Vischer said.
Something that Catholic leaders need to help students wrestle with pertains to today’s culture, which conveys that “the reason you matter is because of what you do,” Vischer said, with the emphasis on being “productive and impressive all the time.” But defining one’s value based on extrinsic achievements is “a very fragile foundation for why you matter,” he said.
Productivity isn’t bad, Vischer said, but being addicted to it is. “And I think that can eat into your spiritual life.”
Catholic leaders need to model a strong work ethic “of being effective, of being efficient, but also understanding that a well-lived life is not simply about productivity,” Vischer said. And second, not feeling a compulsion to be shiny and impressive all the time, he said, which can distance a leader from those he leads. Instead, connect with the brokenness of the world, Vischer said, adding that St. John Paul II was “one of the most stirring examples of connecting with the brokenness in a well-lived life.”
To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Feb. 24 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. Feb. 25 and 2 p.m. Feb. 26.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Deacon Gordon Bird and Devin Schadt, Catholic author, leader and executive director of the Fathers of St. Joseph, who discuss the return of the Archdiocesan Men’s Conference March 18; and Archbishop Bernard Hebda from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who shares thoughts on kickstarting Lenten disciplines.
