An Investigation of the Ursuline Charism As Manifested in the Leadership of Three Ursuline College Presidents
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Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1997 An Investigation of the Ursuline Charism as Manifested in the Leadership of Three Ursuline College Presidents Suzanne Sims Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Sims, Suzanne, "An Investigation of the Ursuline Charism as Manifested in the Leadership of Three Ursuline College Presidents" (1997). Dissertations. 3695. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/3695 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1997 Suzanne Sims LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO AN INVESTIGATION OF THE URSULINE CHARISM AS MANIFESTED IN THE LEADERSHIP OF THREE URSULINE COLLEGE PRESIDENTS A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND POLICY STUDIES BY SUZANNE SIMS, O.S.U. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS MAY, 1997 Copyright by Suzanne Sims, o.s.u., 1997 All rights reserved. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My gratitude goes to my religious community of Mount Saint Joseph Ursulines, Maple Mount, Kentucky, whose support and faith in me made possible the completion of this study. Special thanks to my family who have been confident cheerleaders for me all the way. My director, Terry E. Williams, has been the steady beacon through this process, calling me to be my best. His commitment and friendship helped me to discover that a quiet and patient listening to the process is the clearest path to understanding. Jennifer Grant Haworth and Francis Marie Thrailkill, o.s.u. have my sincere appreciation for their expertise and dedication as my readers. This research would not have happened without the wonderful cooperation and exemplary leadership of Dorothy Ann Kelly, o.s.u., Ellen Doyle, o.s.u., and Anne Marie Diederich, o.s.u., the three presidents in this study, and their colleagues who served as auxiliary participants for the interviews. Finally, I am deeply grateful to five women who are graduate students at Loyola University Chicago and have served as my mentors, colleagues, counselors, and friends iii during the dissertation process. I could not have done it without them, and I recognize how blessed this time has been by associating with Carolyn Bair, Peggy Clark, Sue Gallagher, R.S.M., Marianne Holt, and Denise Wilkin. iv DEDICATION To my mother and first teacher, Mary Teresa Tong Sims, whose ministry as an elementary teacher in collaboration with the Ursulines of Mount Saint Joseph, Maple Mount, Kentucky, taught me the value of education and the gift of love. Her quiet but loving wait for God these four years has been a prayer that sustained me and gave me hope. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION . 1 Theoretical Perspective Ursuline Mission and Heritage Significance of the Study Purpose of the Study Definition of Terms Overview of the Study 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 15 Char ism Saint Angela Merici A Biographical Sketch Socio-historical Context Vision and Influence Leadership Perspectives in General Literature Dominant Theme of Transformation Rest's Review of Leadership Literature, 1930-1990 Indicators of the Crisis and Some Anomalies Leadership in Higher Education Since 1980 Influence of the Transformational Model Women and Leadership in Higher Education Invisibility of Women in Leadership Literature Integration of the Invisible Female Leader Emerging Perspectives of Leadership in vi Higher Education Communal Perspectives Servant Leadership as Model Metaphors and Images as Models Conclusion Women Religious as Leaders in Higher Education Ursuline Leadership in Higher Education 3. METHODOLOGY . • • • . • . • • • 108 Rationale for the Research Method Phenomenological Approach to Inquiry Research Design Multi-Case Study Sample Case Selection Data Collection Interviews Participant Observation Documentary Analysis Fieldnotes Data Analysis Role of the Researched and Researcher Trustworthiness Triangulation Member Checks Ethical Considerations 4. CASE STUDIES • 127 Introduction vii sister Anne Marie Diederich, o.s.u. Sister Ellen Doyle, o.s.u. Sister Dorothy Ann Kelly, o.s.u. 5. CROSS-CASE ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION • 184 Influences on the Expression of Charism Commitment to Vocation Commitment to Community Commitment to Discernment Symbols and Rituals Personal Experiences Enacting the Charism as President Quality of Presence Positive Attitude toward Change Respect for the Individual Person A Spiritually Integrated Life 6. SUMMARY, FINDINGS, AND CONCLUSIONS. • • • • • 240 Review of the Study Summary of the Findings Conclusions Recommendations for Further Research Appendices A. INTERVIEW PROTOCOLS - PRESIDENTS • • . • • • 263 B. INTERVIEW PROTOCOL - AUXILIARY PARTICIPANTS 265 C. INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (IRB) DOCUMENT 266 REFERENCE LIST 267 VITA . 281 viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION In an age when women were looked down upon, especially those who were without the protection of a husband or a convent grille, the members of the Company of st. Ursula undertook to live out their consecration to God while remaining in the midst of society, thereby exposing themselves to all the risks, (including the not inconsiderable economic ones), inherent in such an anomalous situation. (Mariani et al, 1986, p. xxvi) Consecration to God in the midst of society describes the Ursuline way of life begun by St. Angela Merici in 1535. Women in sixteenth century Italy had two choices for an adult lifestyle, marriage or the cloister (Mariani et al, 1986). Angela chose a third way, that of living a consecrated life in their families and in society, and bequeathed it to those who would join the Company. This was a very bold and courageous step on behalf of women in Angela's world, a solution that challenged both tradition and custom. It was a radical break that would find little juridical support after Angela's death. Most American Catholics know women religious in general as sisters who take vows and do some kind of apostolic ministry, i.e. nursing, teaching, social work. The Ursulines did not always take vows as contemporary religious do, nor were they always teachers except in a 1 2 very broad sense. Angela founded the Company for women dedicated to God and who did good works while living with their families. Over the centuries the need for teachers, first in Europe and later in immigrant schools in the United States, was the most urgent apostolic call of the times. Ursulines responded and became known worldwide as women committed to teaching young girls, particularly those without other opportunities for education in their society. This reputation endures even though the number of sisters teaching in schools has dramatically declined, particularly in the United States. According to Nygren and Ukeritis (1992), who studied the future of women religious in the United States, there are several reasons for this decline. Women religious in the 1990s are responding to social needs other than education and classroom teaching, because of an aging membership, and because fewer women are answering a call to religious life today. The gift Angela Merici gave to the Church through the Company of St. Ursula continues to be active in the broader teaching mission of the Church over 460 years later. Though fewer in number, the Ursuline commitment to education of women is strong in the United states, particularly through secondary and post secondary institutions. The Ursuline charism, Angela's gift to her followers, continues to manifest itself in the late twentieth century. Charism is the gift this study attempts to explore in the 3 leadership of Ursulines serving as presidents of three colleges in the United States. The energy and creative spirit of Angela Merici are incarnated in the Ursulines as they strive to recognize and name that charism in their individual apostolates. This study investigated how that charism is instantiated in the women who endeavor to bring the spirit of Angela Merici into the colleges sponsored by Ursuline congregations. The theological foundation of charism focused the understanding of charism in its historical and present reality. The story and legacy of the "wise woman of Brescia" (Burns, 1995) are joined to the voices and experiences of three women who live out the legacy of Angela in a contemporary context of higher education. Theoretical Perspective Charism is taken from the Greek "charis," meaning "grace." Historically, Paul of Tarsus first used the term in the New Testament, probably as a colloquial expression for "gift" or "present" (Kasemann, 1964; Nardoni, 1993). The word remained essentially unused until Max Weber, the renowned sociologist, popularized it in the late 1940s (Weber, 1947). Weber (1947) developed a theory of charismatic leadership for certain political systems and formulated a phenomenological definition of charism as: a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary 4 men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least exceptional powers or qualities. These are not accessible to the ordinary, but are regarded as of divine origin