ADAPTING TO AMERICA Content made available by Georgetown University Press and Digital Georgetown Content made available by Georgetown University Press and Digital Georgetown ADAPTING TO AMERICA Catholics, Jesuits, and Higher Education in the Twentieth Century William P. Leahy, SJ. Department of History Marquette University LC Georgetown University Press WASHINGTON, D.C. Content made available by Georgetown University Press and Digital Georgetown GEORGETOWN UBRA FEB 15 J99I Copyright © 1991 by Georgetown University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Leahy, William P. Adapting to America : Catholics, Jesuits, and higher education in the twentieth century / William P. Leahy. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-87840-504-6. - ISBN 0-87840-505-4 (pbk.) 1. Catholic universities and colleges-United States- -History-20th century. 2. Church and college-United States- -History-20th century. 3. Catholics-United States-Intellectual life-20th century. 4. United States-intellectual life-20th century. 5. Christianity and culture—History—20th century. I. Title. LC501.L34 1991 377-dc20 90-40505 CIP Content made available by Georgetown University Press and Digital Georgetown To my parents, Ed and Alice Leahy Content made available by Georgetown University Press and Digital Georgetown Content made available by Georgetown University Press and Digital Georgetown Contents PREFACE ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii 1 Catholicism and Education in America 1 2 American Catholicism vs. Academic Professionalism 33 3 Catholics and Coeducation 67 4 The Rise of the Laity in American Catholic Higher Education 93 5 Catholics and Educational Expansion after 1945 123 6 Catholics, Higher Education, and the Future 155 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 159 INDEX 181 Content made available by Georgetown University Press and Digital Georgetown Content made available by Georgetown University Press and Digital Georgetown Preface This is a study of how Catholics adapted to the United States and how American culture affected Catholicism during the twentieth cen- tury; it is based on an investigation of major developments in Catholic higher education since World War I. Like other academic institutions in this country, Catholic colleges and universities have functioned as both mirrors and agents of change during the twentieth century as they grew in number, size, and academic quality. In 1900, the Catholic higher educational network consisted of sixty-three schools enrolling approxi- mately 4,200 students, the vast majority of them males. Founded by dioceses or religious orders and staffed mainly by priests, brothers, and sisters, these institutions offered a prescriptive, liberal arts curriculum and stressed character formation in an atmosphere permeated by tradi- tional, believing Catholicism. No school was coeducational, and most lacked adequate faculty and facilities. But in 1990, Catholic colleges and universities number more than 230 institutions and register approximately 550,000 students in a variety of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. Catho- lic higher education currently ranges from small colleges for women to large coeducational, comprehensive universities and from numerous accredited, though academically undistinguished, schools to a few institutions with national academic prestige. Most Catholic postsecon- dary schools now admit both male and female applicants, and all rely heavily on lay faculty and administrators. Moreover, in contrast to the confidence, religious zeal, and clear objectives particularly evident in Catholic colleges and universities in the 1920s and 1930s, Catholic higher learning currently faces a growing shortage of personnel committed to fostering Catholic spiritual and educational values. Moreover, it lacks a compelling sense of purpose.1 Content made available by Georgetown University Press and Digital Georgetown x Adapting to America The growth of American Catholic higher education in this century reflected in past decades and continues to reflect today the religious values, population increase, rising educational and career goals, and ideological adjustments of Catholics in the United States. Catholic schools also contributed significantly to Catholic social, political, and economic advancement, providing low-cost education and encouraging Catholics to enter the mainstream. Thus, examination of the develop- ment of Catholic colleges and universities since 1900 casts light on the response of Catholics to American culture and the influence of wider society on Catholicism. Yet despite the importance of schools in the American Catholic experience, the written history of Catholic higher learning is curiously meager, consisting mainly of brief essays and narrow histories of institutions and their sponsoring religious orders. There is a special need for monographs which analyze and interpret Catholic higher education in the context of American culture, non-Catholic schools, and the Catholic community. Contemporary understanding of American Catholicism and its educational institutions suffers from the absence of such studies. Inquiry into the historical significance of events in Catholic higher education must pay attention to two central questions. First, what were the main developments in Catholic postsecondary institutions during the twentieth century and what accounted for them? Second, what do the changes in Catholic colleges and universities reveal about the adaptation of Catholics to American society and the effects of culture on members of the Catholic Church in the United States? Since Catholic postsecondary education is a vast and complex subject, this work concentrates on colleges and universities conducted under the auspices of the Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order of men. The centralized government and policy making in Jesuit schools lend themselves to research and analysis. Furthermore, Jesuits have played a prominent role in American Catholic life as they variously initiated or opposed change, and their institutions have generally reflected issues in the rest of Catholic higher education.2 Other Catholic colleges and universities drew from Jesuit educational theory and practice because Jesuits had articulated a definite philoso- phy of education and because they had developed a reputation as effective educators since their founding in 1540.3 In addition, the Jesuit order has had more men involved in Catholic higher education in the United States than any other religious community, and it also contin- ues to conduct the largest number of Catholic colleges and universities. In 1939, the twenty-four institutions directed by Jesuits in sixteen states and the District of Columbia enrolled about 40% of students attending Content made available by Georgetown University Press and Digital Georgetown Preface xi Catholic colleges and universities. At that time, all ten Catholic medical and dental programs as well as eleven of fourteen accredited Catholic law schools were part of Jesuit higher education. After 1945, Jesuit universities expanded heavily into graduate education; and in 1970, they awarded 56% (467) of the doctorates granted by Catholic schools. The Jesuit higher educational network in 1988 included nine colleges and nineteen universities in eighteen states and the District of Columbia, with an enrollment of 175,000 students.4 To provide perspective on major changes in American Catholicism and Catholic higher education since 1900, the opening section of this study reviews the evolution of the Catholic community before World War I, especially in comparison with Jews and Protestants. It also summarizes the administrative and academic reforms which reshaped the American educational scene in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Chapter 2 focuses on the conflict between the religious beliefs and educational objectives of Catholics and the increasingly competitive, professionalized American academic environ- ment. Chapter 3 investigates the origins and development of coeduca- tion in Catholic schools, a radical break with Catholic tradition. The next chapter discusses the rise of laity in Catholic higher education, and chapter 5 examines the expansion of Catholic postsecondary schools after World War II, seeking to determine why Catholic colleges and universities have not made greater advances in quality and status. Consideration of these issues reveals much about the growth of American Catholic higher education in the twentieth century, particu- larly the struggles of Catholic educators to meet the desires of their Catholic clientele and to balance the demands of religious commitment and academic professionalism. Such analysis also enhances under- standing of Catholic upward mobility; the increased status of laity, including women and non-Catholics in Catholic circles; and the impact of secular ideas on Catholic social, religious, and educational attitudes. The history of Catholic colleges and universities after 1900 is a story not only of dedication, grand dreams, and real successes, but also of poor leadership, narrowness, and missed opportunities. Increased knowledge of the Catholic educational past should enhance under- standing of Catholic higher education, Catholicism, and contemporary culture in the United States. Content made available by Georgetown University Press and Digital Georgetown xii Adapting to America Notes 1. James Hennesey, S.J., American Catholics: A History of the Roman Catholic Community