Mission Seminar
The Mission Seminar at the College of the Holy Cross consists of eight luncheon seminars over the course of the academic year. The culminating gathering takes placed at the College’s retreat center: the Joyce Contemplative Center. Seminar themes include: the Mission Statement, the Society of Jesus and Jesuit education, Liberal Arts education at Holy Cross, holistic student formation, Jesuit education and justice, and Ignatian spirituality. Each session draws on a series of readings and includes reflection, discussion, and a presentation by a Holy Cross community member with expertise on the month’s topic.
1. Foster reflection and conversation about the College’s mission through a series of presentations by veteran community members.
2. Draw on distinct locations around the campus to emphasize the variety of places where the community “lives.”
3. Foster a deeper understanding and application of the breadth of the College’s Ignatian heritage.
4. Encourage participants to imagine how leadership and mission inform one another.
Program assessment draws on a combination of open-ended and Likert scale questions (seven total). Respondents from the first two Mission Seminar cohorts felt that the seminars were a good use of their time and appreciated the context provided by the materials’ historical components about the spaces in which they move. Office of Mission Engagement staff also learned that the seminars foster a spirit of collegiality and fellowship across cohorts by forging connections between different departments and offices.