Heart: The Value of our Episcopal Heritage & Identity

Heart

Reinforce the value of our Episcopal heritage and identity that is open, generous, and thoughtful; invested in supporting communities of spiritual practice; works to advance diversity, equity and inclusion; and strives to be a force for global justice.

Rationale

The University of the South is distinctive among higher education institutions as one created and governed by the Episcopal Church, which presents opportunities to contribute to students’ ethical formation and action. It includes a residential School of Theology; a strong University chaplaincy; and many bishops, clergy, and lay leaders who serve on its governing boards. Nonetheless, the nature of the University’s Episcopal identity is complex and, to some degree, we lack a shared understanding of how the Episcopal Church adds value to the experiences of the diverse individuals who make up this institution and how the University serves as a resource to the church.

The Episcopal Church as a whole and the University share historic commitments to academic inquiry; the integration of faith and reason; the importance of received tradition (and the ability to challenge that tradition); a generous approach to religious difference; and respect for the dignity of the whole person—body, mind, and spirit. More recently, both have been reckoning with the more exclusionary, Eurocentric, and environmentally destructive aspects of our histories, and both have publicly committed to the pursuit of a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable future for the whole world. Moreover, there exist particular ways that the University and the church can be mutually supportive in pursuit of these shared objectives.

Students appreciate the University’s connection to the Episcopal Church for diverse and overlapping reasons. The University draws some students interested in participating in the life of the Episcopal Church on campus. Others appreciate the freedom and support an Episcopal institution affords to explore their spirituality and/or live into a different religious or spiritual tradition. Others may not understand themselves as religious or spiritual, but appreciate the Episcopal Church’s commitments to inclusion and free inquiry and its global connections. Each of these represents one aspect of the University’s Episcopal identity that merits strengthening.

Description

We will strengthen the University of the South’s relationship to the Episcopal Church by investing in initiatives in which the values and resources of the Church can offer distinctive benefits to our diverse students, faculty, and staff. Additionally, we propose investing in ways for the University to serve as a resource to the church so that, through the church, the expertise and best practices already present at the University can have greater global impact.

The University will invest in co-curricular and extracurricular infrastructure that supports students as they integrate the life of the mind with the life of the spirit, whether or not they identify as Episcopalian. We will build on existing programs that have been effective in building mutually supportive relationships among seminarians and college students. We will further invest in the University Choir as a distinguishing feature of the College in order to drive enrollment and strengthen the Department of Music. We will leverage the Episcopal Church’s global connections in support of the learning and formation of students.

Building on the demonstrated excellence of many of the University’s existing initiatives, we will create sustainable pathways to offer to the Episcopal Church the University’s expertise in theological reflection, sustainability, and the intersection of religion and the environment, as well as historical research and best practices around racial reckoning and repair and Indigenous engagement.

Supporting Tactics

• Build upon foundational connections with Episcopal secondary schools to enhance student recruitment and enrollment.
• Expand the University’s choral music program to engage undergraduate students in multiple choirs, alongside the University Choir. Recruit singers through relationships with feeder high schools with strong choral programs across the country and, in partnership with the Office of Global Citizenship, around the world. Continue to model excellence not only in the sacred music tradition but also as a venue for engaged learning, leadership development, and a relationship-rich student experience.
• Create a dedicated nonsectarian sacred space to support students and colleagues of diverse religious and spiritual identities as they foster relationships with one another and commit to their own spiritual practices on campus.
• Build on the successful model of the Chaplains in Residence program, and create more mechanisms for seminarians to serve in existing departments (i.e. Civic Engagement, Career Readiness and Student Success, Wellness, All Saints’ Chapel) under the supervision of colleagues already working in undergraduate-facing programs. In so doing, add value to the existing work of these departments while encouraging relationships among seminarians and college students.
• Fund cross-cultural experiences for students at the School of Theology and utilize the relationships held by the Office of Global Citizenship and the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to create new opportunities for the same.
• Explore the development of 3-2 B.A./M.A. and 3-3 B.A./M.Div. programs with the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Theology.
• Develop the Center for Religion and Environment into a resource for students and for the church beyond Sewanee, expanding its programmatic offerings and enhancing connections to the Integrated Program in the Environment in the College.
• Create a program of continuing education within the School of Theology, offering postgraduate courses and certificates, online and low-residence, for clergy continuing education.
• Develop new educational programming for local parishes under the Education for Ministry umbrella.
• Initiate new partnerships among the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; the Center for Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation; the Roberson Project; and the Indigenous Engagement Initiative and the Episcopal Church’s Office of Ethnic Ministries as well as dioceses and parishes engaged in the work of historical reckoning, racial healing, and repair so that Sewanee can offer tangible support to those efforts.
• Continue the expansion of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at the School of Theology.
  • Increase diversity among students, faculty, and staff.
  • Increase the diversity of voices on campus with visiting lecturers and fellowships.
  • Strengthen relationships with multicultural ministries within the denomination.
  • Establish and strengthen relationships, including student exchange, with dioceses and theological colleges in the majority-world portions of the Anglican Communion.