Santa Clara University

History

The President of Santa Clara, Fr. Paul Locatelli, S.J., charged the Bannan Center for Jesuit Education to take the lead in applying for the Theological Exploration of Vocation planning grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc. From March 8 until mid May 2002, a Planning Committee met for two hours weekly to design the University's vocation project. The group was composed of 18 members including the Vice President for University Relations, two Vice-Provosts, the Dean of Students, Faculty, Residential Life and Career Center, and other key constituents. The committee examined how the planning grant could encourage vocational reflection across the University. Joseph Appleyard, S.J., principal investigator for Boston College's Intersections program, and Professors Mary Frances Malone and Jim Mayzik, S.J., who led the successful Lilly grant for Fairfield University, offered invaluable insights on how their universities integrated Ignatian spirituality with the Theological Reflection on Vocation program. On April 26-28, Howard Gray, S.J., an internationally known expert on Jesuit higher education and co-author of Boston College's Intersections program, led the Committee on a weekend retreat focused on integrating the theme of vocation in Ignatian spirituality into the life of a complex modern Jesuit university.

Although the weekly Planning Committee sessions generated numerous ideas on how various campus entities could benefit from vocation reflection, committee members agreed to a core of initiatives, doing a few things well rather than many things adequately. They recommended three main initiatives at the heart of the planning proposal,forming the core of the implementation grant. Additional programs link DISCOVER to Campus Ministry, Career Center, and the Arrupe Center for Community-Based Learning. After the Spring meetings, the leadership team charted a summer schedule for consultation and writing the program budget. In July, meetings were held with the President and Provost of the University who approved Santa Clara's commitment through contributed services, giving assurance that successful DISCOVER components will become integral parts of the University beyond the five-year grant cycle.

• Press Release  - Lilly Endowment gives $1.9 million to SCU to inspire a new generation of leaders - Largest sponsored-projects grant in University's history will develop scholarly communities with DISCOVER program.
  
• Our Plan  - The grant was designed to create and enhance the Jesuit University's programs for students, faculty, and staff to integrate faith commitments, professional choices, and a call to leadership in society.
• Vocation  - What does vocation mean for Santa Clara University? The invitation from Lilly came at a unique moment in the University's history when two major developments converged.
  
• Resources - You will find here an extensive list of Discernment Tools and Vocation Literature.