To: Joe Duffy, Jim Halpin, and Jesuit Apostolic Planning committee
From: Arthur Madigan and Ron Anderson
About:  Proposed new Institute at Boston College

Attached please find a draft of a proposal for the establishment of a new Institute at Boston College.  This draft is the result of a number of conversations which we have had during the last couple of weeks.   The context in which our discussions have taken place has been the recognition of the following.  First, the symbolic value and resources afforded by St. Mary's Hall.  Second, the importance, both to the Church and to the University community, of studies that relate religious concerns to contemporary secular disciplines.  Third, the extent to which our own community life and apostolate are strengthened by interaction with serious researchers, Jesuit and non-Jesuit in our midst.

We are still tentative about the details of the proposal, and we welcome  comments on the  very idea of such an institute and suggestions about the exact form it might take.

March 4th,  1987.

PROPOSAL FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW INSITUTE AT BOSTON COLLEGE

The purpose of the following is to outline the general features of a new Institute to be established and directed by Jesuit at Boston College.  The  is envisioned as providing a center and forum for interdisciplinary studies with a focus on the religious and cultural issues associated with contemporary secular disciplines.   In line with this intent a possible name for this Institute would be the "Institute of Religious and Cultural Studies"

1) The particular purpose of the Institute would be to provide a forums for those actively involved in particular disciplines which are not, as such, of an explicit religious nature, to explore religious, ethical and cultural issues which arise from their disciplines.

2) It is proposed that the Jesuit Community at Boston College endow this Institute, and that the facilities for the fellows of the Institute be located at St. Mary's.

3) It is proposed that the Society direct this Institute by the following means:

a) The Institute would be directed by a board of trustees, a majority of whom would be Jesuits working at Boston College.  The trustees would be expected to have a degree of involvement in the ongoing work of the Institute, and to maintain its religious and interdisciplinary character.

b) The trustees would name a Jesuit director whose functions would include organization (in cooperation with the Rector and Minister) the facilities of the Institute, organizing the joint activities of the fellows and promoting the involvement of the fellows in the life of the university  (it is unclear to us at this point whether the director would need to be full-time).

4) The fellowship would include both fellows residing the Jesuit Community (residential fellows), and those with other living arrangements.  Residential fellows would be offered room and board, office and allied research facilities, and a grant based on need.  Non-residential fellows would be offered a housing allowance, office and allied research facilities and a grant based on need, and would be welcome at meals  (the duration of the fellowships needs further study.)

5) Beside their personal involvement in the work of the Institute, the trustees would award at least three fellowships a year, one in each of the following categories:

a) To a non-Jesuit member of the Boston College faculty.

b) To a non-Jesuit from outside the Boston College faculty.

c) To a Jesuit from outside the Boston College faculty.

It would be hoped that  at least one fellow would come from outside North America.  It would also be hoped that at least two of the fellows would be residential fellows. 

6) The Trustees from time to time may designate as associate fellows scholars committed to interdisciplinary and religious research, but who are unable to accept appointment as full-time fellows.  As associate fellow s they will have access to the facilities and activities of the Institute.

7) It is expected that the fellows would engage in the following sorts of activities:

a) A serious research project of an interdisciplinary and religious nature.

b) Seminars and other forums of discussion as befit a community of scholars.

c) lectures and other forms of involvement in the Boston College community, and the surrounding academic and religious communities.

8) (We are unclear about whether or how the Institute should form an Institutional part of Boston College.)

ADVANTAGES OF SUCH AN INTITUTE:

1)  To Boston College:

a) The Institute would provide a forum for dialogue on religious issues on the Campus in a way which would be inserted into the academic life of the College.

b) The awarding of fellowships to members of the BC faculty would ensure an increasing interdisciplinary and religious consciousness in the university.

c) Perhaps the most significant problem within academe is how to do justice to issues and questions which do not fit neatly into the methodology or context of the one of the established disciplines.  The Institute would provide Boston College with a working model of how to study or approach such issues. 

d) Such an Institute could draw on the international contacts and experience of the Society of Jesuit in such as way as to enhance the religious and intellectual life of the College.

2) To the Society's Apostolate at Boston College:

a) The Institute would provide an ongoing Jesuit presence on Campus that was intellectual, religious, and part of the academic life of the College.  It would also provide a way of making a distinctive Jesuit and academic impact on the Communities beyond Boston College.

b) It would provide an excellent use of the resources of St. Mary's and use the present funds available to the community in a manner consistent with the Society's Institute (Cf. Statues on Poverty,  42 44 46 58 (§ 2)).

3) To the Jesuit Community at Boston College:

Our own community life has been strengthened by interaction with serious researches, Jesuit and non-Jesuit, in our midst.  The Institute is an important practical way of maximizing such interaction.

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