“The Lived Religion of Faith Communities” ft. the University of Scranton’s Michelle González Maldonado I Saturdays at Seven – Season Two, Episode Four

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In the fourth episode of the second season of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with Michelle González Maldonado, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies and the Provost at the University of Scranton. Maldonado opens by discussing the history and theological significance of La Caridad del Cobre (or Our Lady of Charity) to the Cuban Catholic community. Embodied by a statue found floating in Cuba’s Bay of Nipe, La Caridad del Cobre initially came to represent the devotion of the island nation’s slave population. In time, she would become a national symbol and even a revolutionary symbol as Cuba fought for its independence against Spain. Maldonado discusses how her family’s own statue of La Caridad del Cobre was one of the few items her maternal grandmother brought with her when immigrating from Cuba to the United States in the 1970s. That statue would eventually pass to Maldonado’s mother and now to Maldonado where she proudly displays it in her home. Maldonado and Ream then talk about the role La Caridad del Cobre played in Maldonado’s own formation as a theologian as she made her way through graduate school, began her career on the faculty at Loyola Marymount University, and served as the theologian in residence at Guatemala’s San Lucas Mission. Maldonado then unpacks the years she spent at the University of Miami, the books she authored and edited, the origins of her calling to administrative service, and her growing desire to serve the Church through the Society of Jesus’s (or Jesuit’s) commitment to higher education. Maldonado closes by sharing how her understanding of the academic vocation developed over time and the ways she hopes the Jesuit charisms inform how the academic vocation is exercised at the University of Scranton.

• Michelle González Maldonado’s (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Religions (Oxford University Press, 2023)

Todd Ream: Welcome to Saturdays at Seven, Christian Scholar’s Review’s conversation series with thought leaders about the academic vocation and the relationship that vocation shares with the Church. My name is Todd Ream. I have the privilege of serving as the publisher for Christian Scholar’s Review and as the host for Saturdays at Seven. I also have the privilege of serving on the faculty and the administration at Indiana Wesleyan University.

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Our guest is Michelle González Maldonado, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies and the Provost at the University of Scranton. Thank you for joining us.

Michelle González Maldonado: Thank you for having me.

Todd Ream: I’d like to open our conversation by asking you about La Caridad del Cobre or Our Lady of Charity. Who is she and what does she mean to the Cuban people?

Michelle González Maldonado: So La Caridad del Cobre or Our Lady of Charity, is the patron saint of Cuba. She is a manifestation of Mary. She’s not an apparition. She actually was a statue that was discovered by two indigenous brothers, and a slave who was a royal slave when they were gathering salt in the Bay of Nipe, and they discovered her statue floating in the water.

They brought her to the Spanish authorities in Cobre and this devotion began surrounding her miracles were attributed to her and she really became central to the slave population in Cobre. So very famously, her original altar was in the slave barracks. 

And when all these miracles suddenly started to be attributed to her the Spanish actually decided, well, we actually want her with us. And so they moved her to their barracks and she kept disappearing at night and, returning to the slave population and to be with them. And so she was this local devotion for centuries. 

And then during Cuba’s wars for independence from Spain, she became this national symbol. She became this revolutionary symbol. Soldiers would pin her images Cuban soldiers, not Spanish, would pin her image to their uniforms. And she really then grew to become this national devotion. 

And really, you know, today she represents God’s accompaniment of the Cuban people, so not only do you still have La Caridad del Cobre in her original shrine, well not the original slave barrack shrine, but in her shrine in Cuba, but you actually have a replica of her in Miami where the Cuban exile community and the Cuban diaspora sees her as accompanying them in their time outside of the island.

Todd Ream: Thank you. Would you please share the story of your family’s journey from Cuba to the United States? And in particular, the story concerning the relationship that your grandmother and your mother shared.

Michelle González Maldonado: Sure. So my parents came to Cuba, came from Cuba in 1960 as political refugees a year after the Cuban revolution. They came with almost nothing. Very famously, they actually could not come together. They came separately. So my father arrived and six months later, my mother arrived. They first lived in Miami for a short period of time and then moved actually to New York City, to Manhattan, where they spent 10 years before returning back to Miami.

On my maternal side, my grandparents, it took over a decade for them to actually leave the island and arrive in the United States. And one thing that has really marked me is that one of the only things that my grandmother brought from Cuba was her statue of La Caridad del Cobre, of Our Lady of Charity.

And so growing up, her statue, it was in her home. She had a very large home altar. So that’s a space that would have her image, other images of saints, prayer cards, candles, rosaries, holy water, all the good Catholic stuff. And she was really the centerpiece, right? And so it really, you know, fascinated me growing up. It’s a rather large statue that this was not only such a prominent figure in my grandmother’s home, but that it was one of the few things she brought from the island. 

And then when my grandmother passed away, my mother inherited the statue, and it once again was in an altar in a prominent place in our home growing up. And then when my mother passed away, it moved to my home. So now it is in its own home, altar in the home. And it really, it talks about the transmission of religious belief and identity, but also family and family identity.

Todd Ream: In what ways does La Caridad de Cobre help you understand your calling then as a theologian?

Michelle González Maldonado: I mean, she’s why I became a theologian. I mean, really kind of looking at that statue and looking at the images around it and, and trying to understand why it meant so much to my family and why it meant so much to her is, is a huge reason why I became a theologian. 

And also because ultimately, you know, I was raised that my Cuban identity and my Catholic identity were entirely interwoven. We’re entirely interconnected. So I couldn’t, I can’t understand being a Cuban for me without being, understanding being a Catholic and also vice versa. And for me, she really symbolizes that connection between family and culture and religion and identity.

Todd Ream: Thank you. I want to ask you now about some of your undergraduate and graduate experiences, then. You earned an undergraduate degree in French Literature from Georgetown University, a master’s in theology from Union Theological Seminary, and a PhD from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. At what point did you know you were called to study theology?

Michelle González Maldonado: So for me, it was really, I went to Georgetown University. So it’s a Jesuit and Catholic university and you are required to study theology. You have to take two theology courses. And it was in that first required theology course that I fell in love with theology. It was really reading the Confessions of Saint Augustine. It was reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison. And also having a fantastic professor, a Jesuit named Thomas King. 

I didn’t know what theology was. I was raised in a very conservative Catholic household and I sort of assumed it would be that. It was not that you know, and for me, it was really his course, but then the other courses I was able to take at Georgetown that really had me fall in love with the discipline.

You know, for many years, though, most of the authors that I read in my theology courses were Euro-American or European and men. And so, even though I loved theology, I actually did not think I could become a theologian or study theology. 

And it wasn’t until my senior year at Georgetown, I took two courses, one course on feminist theology, which had a huge impact on me, because I read the work of Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, a Cuban-American ethicist, and realized that, wow, you know, not only can women be theologians, but Latinas can be theologians and Cuban women can be theologians. And then I had a course with Diana Hayes on black liberation theology. And that really also for me, looking at the intersection of social justice and religion and theology is when I got hooked. And also Professor Hayes has had such a huge impact on me. 

When I teach, which I really don’t anymore now that I’m a provost, but every semester when I taught, until two years ago and I stopped teaching, every semester, I would start the semester telling my students about Diana Hayes and saying that my every class I teach is an act of gratitude to her because she helped me with my grad school applications. She’s the one that encouraged me to do a PhD and so I really would not be here if it wasn’t for her.

Todd Ream: Thank you. Wonderful story. 

Why in particular, then, did you focus on systematic and philosophical theology? 

Michelle González Maldonado: I don’t know.

Todd Ream: That’s an honest answer.

Michelle González Maldonado: Part of it is, I like to look at the big picture. I suspect that’s also why I’m a provost now today. For me, it’s looking at the larger picture of things and then looking at how the particulars feed and inform that big picture. And so for me, systematic theology really allowed— it’s how my brain works. So in that sense that was appealing to me in that way. 

But as you mentioned, I was a French literature major. I primarily studied French because I was very intrigued by existentialist philosophy. And you know, I wore a lot of black when I was at Georgetown and sort of, you know, thought about the ennui of the world. 

And so these larger questions of why are we here? You know, what is the meaning of this all? Does our life have intention? These sort of big questions really haunted me as an undergraduate and I found the most satisfying answers or responses, I shouldn’t say answers, but responses to those questions in systematic theology.

Todd Ream: Thank you. After serving on the faculty at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles for four years, you served as the theologian in residence at the San Lucas Mission in San Lucas Tolimán in Guatemala for two years. About 70 miles west of Guatemala City and sitting at about 6,000 feet, would you please describe San Lucas Tolimán?

Michelle González Maldonado: Sure. So San Lucas Tolimán is nestled between two volcanoes on Lake Atitlán which you mentioned is west of Guatemala City. And it’s a predominantly Mayan community. For, for years, it was a community, I should say, for, for decades, that struggled with literacy and extreme poverty. It’s a community that in the 1960s, after Vatican II the Catholic Church began here in the United States, began a relationship with various international dioceses. And so one was the Diocese in San Lucas, which partnered with the Diocese of New Ulm in Minnesota. 

And so there really, you saw this partnership develop and particularly this priest, Father Greg Schaefer, who spent decades in San Lucas, beginning just as a pastor, but then really expanding his ministry to look at the not just the souls, but also the lives of the individuals in the community. So starting the first school for Mayan children in the community, looking at bringing health care, reforestation work, land redistribution. And so San Lucas really and the church in San Lucas really embodies a vision of the Church serving the poor.

And for me, in my graduate work and in my own research, I’ve done a lot on Latin American liberation theology. And so San Lucas, when I was first introduced to the community, really embodied what I had been reading about in, in such a respectful way too, that respected the Mayan way of life and the Mayan community.

Todd Ream: What discernment process then led you to leave your appointment at Loyola Marymount and then accept this position in Guatemala?

Michelle González Maldonado: So I think a few things. You know, one was honestly, you know, I wanted to practice what I preached, right? So I was sitting on this beautiful campus, like near the beach in Los Angeles talking about, kind of, you know, I was in my late twenties when I first finished my PhD, kind of berating students to serve the poor and do social justice work. And I had never really done it, right. Like sure. I had done service trips, but it was all in my head, right. It was all in books. It was all in the classroom. It was all in writing. 

And so part of it was wanting to live out what I learned, right. And really experienced that concrete community, but also it was very disarming being there because I had worked so hard to do my graduate work and was so proud of it. And so was my family, obviously, as having come to this country with so little. But there it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that I had a PhD. Unless you’re going to cure my sickness, you’re like, what’s a doctor? You know what I mean? 

And so really, it was very humbling in a very important way for me. And so being a part of the church and active solidarity and empowering an indigenous community was just something that I felt that was very important for me in that moment.

Todd Ream: What details then defined your days while you were there?

Michelle González Maldonado: Well, the mission had a very active volunteer program. And so my husband actually was director of the volunteer program. We actually met in San Lucas. So he’s a native. He’s originally from San Lucas and worked for many years for the church. And so a lot of the work I did was translation, to be honest with you, because you had all these people coming from the United States, both from churches of all denominations, but also high schools and universities. And a lot of times individuals would not be able to speak Spanish. 

And so a lot of what I did was translation work for introducing the different projects to individuals. One of the things that was really important about the mission and continues to be is that the loyal local Mayan population are the leaders of the community, right? And the project, right, and the mission. 

But they’re not fluent in English. Many of them are not. In fact, at the time, we’re not even literate necessarily. And so I did a lot of translation work, but then I would also do talks, right, kind of on the culture, on the religion, so that was a lot of the work that I did when I was there.

Todd Ream: In what ways then did those years in Guatemala shape your vocation as a theologian? You went there looking to add context to the education that you were offering, but then in what ways, if any, did you come back different?

Michelle González Maldonado: I think two things really stand out. One is, I realized I’m an academic as much as I wanted to sort of say I’m not, and I had to accept that about myself. That I love the life of the mind, that I love the classroom, that I love reading and writing and, and, and having conversations with colleagues and with students. And so, you know, this idea of accepting that about myself was really huge part of that experience. 

But second was really after returning from San Lucas and even to this day is looking at the lived religion of faith communities. So I think as a theologian, prior to being to San Lucas, I thought a lot about ideas and sort of, you know, these broader concepts in theology, which I still think about when I have a chance to think about them. But after San Lucas, what really captivated me was embodied religion, right, or lived religion, how individuals actually lived out their life of faith, what rituals, what practices. 

And that’s because there was such a rich tapestry and frankly, mixture of Mayan religious beliefs and even imagery with Catholic imagery in that community. And so that really marked me and continues to, even today.

Todd Ream: When you returned to the United States you served as a visiting professor at Barry University for two years and then as a professor and administrator at the University of Miami for 15 years. 

In what ways, if any, was teaching in a religious studies department at the University of Miami different than teaching in theology departments at Barry and Loyola Marymount?

Michelle González Maldonado: I don’t know if I should say this because I’m back in a Catholic university, but you know, to be honest, there was a lot more freedom teaching in a religious studies department. Because I could not only teach about theology, but I could incorporate literature more and other disciplines. 

And frankly, at my time at the University of Miami I became very immersed in my work in Cuban religion and, and in particular looking at Afro-Cuban religion on the island and looking at religions such as Santería and Palo Monte and looking at how they influenced Catholicism on the island and how Catholicism was influenced in the same way by these Afro-Cuban religions that were brought to Cuba during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. And I don’t think I would have been able to do that had I stayed at that point in my career at a Catholic university teaching theology. 

So in many ways, it was being in a religious studies department also being in a Research One university and having so many colleagues that focused on Cuba and Latin America and other disciplines. It made me a much more interdisciplinary scholar and also teacher.

Todd Ream: What process then led you to accept administrative appointments in the University of Miami, which included service as the Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education and the Executive Director of the Office of Academic Enhancement? 

Michelle González Maldonado: So, honestly, I don’t think anyone lies awake at night as a child and says, I want to grow up and be an academic administrator, so not a role I ever really envisioned. 

And to be honest with you, because I had so few, Latino and Latina professors throughout my entire academic career, you know, I’ve always kind of struggled with this imposter syndrome of feeling like I don’t belong in higher education. And that I’m not quite, I don’t quite fit it, right. And, and that you know, any day the PhD police is going to come and take away my PhD. 

And I was fortunate. I had mentors at U of M that tapped me. So I really had individuals that saw something in me that said, you know, we think you’d be good at this. We think you should try, you know, sort of. And I was very eased into it. 

Donna Shalala was President for most of my time at the University of Miami. And she was a wonderful mentor and role model. The Senior Vice Provost, I reported to Bill Green, also was someone who gave me a lot of opportunities. And so it was really them saying you should try this and we think you’d be good at it.

And I’m very grateful for that. And I realized the importance of, that now that I’m in this role, I also have to pay it forward, right. And just think about how I can also mentor and encourage individuals, I think, who could have strength in those areas.

Todd Ream: What did you find enjoyable or rewarding about that work?

Michelle González Maldonado: I think that the most rewarding aspect of my work at the University of Miami is that at the Office of Academic Enhancement, a huge part of our mission was providing academic support and mentorship to historically underrepresented and first generation students. And that continues to be a passion of mine.

Being able to be a part of a network that supported those students, not only in their transition to the university, but also during their time at the university, is and continues to be really just a highlight for me in my professional career.

Todd Ream: Thank you. I want to ask you now about some of your written work as a theologian and a religious studies scholar. You’re the author or editor of nine books, as well as many articles and essays in a wide variety of scholarly and popular periodicals. Your most recent book published in 2023, for example, is the Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Religions.

Initially, you accepted an appointment at the University of Scranton as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and now as Provost. What process then led you to accept those appointments and to move from Miami to Scranton, Pennsylvania?

Michelle González Maldonado: Sure. A lot of people ask me that, especially being Cuban, you know, like what Cuban leaves Miami? 

For me, it really was wanting to get back into Jesuit higher education. And so I feel in the same way that I feel very grateful to Diana Hayes, who was my professor at Georgetown. I feel very grateful to the Jesuits. I did my undergrad at Georgetown University. During my PhD, I was at the Graduate Theological Union where I did the majority of my work at the Jesuit School of Theology. Loyola Marymount University was my first teaching appointment. So I have always wanted to come back to the Jesuits and be in Jesuit higher education.

And so the opportunity to become a dean at Scranton when it came up was something that I really— it’s a university, this is a university that’s very passionate about its mission and very focused on its mission identity. And so for me, it was really an opportunity to be able to come home, shall we say to where my intellectual journey began. 

Todd Ream: Now, you mentioned earlier that your current role doesn’t allow a lot of time for teaching. What, if any time do you have to do some writing?

Michelle González Maldonado: So I am able to find some time to do writing. A little bit of downtime in the, I don’t want to call it downtime, but the summer is a little less structured, I’ll say, in terms of my time. Whereas during the academic year, I feel like I’m in meetings from the minute I walk in the office until well past when the workday ends.

In the summer I do have some time to do some writing. I also just feel like I was able to teach my first two years here as dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, but then once I went into the provost role, I don’t like to not do things well. And so I really felt out of respect for the time commitment that teaching is and the time you need to be available to your students outside of the classroom not because it’s not just teaching the class. It’s also being available to them outside. It was just a little bit too much. 

So I am able to find time to write. Though, I will be honest with you. I can write in the sense that when someone invites me to do something so I can do a piece, almost as a homework assignment. So when someone says, hey, Michelle, we’re doing this project on X, could you write a chapter on this? I’m like, yes, I can do that with a deadline and I can. But in terms of kind of, I think that the type of time you need saved to do a book length monograph or really embark on sort of a new research project in an in depth way, unfortunately, right now, is not the moment for that for me.

Todd Ream: So coordinating the number of scholars then you did for the Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Religion is probably not something you’re going to take on until you return to the classroom, perhaps, maybe at some point.

Michelle González Maldonado: Yeah. And that book was put together during the pandemic. The pandemic hit pretty soon after it started, so it took much longer than anticipated and I don’t know if I’ll ever edit anything again, but try me again in a couple of years. That was a little bit of a traumatic experience.

Todd Ream: Whether it’s a result of coordinating that many people or just the memories of COVID too.

Michelle González Maldonado: Yeah, that’s right.

Todd Ream: Associative dimensions of those things. 

You mentioned, you know, someone asking you perhaps to contribute something on Acts. So what types of writing do you do and are interested in doing in the role that you’re filling right now at the University of Scranton?

Michelle González Maldonado: So one of the things that interests me, I still, of course, still have a passion for my own research, you know, in the area of Latinos and Latinas here in the United States and also Caribbean populations. So I just finished contributing a chapter to a book. I think that’s coming out later this year on, I called it Our Ladies of the 305, and it’s on Marian devotions in Miami in different racial. And I focus on La Caridad, but then I also focus on the Haitian-American community’s devotion to Mary. So those things, you know, are very exciting. 

But I’ve also, you know, more and more been thinking about sort of publication in higher education. So I wrote a chapter on sort of Catholic higher education and Latinos and Latinas in the future, you know, given that we’re the largest growing demographic, and nationally and really are going to be shifting the landscape of higher ed in the next 20 years. And so that was very exciting. So starting to think about that as well and think about how I can more intentionally connect my administrative work with my research and writing is something that I have sort of percolating. 

Todd Ream: Thank you.

Along those lines then, you mentioned earlier that part of your, what led you to focus on systematic and philosophical theology is also part of what may have led you to say a role in an appointment, such as a provost, where you’re inclined to see the big picture then. If I may ask, as the Chief Academic Officer of a Jesuit Catholic university, in what ways does your vocation then as a theologian inform your service as an administrator?

Michelle González Maldonado: I mean, for me, ultimately and I think this part of my time in San Lucas led me to this point as an academic and as a professor. But then as I’ve grown and become, you know, gone into administration, it’s really seeing it as a vocation. 

So for me, you know, as a Catholic lay woman, seeing my work in Catholic higher education really as a way to embody my vocation and my service to the Church is very important to me. And it’s fundamental to how I think of myself as a theologian, how I thought of myself as an Assistant Provost and as a Dean and today as a Provost. It is my way of embodying the mission, right, of this university in very concrete ways.

Todd Ream: In terms of those concrete efforts then, what are the efforts that define your days as a provost? Perhaps during those days during the academic year when you’re in meetings, what is the focus, the efforts that you’re trying to make? And what are your hopes for the faculty and the students that you’re serving through those efforts?

Michelle González Maldonado: You know, I sort of said it jokingly, but it’s true. I mean, my day is defined by meetings. So I tend to spend my entire days in meetings, but there, you know,  part of it is A, I’m a big picture thinker. I’m also someone that doesn’t like to leave people on the side. So I like to bring everyone to the table. I tend to over invite to meetings. I don’t like to have side conversation and that, you know, I want to have the big meeting. And if we have to have a difficult conversation, you know, a group or wrestle with an issue. We do it as a group and we do it publicly.

And so for me, obviously, there are things in terms of academic policy. We also here are in a unionized environment. Our faculty, our full-time faculty do have a faculty union. Working on things such as our faculty handbook with the faculty as well. But frankly, you know, in the past year and I think this year will be defined as, as well by this is navigating the current challenges we’re facing in higher education, right.

Whether it’s you know, the enrollment cliff, which obviously both the pandemic and the debacle that was FAFSA this year have really dramatically impacted college enrollments, to looking at the ways in which higher education is being, its values being challenged, right, nationally and that there’s all this rhetoric and that we’re seeing that very concretely.

So we’re seeing you know, I’m in Pennsylvania, we’re seeing in Pennsylvania and New York and New Jersey, positions at the state level that used to require a college degree. Those requirements are being eliminated. And so really thinking about what does it mean for us to talk about the importance of higher education. And to put it quite bluntly, also being in a private institution and the price tag that accompanies being at a private institution, making sure that we’re making that education accessible. 

Todd Ream: University of Scranton has approximately 4,800 students. And you mentioned the faculty, there’s about 280 full-time faculty members. In what ways do the Jesuit charisms then inform the education the students receive at the University of Scranton?

Michelle González Maldonado: Oh, gosh, it really saturates. And this is when, you know, I’m so proud to be a part of this institution. We are an institution that really values Ignatian pedagogy, which is really educating the whole person and meeting every individual student where they’re at, right? Because you can have 35 kids in your class or 35 young adults in your class but they’re not all at the same place, right? Whether it’s intellectually, whether it’s emotionally, whether it’s in terms of their background. And so really thinking about not only the whole person, but the individual person. 

Our general education is very informed by the Ignatian humanities and a real celebration of our liberal arts tradition in Jesuit higher ed. We are a university that really values community-based learning. And our Leahy College of Health Sciences, it’s actually required for all graduates. And so thinking about concrete action and concrete engagement with the local community. 

We just in December had our first class graduate of our prison program that we have in a local prison about half an hour away. And our second class will be graduating this December. And so really this is a university that sees itself as wanting to really create women and men for others. And is very committed to that.

Todd Ream: Thank you. For our last set of questions, I want to ask you about the academic vocation and how you’ve come to understand it, and then also how you’ve come to communicate it to those faculty that you lead there. But as a theologian and chief academic officer, how have you come to understand it?

Michelle González Maldonado: So first of all, I’ve come to understand that it can be academic, as I mentioned earlier, right. That a vocation doesn’t necessarily have to be, for lack of a better word, ecclesial that you can find ways to embody it in other ways. You know, for me, I think that it’s really and it’s a constant challenge for me is wanting to make sure that I cultivate humility, that I cultivate patience and a sense of justice and everything that I do. And some days you’re good at it and some days you’re not, to be frank. 

And I also think it’s really we’re living in a moment today, not only in higher education, but frankly, I think in this country where we often forget people’s humanity, and our fragility as human beings. And so thinking about that as well is really important.

And while we do all the fantastic things I just said about what we do for our students in terms of Ignatian pedagogy, we should be doing that for ourselves, right? Not only the faculty for each other, the administration with the faculty and with the staff of the university. 

And so my hope and something that I think is really important is that we don’t just talk about our mission just towards our students, but we also talk about it amongst ourselves as leaders at a university, whether we’re a faculty member, an administrator, or a staff member.

Todd Ream: As the Chief Academic Officer then, how have you come to express an understanding of the academic vocation then for faculty who serve there? What are the commitments that you think are most definitive perhaps as an extension of the Jesuit charisms of the institution?

Michelle González Maldonado: You know, I think it’s funny. I think higher ed today because we have such a comprehensive university experience for students, right. We often forget that their primary reason for being here is getting a degree and that, you know, folks are like the dorms, the fields, and those are all important. Don’t get me wrong. And all that sort of support is important.

But ultimately our students, the people they spend the most time with is our faculty. And so I think it’s not only recognizing that and celebrating that, but also encouraging our faculty. You know, I mentioned earlier this changing landscape in higher education. It’s not just changing because of the reasons I described. It’s changing because of artificial intelligence. It’s changing because our students have changed, right. 

And we see today a student that is so, you know, attached to their phone and social media and it’s just a different type of students. We’re seeing a mental health, some would argue, crisis with this age group where we see sort of the needs of students in terms of mental health and the type of support we need to provide for them increasing dramatically. 

And so for me, it’s making sure that faculty have the tools and the support so that they can be the best professors possible and meet our students where they’re at today. 

Todd Ream: Thank you. For our last question then today wanted to think about the relationship that the Church and institutions like the University of Scranton then share, especially as we form and shape students and faculty. What, if any are your goals in the years to come in terms of the relationship that the University of Scranton first shares with the Jesuit order?

Michelle González Maldonado: S  one of the things that is very important to know about the Jesuits that often folks don’t realize is that they have very much spent a lot of careful time thinking about their future and the future of their laity in their universities. 

And so as a religious order, as an administrator and as a lay person, I received so much support from the Jesuits. I did what was called the Ignatian colleagues program, which is a kind of intensive program that looks at leadership and spirituality and also Jesuit higher education. 

And there are other different types of programs that are offered, right, for faculty, for staff or administrators that are lay people in Jesuit universities and thinking about the future. So I really hope to continue those collaborations and also offer opportunities, right, for key members of the Scranton community to also participate in those opportunities as well. 

We often say in Jesuit universities, it’s not who our students are, it’s who they become while they’re at our universities. And so thinking about that as well, not only for our students, but also for ourselves, right. Who do we become being a part of this very rich tradition of Jesuit higher education? And really, you know, thinking about when we talk about, when we speak about our students, we talk about making, forming agents of change. What does that mean not only for our students, but also for our faculty and also our broader university community is really fundamental as well. 

Todd Ream: Thank you. For our last question then, what, if any, are your goals in the years to come in terms of the relationship that the University of Scranton shares with the Church?

Michelle González Maldonado: So we are very fortunate that we have an excellent relationship with our local Bishop and he’s fantastic. And so I would love to see more intentional work, honestly, with the local church outside of mission and ministry, right? So we have a VP of mission and ministry. We have a division of mission and ministry.

But when I think from an academic affairs side, for example, at the university, we are working to become a Laudato Si university and is an encyclical written by Pope Francis that really focuses on climate change and sustainability. He then followed up more recently with Laudate Deum where he speaks about a climate crisis. And so we’re in the process of becoming a Laudato Si university, which is a seven year process where you make certain commitments as a university that really impact the university as a whole. 

And I see this as a fantastic space, honestly, to collaborate with the local church. A huge part of Laudato Si is not only the university, but the university with the broader community. And so for me, this would be a really excellent place to work with the local church. And also just be a more visible presence outside of the university campus.

Todd Ream: Thank you, very important goals. 

Our guest has been Michelle González Maldonado, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies and the Provost at the University of Scranton. Thank you for sharing your insights and your wisdom with us today.

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Thank you for joining us for Saturdays at Seven, Christian Scholar’s Review’s conversation series with thought leaders about the academic vocation and the relationship that vocation shares with the Church. We invite you to join us again next week for Saturdays at Seven.