Located 40 miles west of Pi\ue005sburgh on a hill overlooking a small, gri\ue005y Ohio city, Fran- ciscan University of Steubenville began with modest goals in 1946. Bishop John King Mus- sio of the then-new Diocese of Steubenville wanted to develop a Catholic institution that would educate returning war veterans. He turned to the Third Order Regular of St. Fran- cis (T.O.R.) to ful\ue000ll his objective.

The university has grown up about one mile from the city that was once an important steamboat port on the Ohio River and now has a population of about 19,000. Perhaps the most prominent local native is the late enter- tainer Dean Martin. But over the years, the term \u201cSteubenville\u201d has come to represent the university, rather than the city, for many Catholics.

During the Vietnam War era, many Cath- olic and secular colleges were experiencing challenges. Franciscan University was not ex- empt as the university lost its moorings. For- tunately, in 1974 there emerged a visionary leader, Father Michael Scanlan, T.O.R., whose 26-year presidency reestablished the vigor and Catholic identity of the university.

Part of that renewal was a\ue005ributable to its establishment as a prime center for charis- matic worship among U.S. Catholic colleges. Although the charismatic focus is less pre- dominant than, say, 20 years ago, it remains an important part of the mix of Catholic reli- gious preferences at the university.

Founded:19 4 6
Type of institution: Medium-size university
Setting: Small city
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,982 (2006\u201307

Today, Franciscan University has an envi- able reputation as one of the most outstanding examples of orthodox Catholic higher educa- tion in the United States. This commitment has a\ue005racted an undergraduate student body that is 98 percent Catholic and comes from 50 states and 16 other countries.

For the \ue000rst 40 years of its existence, the institution was the College of Steubenville. Its current name was acquired in 1986, re- \ue001ecting the broadening of its curriculum and its graduate program. The university o\ue002ers 35 majors in mostly typical liberal arts \ue000elds as well three religious-oriented majors in hu- manities and the Catholic Church, catechetics and theology. A new major in sacred music is planned for the fall of 2007.

Undergraduates are required to complete a \ue001exible core curriculum of 48 credits, of which 15 are in a broad \u201ccommunications\u201d grouping and another 15 are in humanities. Students choose six credits or two courses of theology. A review of the core curriculum is currently underway.

The university also o\ue002ers seven di\ue002erent master\u2019s degrees, including an M.B.A. and an M.A. in theology and Christian ministry; this la\ue005er program o\ue002ers a study-abroad com- ponent in Rome at the Dominican Ponti\ue000cal University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Ange- licum).

The institution began a $25 million capital campaign in October 2006 entitled \u201cLeading the Renaissance in Catholic Higher Educa- tion: The Campaign for Franciscan Univer- sity.\u201d Among the goals for the fundraising program are endowed chairs in bioethics, business ethics and catechetics.

Graduates join a 10,000-member alumni network, which is largely concentrated in Ohio, Washington, D.C., and New York City. One example of the caring nature of this group is that they have formed a Special Needs Net-

The ownership of the university and the re- sponsibility for its Catholic identity rests with the Franciscan order, o\ue003cially known as the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance of the Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, based in Lore\ue005o, Pennsylvania.

A largely lay board of trustees of 25 mem- bers reports to the order. Father Christian Oravec, T.O.R., is the minister provincial of the province and chairman of the board, as is the tradition. Seven other members of the board are Franciscans. Among the lay mem- bers is the well-respected Notre Dame law professor emeritus Charles Rice.

All \ue000ve presidents of the university since 1946 have been Franciscan\u2014the president is required to be a friar\u2014with Father Scanlan serving from 1974 to 2000; he is currently chancellor. His successor is the current presi- dent, Father Terence Henry, T.O.R. About 20 Franciscan friars are involved in various ca- pacities on the campus.

In explaining its mission, the university in- cludes the following: \u201cThe Way, the Truth and the Life are fundamental concepts and guidelines for evaluating University priori- ties, sta\ue003ng and budgets and are understood as explicating dynamic orthodoxy.\u201d In fact, \u201cdynamic orthodoxy\u201d is identi\ue000ed as one of the pillars of the university.

According to the Vice President of Aca- demic A\ue002airs, Dr. Max Bonilla, Catholic orthodoxy is promoted through the senior management of the university. He said, \u201cThe

president and board strongly support and en- courage faithful following of [Catholic] iden- tity. The board makes sure the senior admin- istration will support the mission. Selection of the board members is done on the same basis. This has maintained a great clarity as far as being faithful to the Church.\u201d

The mindset which emphasizes Francis- can, Catholic and Christian mooring does, indeed, permeate the campus. Dr. Bonilla added, \u201cEverything we do is in the context of Catholic identity.\u201d

This is worn with a badge of honor. Fa- ther Henry, the president, wrote in a 2006 is- sue of the alumni magazine, Franciscan Way: \u201c[P]arents frequently express surprise and heartfelt gratitude for the degree to which a Catholic worldview pervades the entire Fran- ciscan campus\u2014something they noticed was absent at other colleges they had visited.\u201d

And according to one theology profes- sor, \u201cHere, more than anyplace else that I\u2019ve seen, there are a lot of practicing and faithful Catholics, from physical plant sta\ue002 members to the registrar\u2019s o\ue003ce to high administra- tors in student life and academic a\ue002airs and the president himself\u2014they are really good Catholics.\u201d

One way they show this pervasiveness to the outside world is through the people to whom they have awarded honorary degrees. Of the more than 80 such degrees granted since the mid-1970s comes a veritable \u201cwho\u2019s who\u201d of orthodox Catholic leaders in the \ue000eld of theology, public a\ue002airs, journalism, aca- demia and the pro-life movement. It is quite clear that the university seeks to acknowledge those who promote Catholic teachings.

The speakers for the university\u2019s May 2007 commencement\u2014which featured the larg- est graduating class in the university\u2019s his- tory\u2014were Archbishop Timothy Dolan of the

Archdiocese of Milwaukee; Dr. Josef Seifert, a noted philosopher and pro-life advocate; and Dr. Edmund Pellegrino, a leading Catholic ethicist and chair of the President\u2019s Council on Bioethics.

All guest speakers need to be faithful to the Magisterium and approved by the presi- dent. One faculty member told us that in 14 years at the university, there were only two people whose appearance he questioned, one

Sometimes debates on issues will occur on campus where, for example, pro-choice and pro-life representatives will participate. One high-ranking university o\ue003cial said to us, \u201cStrong, pro-life students will challenge the pro-abortion speakers. This is a healthy ex- perience for students to understand what the other side thinks.\u201d

He added, \u201cOur mission is to prepare stu- dents for society, which brings challenges to their faith. So we don\u2019t shelter them. Our point is to seek the Truth.\u201d

The need for the public appearance of Catholic propriety is taken very seriously. In fact, we were told that when the family of Dean Martin approached university o\ue003cials about contributing money for an auditorium named a\ue004er the singer and \u201cRat Pack\u201d mem- ber, the university declined. They did not be- lieve that he was a suitable role model.

One popular campus event is the Festi- val of Praise charismatic worship program, which was held eight times during the 2006\u2013 07 academic year and annually draws 1,500 students, faculty and parents at each. The unique service started in the 1980s.

Finally, the university has presented a monthly program on EWTN for the past 14 years. An illustrative example of the series,