Lecture and Panel: "Land O'Lakes and Its Legacy"

John T. McGreevy

At 4:00 p.m., John T. McGreevy, dean of the College of Arts and Letters and professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, will deliver a lecture on the history of the Land O’Lakes Statement.

In July 1967, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame and the president of the International Federation of Catholic Universities, invited a group consisting of Catholic university administrators, leaders of religious communities, bishops, and scholars to a retreat center in Land O’Lakes, Wisconsin, to discuss the past, present, and future of Catholic higher education. The statement they produced, now marking its 50th anniversary, charted a course for intellectual excellence and spiritual development in American Catholic education. Vowing to integrate the theological dialogue with “modern culture” into every aspect of the university, they also committed to becoming the “critical reflected intelligence of the Church” and to developing “true modern universit[ies] but specifically Catholic in profound and creative ways for the service of society and the people of God.”

At 7:00 p.m., a panel of five presidents of Catholic universities will consider the statement’s lessons and relevance for today:

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
University of Notre Dame

Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J.
Boston College

Patricia McGuire
Trinity Washington University

Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J.
Fordham University

Julie H. Sullivan
University of St. Thomas

Both the lecture and panel are free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Cushwa Center and the Office of the President. 

Originally published at cushwa.nd.edu.