Curricular Development and Integration

What do we mean when we say “Curricular Development and Integration”?
Development of curriculum is to be informed by the Catholic identity of the institution which is rooted in the Mercy charism. This type of development will require both faculty and staff to be aware of and committed to the Catholic and Mercy mission and identity of the institution in order to be able to disseminate that information to students through teaching and learning experiences.

Three questions to ask:
What are the central elements of curriculum development at our institution?

How are key college/university stakeholders engaged in conversations about Mercy and Catholic identity as defining features of our curriculum?

What are the policies in place which ensure that the Mercy charism is integrated into the curriculum?

Mission Integration in Practice: Strategies and Examples:

Curriculum Mapping Initiative: A comprehensive curriculum mapping project examining the integration of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT), Catholic Social Teaching (CST), and Mercy Critical Concerns across academic programs.

Faculty Professional Development: Ongoing professional development opportunities designed to deepen faculty engagement with the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Catholic Social Teaching, and Mercy Critical Concerns in their teaching and scholarship.

Academic Program Development and Review: New academic programs should incorporate a mission integration component as part of the approval process. Similarly, program review protocols include assessment criteria focused on mission alignment, the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Catholic Social Teaching, and Mercy Critical Concerns.

Hiring, Orientation, Onboarding

What do we mean when we say “Hiring, Orientation, Onboarding”?
Integration of Mercy mission and Catholic identity is a crucial part of hiring prospective employees to our institutions. Once on board, orientation which includes sharing more about the mission and spirit of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas with staff, 2 faculty, students, senior leadership, and new board members, provides the college/university community a shared understanding of and engagement in the mission and ministry identity.

Three questions to ask:
What are elements of our hiring process that align with Mercy and Catholic mission and identity? Ex: Are mission questions asked during the interview process? Who is asking the questions?

What resources are being shared during orientation of new faculty, staff, students, and board members?

How do we attract people to our institutions by living out our witness to the Mercy charism?

Mission Integration in Practice: Strategies and Examples:

Mission Formation Through Our Founding Stories: Use Catherine McAuley’s story, as well as the local founding story of the college/university, as a basis for mission formation for faculty, staff, senior leaders, students, and trustees.

Hiring for Mission Fit: Hire for mission by requiring Mission Officer to participate in interview process of full-time faculty and senior leadership candidates; train search committees to include hiring for mission (ex: how does the candidate advance our mission?) as a central feature of candidate deliberations.

Sustained Mission Onboarding: Mission orientation and onboarding should extend beyond a single initial meeting. Instead, these formative experiences should continue throughout an employee's first several months, creating an ongoing process of mission integration.

Ongoing Formation for Mission

What do we mean when we say “Ongoing Formation for Mission”?
Ongoing formation for mission deepens leaders’ understanding of the Catholic and Mercy identity and engages individual commitment to and accountability for a flourishing mission in our institutions. Ongoing formation requires continual engagement with existing faculty, staff, students, senior leadership, and board members at our institutions through programming support. Programming support can look 3 different ways in different places, some examples include book reads, lecture series, lunch and learns, keynote presentations, mission formation cohorts, and online learning modules though the possibilities are endless.

Three questions to ask:
What kind of programming do we foster throughout the academic year which encourages our community – employees, students, and board members – to continue growing in the Mercy charism?

How can we collaborate with other Mercy institutions to offer programming together to encourage communal development across our institutions?

What is one actionable step we can take this year to strengthen ongoing mission formation by assessing how we currently deliver mission and identity content through our existing events, programs, and structures?

Mission Integration in Practice: Strategies and Examples:
Forming Mission-Centered Leaders: Leadership formation/mission integration formation that includes ongoing programming in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Catholic Social Teaching, and Mercy Critical Concerns.

Faculty Collaboratives Strengthening Mission and Identity: Ongoing, multiyear faculty collaborative incentives foster mission and identity formation while strengthening interdisciplinary and co-curricular approaches.

Mission-Driven Governance: Ongoing board formation includes annual mission retreats, mission-centered discernment in governance decisions, and personal and spiritual development opportunities.

Space, Art, Environment, and Symbolism

What do we mean when we say “Space, Art, Environment, and Symbolism”?
Space, symbols, art and the physical environment cultivate inspiration of the ever-present Holy and Sacred in ways that reflect our Mission Identity and Story. These concrete expressions of our Mission Identity and Story help illuminate for staff, faculty, and students how we are called to orient our lives and work. Space, symbols, art, and our physical environment are meant to cultivate a desire for contemplation and action first shared with us by Catherine McAuley. We are steadfast in our commitment to diverse artistic expressions including but not limited to featuring work of female artists, 4 people of color, and diverse ways of sharing expressions of Catholicity ex: Dia de los Muertos, Native American inspired theology, disability theology.

Three questions to ask:
What physical elements are present on our campus which concretize the Mercy Mission Identity and Story?

What spaces on campus require additional art or symbols to more closely boost our Mercy Mission and Identity? What creative funding approaches could we consider to support these enhancements?

How can we inspire faculty, staff, and students to co-create in our physical environment in ways that reflect our Mercy Mission and Identity?

Mission Integration in Practice: Strategies and Examples:

Naming with Purpose: Intentional exploration of how naming decisions for campus buildings, programs, and events reflect and reinforce our institutional identity and mission.

Mission in Every Corner: Student-created art projects can be strategically displayed throughout campus spaces (including: chapels, reflection rooms, dormitories, dining halls, etc.) to complement the liturgical calendar and reinforce thematic connections to Catholic teaching. Ex: Laudato Si’ artwork displayed during Ordinary Time, with green imagery symbolizing creation care and ecological responsibility.

The Power of Symbols: Symbols of Mercy (ex: cross, drawing of Catherine McAuley, teacup, compass, etc.) are present in meetings, events, etc.

Inclusive Worship/Ritual and Reflection

What do we mean when we say “Inclusive Worship/Ritual and Reflection”?
We serve because we are Catholic. Our Mercy heritage invites us to foster inclusive campuses whose worship, ritual practices and reflection are inclusive of all and tie to the ministry identity of the university. While we remain steadfast in our identity as Catholic and Mercy, we seek to foster spaces where members of all faith traditions (or no faith tradition) feel our mission and spirit and also feel free to express a diversity of faiths and religious practices. We create supportive spaces for marginalized persons in society through our prayer and actions.

We foster a Catholic sacramental life on our campuses and also make space for dialogue with others from varying faith traditions or no tradition. In this spirit we ensure that there are adequate Catholic spaces to pray on campus as well as additional prayer spaces for ecumenical use by other Christians, and designated places of prayer for Muslim students, Jewish students, and students of other faiths.

Three questions to ask:
How do we foster Catholic sacramental life on campus? How do we make space for dialogue with others from varying different faith traditions?

How do our prayer spaces reflect an openness to ecumenism and interreligious dialogue?

What accommodations do we need to make in physical spaces for worship to provide for the needs of our diverse student bodies?

Mission Integration in Practice: Strategies and Examples:

Celebrating Unity: Plan celebrations from different traditions and cultures, examples include: Taizé prayer services, Diwali, Iftar dinners, Yom Kippur, etc.

In Solidarity and Prayer: Hold prayer vigils following local and national tragedies – lean into Critical Concerns and Gospel Values of Jesus.

A Universal Welcome: Cultivate an inclusive Catholic culture grounded in the universal nature of the faith, while intentionally creating spaces for interfaith engagement through retreats, shared prayer experiences, and collaborative service initiatives.

Engagement in Community and Celebrations

What do we mean when we say “Engagement in Community and Celebrations”?
Celebrating key events on an institution wide scale provides opportunities to engage the campus community in the expression of our Catholic, Mercy identity.

Engaging community members beyond our campus walls, through community partnerships allows us to work with others to foster peace, justice, human dignity and development of the human family. In these ways we witness to our Mercy charism and spread that charism through our work with others.

Three questions to ask:
How does our campus community celebrate Mercy week and other key feast days in our Mercy tradition? In what ways do we invite the local community, especially any local Sisters, into these celebrations?

What role do our campus celebrations play in forming community around our Mercy heritage and Catholic identity? How can we increase meaningful engagement with signature events like Mercy Day/Week?

How do we prioritize partnership in the community in ways which support and affirm our Mercy mission and Catholic identity? With whom do we partner? How is this partnership mutually beneficial?

Mission Integration in Practice: Strategies and Examples:

Gathering in Faith: Establish or maintain an annual tradition of opening the academic year with campus-wide prayer service or Mass at to gather the community, reflect on our Mercy heritage, Catholic values, and collective commitment to the year ahead.

Mercy in Action: Consider Mercy service opportunities to work alongside community partners and marginalized neighbors, reflect on systemic injustices, and work towards structural change.

Traditions of Transformation: Engagement in academic ritual practices such as: convocations, investitures, inaugurations, pinning ceremonies, and other celebrations created in the spirit, history, and heritage of our Catholic, Mercy identity.

Sponsorship, CMHE and Ecclesial Relations

What do we mean when we say “Sponsorship, CMHE and Ecclesial Relations”?
Mercy institutions are stewards of the Mercy charism and participate in sponsorship relationships with the Sisters of Mercy and the Conference for Mercy Higher Education (CMHE). Furthermore, Mercy institutions embrace their Catholic identity and exist in relationship with the broader ecclesial structures of the Catholic Church (ex: diocese, archdiocese, mission territory etc.) As institutions which are part of larger ecclesial bodies, regular communication with CMHE and ongoing dialogue with leadership of the Catholic Church will help foster relationships which engender mutual respect and 7 inspire the missionary activity of each institution. When possible, participation in broader Mercy or other ecclesial activities is encouraged.

Three questions to ask:
What is our institution’s relationship with local leadership in the Catholic Church? How can we, pursuant to our role, help foster growth in this area?

How does our institution utilize the resources that CMHE provides in relation to growth in our mission and identity as a Mercy institution?

What creative ways can we grow relationships within the Mercy family or within the local ecclesial community?

Mission Integration in Practice: Strategies and Examples:

Strengthening Bonds: Develop a relationship with the local bishop/archbishop which could include an invitation to campus or participation in local archdiocesan/diocesan events.

Shared Vision and Spirit: Live out the Mercy Higher Education Covenant through engagement in a reciprocal relationship. Examples include participation in: Mercy, The Principal Path, DC Mercy Justice, missioning of new college/university presidents, cohort retreats, and Mercy Week celebrations.

Learning Across Institutions: Serve as a peer reviewer for the Mission Self-Study and Peer Review process to learn from other institutions and bring new ideas back to campus.

The Catholic Intellectual Tradition is made up of a series of intellectual habits which are informed by the Catholic quest for God, informed by truth, beauty, and goodness. A ten-point detailed explanation follows which helps enflesh CIT.

1. Value-free education does not exist; education is connected with mission.
2. CIT has a deep appreciation of both the capability and the limits of human reasoning: faith and reason are partners in the search for truth.
3. CIT is a kind of extended argument, wrestling with various issues in historical and cultural context. Multiple positions are to be entertained and weighed in the search for truth.
4. CIT seeks an integration of learning, rather than compartmentalization of subjects or ideas.
5. Human life includes goods unattainable by individuals alone. Much reflection revolves around embracing and enhancing the common good.
6. The meaning of the word “catholic,” i.e. “according to the whole,” pushes toward consideration of diversity and equity in the making of “the whole.”
7. Worship is a significant aspect of human life, which deserves attention, cultivation, and reflection.
8. CIT is gripped by a sacramental imagination. The beauty, complexity, and mystery of creation reflect God’s love, and require our careful attention.
9. Education includes space for grace, for choices, examined and coached, and for reflection on oneself and the wider world.
10. CIT cares greatly for the Christian mandate: Love one another as Christ has loved us. The practice of the mandate includes respect for the dignity of every person, which animates the intellectual enterprise.

Adapted from research and conversation with Timothy Gabrielli, Ph.D.

Catholic Social Teaching is doctrine of the church which helps provide a moral framework for society and touches on the areas of human dignity, justice and the common good. There are 7 key themes of Catholic Social Teaching.

1. Dignity of the Human Person - the dignity of the human person is the foundation for a moral society
2. Family and Community - human beings grow and achieve their fulfilment in family and community
3. Rights and Responsibilities - human dignity can be protected only when basic human rights are ensured and when humans take responsibility for one another, family, and society at large
4. Option for the Poor - we must put the needs of the poor and the vulnerable first
5. Dignity of Work-work is a way to co-create with God; additionally, participation in the economy of work must serve people (not exploit them)
6. Solidarity - embracing love of neighbor, both locally and internationally; the notion that “we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper”
7. Care for Creation - we must move towards a love of God and neighbor through care for our common home, and recognize our contributions to global climate change

Adapted from USCCB resources on CST

The Sisters of Mercy Critical Concerns, adopted in 1996 and affirmed at each subsequent chapter, are immigration, women, nonviolence, earth, and an embrace of anti-racism.

Immigration- Believing firmly in the dignity of every person, we work for just and humane immigration laws in the U.S., address policies that push people to flee their countries, and examine the global impact of immigration.

Women- We privilege the voices of women and value their perspective and contributions; we give special attention to women’s education, health and spirituality.

Nonviolence- We work for peace through prayer, education, personal and communal practices of nonviolence, and legislative advocacy to reduce armed conflicts, gun violence and human rights abuses.

Earth- We believe in the need for sustainability of life, supporting both a lifestyle and legislation that acknowledge everyone’s right to water and the need to address climate change. We embrace the papal teachings begun by Pope Francis and Laudato Si’ An

Embrace of Anti-Racism- We believe racism is an evil affecting us all. We work to recognize and dismantle institutional racism in order to become an anti-racist multicultural community.

Three questions to ask: In what ways does our institution embrace the Catholic Intellectual Tradition? Are Catholic Social Teaching and the Critical Concerns of the Sisters of Mercy embedded in the curriculum?

What kind of programming (including liturgies or prayer services) is occurring on our campus which exemplifies CIT, CST, and/or embraces the Critical Concerns?

How are our planning documents including financial and fundraising plans aligned with CIT, CST, and the Critical Concerns? Provide examples.

Mission Integration in Practice: Strategies and Examples

Engaging Critical Concerns Across Campus Life: Adopt one of the Sisters of Mercy Critical Concerns as the organizing theme for the academic year. This thematic approach creates intentional connections across all areas of campus life—from curriculum and pedagogy to celebrations, lectures, special events, and community conversations—amplifying our collective commitment to mission.

Every Policy Matters: Conduct periodic comprehensive reviews of all institutional policies and procedures to ensure Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Catholic Social Teaching, and Sisters of Mercy Critical Concerns remain central to institutional decision-making. These reviews span all areas of college/university operations— including financial aid, curriculum development, strategic planning, HR policies, fundraising, speaker selection, student organizations, and environmental practices— ensuring sustained mission integration across the entire institution.

Living Our Foundational Commitments: Catholic Social Teaching, Catholic Intellectual Tradition, and Critical Concerns fuel our programming—keeping our mission dynamic, relevant, and alive across campus in every place and time.