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Curiosity For The Common Good: A Catholic And Marianist Approach To Artificial Intelligence, Meghan R. Henning, Lee J. Dixon, Amanda Shannon, Esther Brownsmith, Kim Conde

Books and Book Chapters by University of Dayton Faculty

This book is not a book; it is an invitation. As many institutions of higher education have gone into panic mode about how to respond responsibly and with pedagogical grounding to the rapid technological changes of our time, members of the University of Dayton community came to the table to talk.

The writings in this volume reflect the hopes, fears, observations, and tested strategies that were shared and developed by faculty and staff addressing the challenges of our times in an atmosphere of trust and solidarity.

These short reflections are meant to continue the conversation in our community and others …

Doc 2026-08 Proposal To Rename The Department Of Religious Studies To The Department Of Theology And Religious Studies, University Of Dayton. Department Of Religious Studies

Senate Documents

This proposal outlines the initiative to rename the University of Dayton’s Department of Religious Studies to the Department of Theology and Religious Studies to better reflect the modern academic and public distinction between the two fields. While "religious studies" is now widely understood as a secular, third-person analysis of religion, "theology" refers to the insider study of a faith tradition, which directly aligns with the department's faculty expertise and its explicitly theological MA and PhD programs. Because prospective students and local faith communities increasingly associate the term "religious studies" with purely secular education, the department has faced enrollment losses from …

Doc 2026-06 Department/Program Merger: Department Of Visual And Performing Arts, University Of Dayton. College Of Arts And Sciences

Senate Documents

This proposal is a proactive realignment, not simply a reaction to external pressures. We must  thoughtfully respond to the evolving university landscape, which includes shifts in student  enrollment, a smaller faculty body, and increased budgetary pressures. This merger presents a  significant opportunity. By combining our strengths, we can create a more integrated and  dynamic faculty and student experience, steward our resources more effectively, and build a  shared, revitalized plan to elevate the visibility and impact of the arts at the University of  Dayton.

We anticipate this merger will create significant operational and financial efficiencies, allowing  us to redirect resources to …

All Things Marian: Father Johann Roten, S.M., University Of Dayton. International Marian Research Institute, Michele Foley, Johann G. Roten S.M.

Podcast: All Things Marian

Transcript is available using the "Download" button.

Imri Newsletter, December 2024, International Marian Research Institute

IMRI Newsletter

No abstract provided.

2024-11-22 Minutes Of The Academic Senate, University Of Dayton. Academic Senate

Academic Senate Minutes

Approved minutes of a meeting of the Academic Senate of the University of Dayton.

The Integration Of Psychological And Christian Truths: An Unexpected Correlation, Ashley Zwolinski

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

Before the process started, I read Dr. Henry Cloud's The Law of Happiness: How Spiritual Wisdom and Modern Science Can Change Your Life. This sparked my interested in the integration of biblical truths and psychological facts. I continued my research through articles in the EBSCO and UDiscover databases. I then combined these ideas with common ideas from the Bible to compare similarities and differences.

All Things Marian: Life As A Consecrated Layperson, University Of Dayton. International Marian Research Institute, Michele Foley, Lynn Marie Bush

Podcast: All Things Marian

Transcript is available using the "Download" button.

Transgender Persons: A Pastoral Approach In Catholic Institutions, James Heft S.M.

Intersections of Science and Faith

Father James Heft, S.M., begins with some personal examples of how, over the past few years, he's become involved in the Catholic conversation about transgender people. He then reviews current public debates about transgender care and compares and contrasts two different documents issued by Catholic dioceses on how to approach this issue.

Looking For Good Work: From Matthew Crawford To Pope Francis Via Wittgenstein, Mark Ryan

Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Each semester, I teach third-year business students a course in theological ethics. Since my students’ choices of majors (e.g., “accounting,” “marketing,” etc.) directly reference the jobs they hope to have after graduating, it has seemed fitting to make ‘work’ one of our topics of study. I am an Aristotelian, which means that my goal ought to be to teach about the manner in which my students’ work is part of their ongoing formation with the ultimate goal, one hopes, of becoming successful moral agents—or, in Aristotelian terms, achieving excellence in goodness. However, I have often been tempted to teach work’s …

First Fellows: Summer In The Marian Library, Maureen Schlangen

Marian Library Blog Archive

Two researchers receive fellowships for summer residencies in the Marian Library, which is internationally recognized as a center for scholarship on the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Guns And Practical Reason: An Ethical Exploration Of Guns And Language, Mark Ryan

Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

There is no shortage of words and rhetoric being offered up in relation to the topic of guns, much of it directed to the political standoff regarding how to respond to gun violence. Yet the debate over guns in America, especially as it concerns putting in conversation the positions of “gun people” and “non-gun people,” barely scratches the surface of substantive convictions held on both sides about the place of guns in our lives. A critical reason for this is that the language and rhetoric of the debate suppresses such convictions, keeping the discussion shallow and antagonistic. This, I argue, …

University Of Dayton Professor Wins First Prize At Catholic Book Awards For Book About Recognizing Seven Deadly Sins, Hayden Doyle

College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

University of Dayton professor Jana Bennett’s newest book won first prize at the Catholic Media Association’s 2020 Catholic Book Awards.

American Gun Culture Encounters Christian Ethics: A Clash Of Narratives, Mark Ryan

Books and Book Chapters by University of Dayton Faculty

The ethical debate about guns in America is permeated by political individualism. Public arguments for both greater gun control or more extensive gun liberty both assume the government faces it citizens fundamentally as individuals who bear rights and suffer benefits and harms. Because of the atomistic nature of individualist discourse, it is little wonder the debate does not take us very far.

In this chapter, I will interpret some central rhetorical and behavioral practices regarding guns in America as manifestations of distinct “theo-ethical visions” in contention. By a “theo-ethical vision” I intend in part the effort to bring out the …

Academic Guide, 2020, International Marian Research Institute

IMRI Course Listings, Program Guides, and Assorted Academic Materials

No abstract provided.

Pandemic And The Common Good, Teri Rizvi

Materials from the University of Dayton Magazine Website

Hungry for chances to think together, a teach-in on the pandemic and the common good is born.

Ud In The News March 7-27, University Of Dayton

News Releases

University of Dayton faculty shared their expertise on how the pandemic is affecting American life in The Conversation, The New York Times, The Columbus Dispatch, The (Toledo) Blade and the Catholic Moral Theology blog, among others.

Priestly Formation And Sexual Abuse In The Roman Catholic Church: In Dialogue With The Nigerian Church, Simonmary Asese Aihiokhai

Journal of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium

Reading the signs of the times today cannot be done legitimately without a critical look at the current sex abuse crisis perpetuated by the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. To deny the fact that the Church has a crisis on its hands is to trivialize the pain and sorrow experienced by all in the Church, and most especially by the victims of the crisis. This work provides an x-ray vision of some of the factors shaping this crisis and boldly offers some interventions that can help the Church to navigate its way out of the crisis. There is an …

Academic Guide, 2019, International Marian Research Institute

IMRI Course Listings, Program Guides, and Assorted Academic Materials

No abstract provided.

Academic Guide, 2018, International Marian Research Institute

IMRI Course Listings, Program Guides, and Assorted Academic Materials

No abstract provided.

Exercising Research Skills: An Information Literacy Boot Camp For Religious Studies Graduate Assistants, Stephanie Shreffler, Heidi Gauder

Roesch Library Faculty Publications

Instructional librarians at the University of Dayton collaborated with a religious studies graduate program to offer a three-day information literacy workshop, or “boot camp,” to the program's graduate research assistants. The graduate program had found that the assistants' research skills did not meet the expectations of their faculty mentors, and the workshop sought to address these deficiencies. With input from the religious studies faculty, the workshop focused on catalog and database searching, Boolean logic, primary sources, and the Chicago citation style. The librarians incorporated active learning exercises into each workshop session. Assessment of the workshop suggested that the assistants gained …

In Distinguished Company, University Of Dayton

Materials from the University of Dayton Magazine Website

The University of Dayton's Alumni Association each year chooses a distinguished alumni to recognize, who embodies the University's goal to benefit human society and learn, lead and serve. Here are the last 50 years of distinguished Flyers.

"Justice And Mercy": The Question Of Discordancy, The Development Of Doctrine And African Catholicism, John Segun Odeyemi

Journal of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium

The call for Justice and Mercy in the teachings of Pope Francis raises critical questions across theological and secular contexts. In the light of the Pontiff’s call for a Jubilee year of Mercy, in Evangelii Gaudium, and references in his teachings to these themes, I intend to investigate the theological meaning of Justice and Mercy and to reconcile these with what Pope Francis means. Then proffer as a concrete example, discordancy in Africa as an opportunity for a doctrinal and magisterial definition on the use of condoms as prophylactics to show a Church that acts mercifully and does justice.

Black And Brown Pauls: A Pauline Case Of Racial Profiling; A Hermeneutical Reading Of Acts 21:27‐40a And 22:23‐29 And The Reality Of The African American And Hispanic Communities In The United States, Dempsey Rosales Acosta

Journal of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium

The present study analyzes the socio-historical context and setting narrated in the canonical episode of Paul’s arrest and his treatment in Jerusalem according to the narrative of Acts 21:27-40a and 22:23-29. The pericopes become the fundamental platform through which it is possible to present both a hermeneutical and theological interpretation of the liabilities and ultimate consequences of racial profiling, especially when it is exercised by the civil authorities, an institutionalized power, or a general culture. The diachronic and synchronic exegetical analysis of the pericopes are combined with the methodological approaches of cognitive semantics and the practical theology that lead to …

American Gun Culture Encounters Christian Ethics: A Clash Of Narratives, Mark Ryan

Books and Book Chapters by University of Dayton Faculty

The ethical debate about guns in America pivots around the themes of harmful consequences and individual liberty. Gun control advocates argue for greater legal control of guns on the grounds that such a policy would save lives. They envision a society ruled by an enlightened policy that seeks to minimize harm and maximize benefit for all. On the other hand, proponents of gun control shift the focus in the debate from consequences to individual liberty, which they elevate to a position of overriding value. The government’s primary aim should be to protect individual liberty rather than promote the good of …

Academic Guide, 2017, International Marian Research Institute

IMRI Course Listings, Program Guides, and Assorted Academic Materials

No abstract provided.

“Tota Pulchra Es”: Mary, The Song Of Songs, And The Sacraments, Ann W. Astell

Marian Studies

In a pair of articles published in 1951 in Orate Fratres, Jean Daniélou, S.J., demonstrated that the Fathers of the Church interpreted the Song of Songs as a prophecy of the sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation. This interpretation fostered continuity between the Jewish liturgy, which features the Song of Songs in the observance of Passover and Sabbath, on the one hand, and Christian ritual, which gives a place of honor to the sacraments of initiation in the Easter vigil, on the other. This article traces the application of the Song of Songs to the sacraments of initiation in …

Jesus And The World Of Grace, 1968-2016: An Idiosyncratic Theological Memoir, William L. Portier

Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

This article offers an impressionistic look back over the past five decades, from 1968 to 2016, in Catholic theology in the United States. At the heart of this story are Christology, the world of grace, and their relationship. This memoir unfolds in three parts: “Running on Empty, 1968–1980”; “Jesus and the World of Grace, 1980–2016”; “Can Liberal Catholics Come Back?” It identifies the most neuralgic question left to us from this period: How is Christ related to the world of grace?

Review — Morality Truly Christian, Truly African: Foundational, Methodological, And Theological Considerations, By Paulinus Ikechukwu Odozor, C.S.Sp., Alex Mikulich

Journal of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium

No abstract provided.

Intellectualism And American Parish Priests: A Study Of The Library Of Monsignor Bernard J. Beckmeyer, Stephanie Soule

Roesch Library Faculty Publications

The 1955 publication of John Tracy Ellis's article "American Catholics and the Intellectual Life" sparked new discussion among historians about the role of intellectualism in the lives of American Catholics. This article examines the intellectual habits of American parish priests in the early and mid-twentieth century by studying the working library of Monsignor Bernard J. Beckmeyer of Dayton, Ohio. The contents of his library support Ellis's assertion that parish priests usually concentrated on the administration of their parishes, and not on scholarship and intellectualism. This focus was likely due to several factors, including the lackluster quality of seminary education of …