Christendom College President One of Few Catholic College Presidents with Doctorate in Theology

The National Catholic Register recently reported on the dearth of theologically educated Catholic college presidents and dubbed Dr. Timothy O'Donnell as an anomaly.

Front Royal, Va. -- The National Catholic Register recently reported on the dearth of theologically educated Catholic college presidents. Reporter Judy Roberts began her story by writing about Christendom President, Dr. Timothy ODonnell.

Dr. Timothy ODonnell is an anomaly in the world of Catholic academia today. Like most of his counterparts at other American Catholic colleges and universities, the president of Christendom College in Front Royal, Va., is a layman. Unlike most, he holds a doctorate in sacred theology."

Roberts explained that as recently as 35 years ago, a Catholic college president with such a degree or comparable religious training might have been the norm, not the exception. But a new study on lay Catholic college presidents confirms what many have suspected for a long time: that most of the people leading Catholic colleges and universities today are lay men and women who lack a thorough education in the faith."

This new study, titled Leadership and the Age of the Laity: Emerging Patterns in Catholic Higher Education," writes Roberts, relates some very surprising statistics. Only 4% of lay presidents have terminal degrees in theology; 43% have graduate education degrees; 55% have no religious training past high school; nearly 33% lack any kind of formal religious education; and a little over 25% have had some type of religious formation in seminaries or religious congregations.

The study was conducted by Father Dennis Holtschneider and Melanie Morey. According to Fr. Holtschneider, it is of the utmost importance that Catholic college presidents, either lay or religious, be fluent and knowledgeable about the tradition they are charged with preserving because universities are intellectual enterprises."

According to the story, Patrick Reilly of the Cardinal Newman Society, an organization that seeks to restore Catholic identity in Catholic colleges and universities believes that the real problem is [that] Catholic universities are no longer centered [on] a real Catholic theology. The president needs to make that a priority regardless of what his background is."
Dr. ODonnell thinks that his own doctorate in sacred theology has served him well but would not be necessary if a president had a solid formation in the faith and recognized that the fundamental purpose of a Catholic university is to educate under the guiding light of faith, as Pope John Paul II made clear in his 1990 apostolic constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae.

The president is probably the most significant in setting the tone for a College," says ODonnell. Formation is important, but even more important than formation is a deep faith commitment. Thats not something you go to school for."