Mirror - Vol. 27, No. 12 - December 06, 2001

              FIRST CHAT
An interview with Fairfield's
First Selectman
Page 3
112 SELLS-OUT
Conert packs Almuni Hall
and sells 2,800 tickets
Page 5
Fairfield
December 6, 2001 MIRROR University
Volume 27, Number 12
SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS
$2 million donated to support community building project
BY LAURA WALSH
As the issues of cloning and abortion grow more
controversial, making it even more difficult today for
contemporary Catholic schools to define themselves,
Fairfield University has decided to implement a reli-gious
program designed to provoke questions of faith
and understanding in students.
The program is named the Ignatian Residential
College and is a gift from Lilly Endowment Inc., which
gave a $1,996 million grant to Fairfield, only one of
the 28 colleges and universities in the country to re-ceive
a $1 million-plus grant from the endowment. Ul-timately,
the goal of the establishment is to enhance
on-campus programs, such as special courses and lec-ture
series, that allow students to consider how exactly
their beliefs affect the choices they make.
"In the history of any institution, there are singu-lar
moments that ultimately reveal themselves as turn-ing
point," said Reverend Aloysius R Kelley, S.J., uni-versity
president. "I suspect that, through its impact,
this generous grant from the Lilly Endowment will cre-ate
just such a turning point at Fairfield University."
And although the program will directly serve a
Is the expected faculty
pay system merited?
v\ kt W: ^~"V ne of the most controversial
debates between administra-tion
and faculty could be de-cided
as early as today, when
Fairfield's Board ofTrustees meet to
discuss possible changes in the way
that faculty are paid.
TheTrustees postponed a potential
vote on the subject lastJune so that a
committee of four administrators and
four faculty memberscouldreviewthe
current university's governance struc-ture
and make recommendations re-garding
any changes that should be
made.
"The ad-hoc committee that was
appointed but the Board in June met
and completed theirreportwhichwill
appear before the board onThursday,"
said university spokesmanDougWhit-ing.
"Based upon that, I have every
expectation that the boardwill take up
the issue."
The issue has sharply divided the
faculty and administration for the past
year.
Si i "MERIT PAY" ON P. 4
Related Editorial: "Let's stand by our boys/' Page 12
ENDOWMENT
+ I N C +
specific number
of sophomore
students, junior
Rebecca
Hilliker, a reli-gious
studies mi-nor,
agrees that
the Ignatian
Residential Col-lege
will be ben-eficial
to the
school's com-munity
as a
whole. "I would
enjoy a more di-verse
class selec-tion
and I think it
is very appropri-ate
for a Jesuit
school," said
Hilliker. "It would also be to the advantage of the
people who come here specifically for the religious
appeal of the school."
Mike Brosnan, also a junior, disagreed. "I feel
that using the money to step up campus ministry is a
wonderful idea, but I'm not sure that the program will
use it that way," he said. "I think, more than anything,
the Ignatian College will simply establish another sect
on campus. The school should work on nurturing the
community we all ready have."
Schools that have received the funds have begun
to plan activities such as student retreats, enhancing
worship on campus, changing career-planning services,
curricular changes and even semesters of study in semi-naries
and divinity schools. Internships will be offered
in congregations and faith-based organizations, which
will prove incredibly helpful to those who are inter-ested
in considering the ministry as a profession.
"It is clear that these schools thought through their
missions and strengths and that they were very inten-tional
in devising these proposals," Craig Dykstra, the
vice president for religion at the Lilly Endowment, said.
"The caliber of proposals was outstanding, and it is
obvious, and it is obvious that all these schools thought
seriously and productively about how to encourage
young people to consider questions of faith and com-mitment
as they choose their careers."
Founded in 1937, the endowment is an Indianapo-lis-
based private family institution and, in total, it gave
$55.3 million in grants. Fairfield's proposal for the
grant was coordinated by Noel Appel, director of foun-dation
relations in the university's Office of Develop-ment.
The decision, however, was made with input from
all divisions of the school. Associate Professor Nancy
Dallavalle of Fairfield's Religious Studies Department
believes the program will be very profitable. "By pro-viding
students with experiences such as living in a
reflective community, taking courses that take seriously
the integration of students' minds, hearts and spirits,
and actively participating in a variety of liturgical set-tings,
the Ignatian Residential College will not be
merely preaching a 'portable vision' but also, impor-tantly,
inculcating 'portable skills.'"