Position opens as university looks toward its strategic plan
St. Bonaventure University has recently begun looking for qualified individuals to fill a newly created position in the administration. The title of this position is Vice President of Mission Integration.
The position will be consulted on new hires, helping to guide the university’s actions toward the goals outlined in their own distinct origins and recognition as a Franciscan organization, said Fr. David Couturier, executive director of the Franciscan Institute and director of university planning.
“The major task [of this position] is to advise the president, the president’s council and the president’s executive management team to keep them aware of the identity of the institution any time we may be veering away from the fundamental values of the institution, to monitor the organizational culture and ethics of the institution, to onboard educate people when they get here as to what the institution is and to educate everybody on campus about what kind of institution we are, what are our primary values and how to operationalize them at work,” said Couturier.
The position of vice president of mission integration came out of the strategic vision that Couturier and other university officials established in 2016 in order to guide the university’s actions over the next five years.
The goals listed by the strategic vision include, “re-establish[ing] the position of vice president for mission and identity to spearhead, oversee and coordinate all university initiatives dealing with SBU’s core mission as a ‘Catholic university, dedicated to excellence in the Franciscan tradition,’” according to The Meaning of our Strategic Vision, the document the university put together in order to guide its planning.
This document goes further to say that the university sees this position as key if they are going to continue implementing the strategies listed out. The position’s goal is to coordinate these strategies to have the goals being covered together.
“Since I have arrived here as president, we’ve stated a vision for the future of the university,” said Dr. Dennis DePerro, the current president of St. Bonaventure University. “One of the primary things that the vision involves is being sure that we carry on the Franciscan mission of this university.”
DePerro pointed out this mission is a large part of what makes St. Bonaventure unique from other campuses students could choose to attend.
“This is not about hiring somebody to make sure the mission is carried on in terms of our publications and messaging,” said DePerro. “It’s about embedding in our course work the way that Francis might have looked at things: his appreciation for the world, his appreciation for social justice, his appreciation for marginalized people.”
DePerro and Couturier said it only took so long for St. Bonaventure to create this position in the administration because it was never formalized, rather perpetuated in the actions of the friars and faculty. However, DePerro’s experience with Jesuit institutions gave him a perspective that allowed him to appreciate a formal role for this matter. Couturier agreed with this view and helped to begin the process of seeing it come to fruition before DePerro even came to the university.
“Students will be helped in knowing that we have a place on campus that is keeping its eye on the ball in terms of what our mission is for the 21st century,” said Couturier about the new position and how it will affect the student body. “They’ll be a high-level person who is trained, who is supported, who knows the task of building this institution on our identity, our values, where we hope to be and what our strategic priorities are.”
By Landon Allison, News Editor
allisolj17@bonaventure.edu
