Mark W. Roche presents a clear, precise, and positive view of the challenge and promise of a Catholic university. Roche makes visible the ideal of a Catholic university and illuminates in original ways the diverse, but interconnected, dimensions of Catholic identity. Roche's vision of the distinct intellectual mission of a Catholic university will appeal to Catholics as well as to persons who are not Catholic but who may recognize through this essay the unexpected allure of a Catholic university.
Mark William Roche is the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., Professor of German Language and Literature, concurrent professor of philosophy, and former dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of many books, including Realizing the Distinctive University (University of Notre Dame Press, 2017) and Why Choose the Liberal Arts? (University of Notre Dame Press, 2010), which won the Frederic W. Ness Book Award.
Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. (1917–2015) was president of the University of Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987. As an adviser to presidents, special envoy to popes, theologian, author, educator, and activist, Father Hesburgh was for decades considered the most influential priest in America. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including The Challenge and Promise of a Catholic University (University of Notre Dame Press, 1994).