Heart of the University, Faculty Retreat Series 2025-26

"The Heart of the University Retreat" Series gives faculty and administrators of all faiths the opportunity for input and guided reflection. The series is co-sponsored by the Office of Mission and Ministry, and the Center for Vocation and Servant Leadership.

The second retreat, given by Professor Melinda Papaccio on the theme of "A Catholic Philosophy of Education: The Human Good – The Horizon of the Educator," will be held from 9-11 a.m.,  Monday, November 17, 2025 in the Dean’s Conference Room, main floor, Walsh Library and via Microsoft Teams.

A Catholic philosophy of education, which aims to educate the whole person, provides a unique response to the challenges educators face in the current milieu. 

To rise above the force of rapid change, we must center ourselves in a commitment to the human good, a commitment to love. To express this love concretely in the world, in actions both individual and collective, we work for the human good. In this retreat we will consider how we might draw upon aspects of our university’s legacy to inspire us as we translate that love into action, how we can tend to our spiritual development as educators, and widen our horizons of concern for the human good.

Melinda D. Papaccio, M.A., teaches First Year Writing and University Core courses. She is a GEM Fellow with Seton Hall’s Praxis Program of the Advanced Seminar on Mission. As a missionary with the ITHIRST Initiative, she works with those suffering from addiction and their families.

If you have any questions, please contact Linda Garofalo or Francia Peterson at [email protected].

RSVP to [email protected] by November 13, 2025. Click here for further information.

Categories: Education, Faith and Service