All 20 priests, seminarians to be hosted in New York later this month
The Center for Church Management and Business Ethics (CCMBE) at the Villanova School of Business (VSB) has come to an agreement with the Pontifical Lateran University (PUL) in Rome to collaborate during the second year of their International School of Pastoral Management.
The CCMBE will provide online and in-person education alongside professors from the PUL to students from around the world. In addition to the presence of faculty from the Master of Science in Church Management (MSCM) program in Rome, an annual, one-week summer program will be established for students from the PUL on the Villanova campus. Along with the education component the two organizations will collaborate on developing a series of biannual international research conferences on Church Management, one in Rome and one in the US.
The PUL recently developed the School of Pastoral Management in response to Pope Francis’ desire to overhaul church finances, and a desire for church leaders to be better-trained to respond to the economic needs of the church. “We are very glad about this new collaboration with Villanova University’s Center for Church Management & Business Ethics because it is a well-respected international academic program that has been conducting research and education on issues related to pastoral management for the past 10 years” says Giulio Carpi, the Director of the School of Pastoral Management at the Pontifical Lateran University.
“We are delighted to work with the Pontifical Lateran University,” says Charles Zech, PhD, Professor, Economics and Faculty Director for the CCMBE. “We are dedicated to providing the best possible church management education and research to help lead and serve the Church effectively. This partnership means not only that we will have a connection with the Vatican, but it also gives us the opportunity to share our expertise and work to build a stronger universal Church.”
In addition to educational programs both in Rome and on the Villanova campus, this new partnership hopes to develop a series of international research conferences on the topic of Church Management. The conferences will be held in alternating locations between Rome and Villanova.
Teams from the CCMBE and PUL will meet on May 4 – 6 in Rome to finalize details of the collaboration. A press conference and official signing ceremony will also be held at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome on May 5.
The first cohort of students from the PUL began their 15-week program in February of 2015, and will attend a week-long residency at Villanova in April 2016. Dr. Zech will address students from the first cohort in May 2015 in Rome. Faculty from Villanova’s CCMBE will teach three modules to the second cohort of PUL students beginning in February 2016 both online and in Rome. The second cohort of PUL students will attend a summer school session on the Villanova campus in August 2016.
“Take a look at the lives of the great Saints of charity that illuminate the history of the Church, from Don Bosco to Mother Theresa of Calcutta. Their love for the poor was so resourceful and innovative they should make even the great Silicon Valley people jealous,” says Rector Monsignor Enrico dal Covolo, Rector of the Pontifical Lateran University. “Don Bosco was called ‘God’s entrepreneur.’”
VSB began offering programs in church management in 2004. Its Master of Science in Church Management degree was initiated in 2008. This two-year, online program offers training to both clergy and laity in Church finance, human resources, law, planning, and other areas crucial to the financial health of the Church and enrolls students from five continents.
“While the Church is not a business, it does have a duty to be good stewards of its resources,” says Dr. Zech. This is evident in the MSCM curriculum, which combines practical business skills with theological insight.
Recently, the CCMBE also entered partnership with the Archdiocese of New York to offer the MSCM program to lay people and clergy within the Archdiocese in support of the Archdiocese’s “Making All Things New” initiative, a strategic parish-planning program that aims to improve parishes to better serve the faithful. The center offers several non-credit programs in church management including a webinar certificate series, customizable programs for seminarians, on-site diocesan training for clergy and lay staff, and one day conferences on the Villanova campus on current church management topics, as well as publishing cutting edge research on current church management issues.
More information on the MSCM program at Villanova is available online.
Villanova University’s Center for Church Management and Business Ethics (CCMBE) performs research, conducts both for-credit and non-credit programs in Church management, and coordinates all business ethics activities within the Villanova School of Business. The center offers an online Master of Science degree in Church Management, as well several non-credit programs in Church management. Non-credit offerings include a webinar certificate series in Church management, customizable seminary programs, on-site diocesan training, and one day conferences on the Villanova campus. While the Church is not a business, the Center for Church Management & Business Ethics works to help Church leadership be good stewards of their resources, use their facilities effectively, and build a stronger universal Church.
The Villanova School of Business (VSB) is ranked #24 in the nation by Bloomberg Businessweek and has been at the forefront of business education since it was founded in 1922. Serving over 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students, VSB is home to six Centers of Excellence (the Daniel M. DiLella Center for Real Estate, the Center for Business Analytics, the Center for Global Leadership, the Center for Marketing & Consumer Insights, the Center for Church Management & Business Ethics and the Center for Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Center) with each center designed to foster innovative, cross-disciplinary research and teaching opportunities for business faculty. VSB is known for academic rigor; creativity and innovation; hands-on and service learning opportunities; a firm grounding in ethics; and an applied education that prepares students to become outstanding leaders and global citizens within the ever-changing, complex, and fast-paced world of business.
About Villanova University
Since 1842, Villanova University’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University’s six colleges – the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University School of Law. As students grow intellectually, Villanova prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them.
