Saying No to an Economy that Kills: Undermining Mission and Exploiting Vocation in Catholic Higher Education

Over the past forty years, there has been a steady decrease in the number of jobs that offer just wages and benefits in the US. Catholic universities and colleges have also succumbed to this pattern in an effort to save costs. However, such practices fall short of manifesting a distinctively Catholi...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kerry Danner
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Journal of Moral Theology, Inc. 2019-04-01
Series:Journal of Moral Theology
Online Access:https://jmt.scholasticahq.com/article/11413-saying-no-to-an-economy-that-kills-undermining-mission-and-exploiting-vocation-in-catholic-higher-education
_version_ 1797654241538473984
author Kerry Danner
author_facet Kerry Danner
author_sort Kerry Danner
collection DOAJ
description Over the past forty years, there has been a steady decrease in the number of jobs that offer just wages and benefits in the US. Catholic universities and colleges have also succumbed to this pattern in an effort to save costs. However, such practices fall short of manifesting a distinctively Catholic charism to model evangelization that serves not only church members but also the world at large. Creating a culture of good news requires creating an economy of life. Catholic social teaching consistently affirms the responsibility of employers to offer stable employment, just wages and benefits. Yet, administrators at these institutions routinely appeal to market demands to rationalize low wages even though Catholic social teaching clearly rejects such arguments. The hiring of contingent faculty in particular, and short term workers without benefits more generally, undermines the mission of Catholic universities and colleges and exploits the vocation of college faculty. It decreases the worth of education, threatens the production of knowledge, and stunts a pursuit of truth. Fulfillment of mission rests on the just pay, inclusion, and advocacy of all low-wage workers and administrators saying no to an economy that kills.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T16:55:38Z
format Article
id doaj.art-a9bb86fa90dc4a10a861da75dccbb682
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2166-2851
2166-2118
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T16:55:38Z
publishDate 2019-04-01
publisher The Journal of Moral Theology, Inc.
record_format Article
series Journal of Moral Theology
spelling doaj.art-a9bb86fa90dc4a10a861da75dccbb6822023-10-20T17:33:50ZengThe Journal of Moral Theology, Inc.Journal of Moral Theology2166-28512166-21182019-04-018SI1Saying No to an Economy that Kills: Undermining Mission and Exploiting Vocation in Catholic Higher EducationKerry DannerOver the past forty years, there has been a steady decrease in the number of jobs that offer just wages and benefits in the US. Catholic universities and colleges have also succumbed to this pattern in an effort to save costs. However, such practices fall short of manifesting a distinctively Catholic charism to model evangelization that serves not only church members but also the world at large. Creating a culture of good news requires creating an economy of life. Catholic social teaching consistently affirms the responsibility of employers to offer stable employment, just wages and benefits. Yet, administrators at these institutions routinely appeal to market demands to rationalize low wages even though Catholic social teaching clearly rejects such arguments. The hiring of contingent faculty in particular, and short term workers without benefits more generally, undermines the mission of Catholic universities and colleges and exploits the vocation of college faculty. It decreases the worth of education, threatens the production of knowledge, and stunts a pursuit of truth. Fulfillment of mission rests on the just pay, inclusion, and advocacy of all low-wage workers and administrators saying no to an economy that kills.https://jmt.scholasticahq.com/article/11413-saying-no-to-an-economy-that-kills-undermining-mission-and-exploiting-vocation-in-catholic-higher-education
spellingShingle Kerry Danner
Saying No to an Economy that Kills: Undermining Mission and Exploiting Vocation in Catholic Higher Education
Journal of Moral Theology
title Saying No to an Economy that Kills: Undermining Mission and Exploiting Vocation in Catholic Higher Education
title_full Saying No to an Economy that Kills: Undermining Mission and Exploiting Vocation in Catholic Higher Education
title_fullStr Saying No to an Economy that Kills: Undermining Mission and Exploiting Vocation in Catholic Higher Education
title_full_unstemmed Saying No to an Economy that Kills: Undermining Mission and Exploiting Vocation in Catholic Higher Education
title_short Saying No to an Economy that Kills: Undermining Mission and Exploiting Vocation in Catholic Higher Education
title_sort saying no to an economy that kills undermining mission and exploiting vocation in catholic higher education
url https://jmt.scholasticahq.com/article/11413-saying-no-to-an-economy-that-kills-undermining-mission-and-exploiting-vocation-in-catholic-higher-education
work_keys_str_mv AT kerrydanner sayingnotoaneconomythatkillsunderminingmissionandexploitingvocationincatholichighereducation