What is College Really for? Notre Dame's Experiment in Holistic Education, with Bill Mattison

What if a university included among its common learning goals for its students, cultivating the practice of disciplined attention and becoming active participants in your holistic formation? That would mean, I suppose, that such a university would be interested and invested in not just what their graduates could do or produce, but also in who they become. Such an education would value the education of the heart alongside and integrated with the education of the mind. This would go a long way toward giving a fresh, persuasive response to the increasingly pressing questions of what is college really for and is it really worth it.

These two learning goals – cultivating the practicing of disciplined attention and becoming active participants in your holistic formation – are in fact the stated goals of the newly launched first-year seminar at the University of Notre Dame. This is a course that every single Notre Dame student takes in their first semester of college, in a seminar setting comprised of 19 students, one instructor, and one peer leader. It is called the Moreau First-Year Seminar, named after the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Blessed Basil Moreau. The seminar seeks to give students a common entry point for their collegiate education, an education that takes seriously the responsibility and privilege of pursuing a life well-lived.

Joining me today to talk about this vision of education and the challenging project of creating a common yet substantive seminar for all undergraduate students is my friend and colleague, Professor Bill Mattison. Bill serves as the academic director of the Moreau Program, in addition to his role as Wilsey College Professor of moral theology and ethics.

Follow-up Resources:

• Learn more about the Moreau First-Year Seminar at https://moreaufirstyear.nd.edu/ 
• “In Search of a Full Life,” podcast episode via Church Life Today
• “Forming an Intentional College Culture, with Joe Wurtz,” podcast episode via Church Life Today
• “Becoming the Adult in the Room, with Sarah Pelrine,” podcast episode via Church Life Today
• “There is no such thing as winning at life, with Elizabeth Klein,” podcast episode via Church Life Today

Church Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.