Schedule at a Glance
Plan your symposium experience with our day-by-day program overview. Explore complete agenda to discover thought-provoking presentations, featured speakers, and concurrent sessions designed to inspire collaboration and dialogue.October 22-23, 2026 | Virtual Conference
You are personally invited to connect, collaborate and grow with the CHARISM Alliance. Your voice matters here, join us.
The symposium will serve as a virtual meeting space on October 22-23 for faculty across Catholic Higher Education Alliance of Rising Institutions in Service and Mission (CHARISM) institutions to share models and scholarship of teaching and learning that embody these two foundational ideas drawn from the Pope Leo XIV’s Apostolic Letter Drawing New Maps of Hope:
- The renewal of methodologies in response to present-day realities, and
- The responsibility of Catholic higher education to form not only the mind, but also the heart and the spirit.
Event Details
Volunteer Opportunities
Consider serving as a session moderator or other volunteer role. Your involvement will help create a welcoming, engaging, and well-organized experience for all participants.
Proposal FAQs
Presentations on collaborative and globally engaged teaching projects—such as COIL courses and international learning experiences—that demonstrate clear pedagogical impact. As Pope Leo XIV underscores, “in an interconnected world, the game is played on two boards: local and global,” calling for joint projects, exchanges between faculty and students and forms of academic cooperation that allow institutions to learn from one another and grow together.
The symposium will also welcome presentations on teaching initiatives and high-impact practices—such as civic education, service-learning and community-based research—that link university education to ecological responsibility and peacebuilding. As Pope Leo XIV affirms, Catholic education “cannot be silent” in the face of environmental degradation and social injustice, but must “combine social justice and environmental justice,” forming consciences capable of choosing not merely what is convenient, but what is just. Such initiatives embody an education that engages “the mind, the heart and the hands,” and fosters a commitment to what the Pope describes as an “unarmed and disarming” peace.
Grounded in Pope Leo XIV’s Apostolic Letter Drawing New Maps of Hope, issued on October 28, the significance of the grounding cannot be overstated. It is an absolutely brilliant way to focus faculty and other colleagues as well as bond our communities 2025, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the conciliar declaration Gravissimum Educationis, this virtual CHARISM Maps of Hope Symposium is conceived as a space for shared faculty formation and practical exchange. As the Pope notes, the letter seeks to revisit the enduring questions raised by Gravissimum Educationis and to respond to contemporary educational challenges by “drawing new maps of hope” for Catholic education.
A central emphasis of the letter is the call to renew teaching methodologies. Pope Leo XIV reminds us that technical updates alone are not sufficient; meaningful renewal requires educators who are willing to learn, adapt and discern. As he writes, “educators must be willing to learn and develop knowledge and be open to the renewal and updating of methodologies,” while also remaining open to spiritual and religious formation and sharing. Teaching, therefore, is not only a technical task but a formative responsibility that engages the whole person.
As Pope Leo XIV affirms, “The Catholic school is an environment in which faith, culture and life intertwine… a living environment in which the Christian vision permeates every discipline and every interaction.” For this reason, “the formation of teachers—scientific, pedagogic, cultural and spiritual—is decisive,” and educators’ witness carries the same weight as their instruction.
The symposium will highlight how faculty are translating this vision into renewed pedagogical practices that respond to contemporary educational challenges by strengthening cross-cultural collaborations and civic and ethical formation.
For more information, Contact:
Erlinda Lopez-Rodriguez, DrPH, MBA, CNMT
Executive Director of CHARISM
Phone: (210) 283-6474
Email: charism@uiwtx.edu