Exploring the Value of Catholic Education: UIW to Host 2026 Bernadette O’Connor Lecture on Catholic Intellectual Traditions
On Monday, Feb. 9 the UIW College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) will be presenting the annual Bernadette O’Connor Lecture on Catholic Intellectual Traditions (CIT) at 4:30 p.m. in the Grossman International Conference Center (Room R105 - Henriette Leonard Auditorium). This event has been hosted since 2017 with the intent to engage some facet of the CIT, most broadly understood as the dynamic and mutually illuminating conversation between the Catholic faith and human culture.
The lecture is named after former Dean of CHASS and Professor of Philosophy, Bernadette O’Connor. Her insightful knowledge of CIT and career dedicated to promoting appreciation for CIT inspired CHASS to name this cherished event in her honor.
“The Bernadette O’Connor lectures are a reminder that the humanities are not an ornament, a side hobby or a nuisance, but the conscience of our world,” explained Dean of CHASS Javier Clavere, DMA. “We are invited by the Bernadette O’Connor Lectures to come as a community to engage the life of the mind as an expression of service, justice and human dignity, values at the core of educating the whole person. This lecture series keeps alive the call us to sustained reflection, generous listening and scholarship that provides the incarnational service embedded in our institutional Mission.”
This year’s guest speaker is Jason King, PhD, Beirne Chair & Director of the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, TX. King received his doctorate from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. His most recent research focuses on the Holistic Impact Report that explores the outcomes of Catholic higher education on life direction, community engagement and ethical decision making.
King will deliver his presentation titled "Does Catholic Education Make a Difference?” which will explore the difference that choosing a Catholic education actually makes. By drawing on national research and student stories, he will show how Catholic education forms students for meaningful and purposeful lives, and how that formation shapes work, mental health, diversity and emerging challenges like AI.
“King is addressing questions vital for all universities concerning the value of education that can be offered to students today,” noted Director of the UIW Pastoral Institute and CHASS Associate Professor Michael Romero, PhD. “His unique contribution is based on his own study of graduates of both Catholic institutions and graduates of non-faith-based institutions who were asked about things like life meaning and fulfillment. Most people don’t realize that the university system that we know today developed in the Middle Ages under the patronage of the Catholic Church. It is a gift that we’ve inherited but whose usefulness or value has been questioned in recent times. King’s study is connected deeply then to the very heart of the Catholic intellectual tradition in the sense that the medieval universities gave us, with a sense of wonder and rational inquiry.”
Romero hopes that the UIW community will be encouraged to rethink what makes college “worth it,” as well as recognize the unique benefits that Catholic institutions offer in order to makes their experience “worth it.”
Join us for the 2026 Bernadette O’Connor Lecture on Catholic Intellectual Traditions!