A Word From the College President

Dear Friends,

On September 19, 2009, I became the tenth Principal of St. Mark’s College and thereby assumed the responsibilities so ably performed by my nine distinguished predecessors beginning with the legendary Fr. Henry Carr, csb, and carried out most recently by Dr. David Sylvester, the first lay Principal of the College.

The current responsibilities are linked to our mission to provide theological education to the Catholic community of this province and to the promotion of effective campus ministry to the students, staff, and faculty of the University of British Columbia.

In meeting these challenges, I am pleased to join those who are currently engaged in carrying out the work of St. Mark’s or supporting the College in other ways. Campus ministry operations, already very effective thanks to the dedicated team led by Maureen Wicken, were augmented this year with the appointment of Fr. John McCarthy, sj, as Chaplain, and it’s been wonderful to see the initial impact that Fr. John has had on our community.

In the academic realm, St. Mark’s is very much in its formative years as a school of theology. We offer both graduate degree and continuing education programs, and our initial development of both of these areas has been helped immeasurably by dedicated part-time instructors and able students. A particular strength has been the annual Summer Institute, which has brought together visiting and local professors, students, and staff in ways that have been academically and spiritually enriching.

Among the next steps to be taken at St. Mark’s is the strengthening of the MA program in theology. This will be done through an expansion of the three existing programs (Religious Education, Theological Studies, and Pastoral Studies) to include programs aimed at those who provide leadership in specialized ministries including Catholic schools, health institutions, and social service agencies. Further, we need to appoint two to three full-time faculty members to teach, supervise graduate students, and conduct research on the Catholic experience of British Columbia. Finally, we need to secure membership in the Association of Theological Schools of the United States and Canada in order to have our graduate programs accredited.

Clearly, this is an ambitious agenda. Accomplishing it will require strong support by the Catholic community of the Province, especially in light of the demands it will make upon our slender resources. I ask for your prayers, and I hope that we can count upon your financial support.

Yours truly,

Dr. John J. Stapleton, PhD, KSG

Principal pro tem

St. Mark’s College