ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Three representatives from St. Bonaventure University presented at the 2012 AFCU Symposium held June 12-15, 2012, with a focus on Franciscan Servant Leadership.
In the spirit of St. Francis, the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities symposium was structured on the progression of becoming a servant leader. Servant leaders first serve the community they work with; through that serving they learn about the culture and its needs; and as a result are equipped to lead. There was representation from all AFCU 22 institutes in the United States with approximately 250 faculty, staff, administrators and students.
St. Bonaventure was represented by Kate Dillon Hogan, associate vice president for enrollment; Dr. Joe Coate, associate professor of accounting in the School of Business; and Dr. Paula Scraba, associate professor of physical education in the School of Education. Dillon Hogan presented on the panel session “Communications and Recruitment Strategies for Franciscan Universities” with Chuck Beutel of the University of St. Francis and Pat Kerrigan of Viterbo University.
Coate presented an article he co-authored with Jeff Peterson, SBU professor of finance, titled “Educational Exercises to Help Leaders Understand Economic Consequence: Positive Analysis of Normative Theories.” In a concurrent session, Coate presented “Business School Education and Catholic Social Teaching: A Luca Pacioli Motivated Perspective,” an article co-authored with Mark Mitschow of Geneseo.
In addition, St. Bonaventure alumnus Bob Till, ’77, from Neumann University’s School Business, presented on “Clare and Servant Leadership” introducing a stewardship theory of management using Clare as a business model of a transformational servant leader founding a successful organization.
Scraba’s presentation, “A Model for Student-initiated Leadership: St. Bonaventure University SIFE International Service Learning Program,” was part of a new initiative by AFCU Symposium organizers to have café discussions with three
rotating groups of participants for each presenter.
Dr. Kevin Godfrey of Alvernia University, who was finishing his term as AFCU executive director, emphasized the mission of the AFCU in his welcoming address, stressing how individual members of the AFCU institutes work together for this bi-annual conference signifying their commitment of assuming the primary responsibility for perpetuating and developing the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition across disciplines and campus programs.
The next AFCU Symposium is scheduled for June 3-5, 2014, to be hosted by Neumann University in Aston, Pa. The theme will be Catholic in the Franciscan Tradition: Formation, Integration, and Assessment. Participation is encouraged from all disciplines and university campus programs of faculty, staff, administrators and students.
Special interest sessions will be held for students, trustees, athletic directors and coaches, directors of media, marketing and communication, and directors of facilities and environment. Also, the AFCU has issued a call for papers, inviting faculty, staff and administrators from AFCU institutes to submit for the 2013 issue of
The AFCU Journal: A Franciscan Perspective on Higher Education. St. Bonaventure has a number of faculty, staff and administrators who have published in the AFCU Journal. For more information on the 2014 Symposium or publication guidelines, visit the website for the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities at
www.franciscancollegesuniversities.org.