Education Re-imagined: Executive Director AMU

Marianist higher education has been around for just over 175 years. In that time, there have been significant changes to the ways we educate, to the programs we offer, and to the technology we have at our disposal. It is a great comfort to me that adaptation and change is built into our Characteristics of Marianist Education. Having such a value means we don’t hold on to old ways at the expense of growth. It also means we don’t just accept new technology without critical evaluation of both the potential for harm, and the potential for good. We have a foundation in faith, a clear set of values, and a liberal arts core that allows us to ask questions of new technology like “Who has access?” “Who benefits from our use of this?” “What are the risks?” “How might we reimagine how we work?” “How can it be used to benefit the common good?” and so on. AI is a hot topic right now and for good reason. It’s permeating society so quickly it’s hard to keep up, and keep track of what is real and what is AI generated. It feels like we have to respond quickly and, in one sense, that assessment is correct.

In another sense, slowing down, even just a little bit, is another important part of our values. In the Adaptation and Change section of the Characteristics of Marianist Universities there are words like “discern carefully,” “rigorous analysis,” and “prudent consideration.” These actions take time. They do not happen overnight or without collaboration. They are an invitation to slow down, to pray, to collaborate, and to sit with difficult questions. I know AI, the challenges facing higher education, and even the news cycle, seem to force rapid, reactionary change. The invitation, in this newsletter and in our lives, is to take a breath, to slow ourselves down, and to be reminded that while we are called to adaptation and change, we are called to that change in the context of a larger system of values grounded in faith. When we are able to lean into our faith, and take time for these important questions, we make decisions that will allow us to continue for the next 175 years.

Allison

“New times demand new methods.”
– Blessed William  Joseph Chaminade