Contrary to popular belief, professional studies — business, accounting, and so on — and the liberal arts and sciences are not incompatible. In fact, they all inform each other.
Such was the topic of the annual Assumption Day, which was held Friday and attended by members of the Assumption College and Assumptionist communities. After introduction and prayer from Fr. Dennis Gallagher, vice president for mission, and remarks from Francesco Cesareo, president of Assumption College, audiences members “entered into dialogue” with Dr. Jason Bell, d’Alzon fellow and visiting assistant professor of philosophy, and Dr. Catherine Pastille, assistant professor of management.
It was a chance to reflect on the mission of an Assumption education.
The common theme was education as formation, with each speaker reminding people that education is an act that shapes the whole person, not one that simply gives him or her the credentials to make money. It gives students the tools to seek purpose always, helping them to, as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote, “develop and actualize” their potential.
And a true education is wide, just as the Assumptionist ministries are wide.
Really, it is, as Fr. Emmanuel d’Alzon, founder of the Assumptionists, noted, “a call to light.”
And this, of course, is valuable in any career and in any vocation.
Administrators and faculty and Assumptionists gathered for Assumption Day.
Prof. Jason Bell, Prof. Catherine Pastille, and Fr. Dennis Gallagher