Inclusivity and Institutional Change in Education: A Theologian's Journey

by Colleen Mary Mallon

Overview

Do you want to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at your institution, but you don't know where to start? 
 
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, a small Catholic secondary school erupted in controversy. Students and alumni took to social media to share stories of their own experiences with racism on campus. It was clear that the school's culture needed to change. 
 
Enter Sr. Colleen Mary Mallon, who joined the high school as the director of mission formation. Pursuing grassroots institutional reform, Sr. Colleen found a new meaning of theological education.
 
In this candid volume, Sr. Colleen reflects on the challenges of molding her Dominican school to embody its charism of veritas. This commitment to truth required her school and her Dominican sisters to recognize their complicity in white supremacy and to center the concerns of marginalized communities. Educating faculty, staff, administrators, and parents in Catholic Social Teaching equipped them to bring their actions—and the culture of the school—into alignment with their professed values. 
 
Sr. Colleen's story offers one example of how schools can implement antiracist and antibias reforms. With its wealth of practical insights and discussion questions, Inclusivity and Institutional Change in Education will guide readers in effecting cultural change in their own institutions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467468831
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	07/18/2024
Series:	Theological Education between the Times (TEBT)
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	171
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Colleen Mary Mallon, OP, is a theologian, educator, and animator of mission formation. She holds a PhD in systematic and philosophical theology from the Graduate Theological Union and has taught systematic theology at the university level. She currently serves as a director of adult mission formation for the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose.

Editorial Reviews

Grounded in her faith, theological proficiency, and Dominican tradition, Sr. Colleen draws her readers into a journey of personal conversion and institutional renewal. Those called to leadership roles in our turbulent times will find her a trustworthy counselor and companion.”
—Jon Nilson, associate professor of theology, Loyola University Chicago

“Reading Inclusivity and Institutional Change in Education is like making a formation retreat with Sr. Colleen, who shares courageously from her experience as a theological educator in health-care and secondary-school contexts. This book offers wise processes for midwifing institutional transformation and will help community leaders to enact justice, embody truth, and grow into right relationship for the sake of the Gospel mission.”
—Ann Killian, OP, assistant professor of English, Ohio Dominican University

“In this profoundly personal and inspiring book, Sr. Colleen Mary Mallon wisely draws attention to the humanity of the theological educator. Amidst changing landscapes, mapping and remapping relationships, personal reinvention, desire for change, and recalibration of priorities, we are reminded that theological education is ultimately a spiritual journey in the unyielding search for veritas.”
—Hosffman Ospino, professor of theology and religious education, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry

“What does it mean to give concrete witness to the truth of the gospel and God’s preferential option for the poor and marginalized in Christian schools today?  As director of mission formation at a Catholic secondary school, Dominican sister and theologian Colleen Mary Mallon offers powerful testimony about what she and the entire school community learned in the process of discovering and addressing the dynamics of systemic racism and white privilege at work in the school’s culture and their own lives in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Sr. Mallon’s honest reflections, wise insights, frank admissions of inevitable limits and failures, challenging questions, and practical suggestions offer inspiration and hope for others called to raise similar questions in their own communities and lives—which is to say, all of us.”
—Mary Catherine Hilkert, OP, professor of theology, University of Notre Dame

“Colleen Mallon beautifully illustrates why the most powerful voices for conversion often arise out of the silent, liminal spaces into which we have been unexpectedly thrust. Rising far above the harsh screeds of the DEI culture wars, hers is a rare prophetic voice that sounds a clarion call for change in theological education and administrative leadership while at the same time providing a compassionate and pragmatic map for moving forward. More than that, she presents a deeply personal witness to the healing power of restorative justice: both in a wounded society and in one’s own heart. Highly recommended for anyone involved in theological education at any level, and for anyone in need of a trusted companion to help navigate the disorienting seasons we all inevitably encounter throughout our lives.”
—John Kartje, rector/president, University of Saint Mary of the Lake

From the Publisher