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Phoenix Catholic universities offer more classes
By J.D. Long-García, jdlgarcia@catholicsun.org
September 4, 2008
You don’t have to leave Arizona to attend Catholic college-level courses anymore.
Catholic universities — including the University of the Incarnate Word and the University of Mary — are beefing up their course offerings in the Phoenix Diocese.
Last year the University of the Incarnate Word, which is based in San Antonio, began offering classes in marketing, management, information systems and human resources in Goodyear.
They’ve now added bachelor’s and master’s degrees in religious studies, a bachelor’s degree in psychology as well as a master’s degree in education — the education courses will be offered at St. Mary’s High School. Kino Institute graduates will receive credits toward a degree.
“We’re trying to meet the needs of Catholics in the Valley, so we’re extending our offerings and classes,” said Steve Swatzell, director of operations at the university. He hoped that Catholic teachers would take advantage of the centrally located classes at St. Mary’s.
Swatzell also said the university has begun fundraising to build a permanent structure in Goodyear.
The University of Mary began offering classes for medical professionals at St. Joseph’s Hospital last year. They offer a graduate level servant leadership certificate program in conjunction with Catholic Healthcare West.
The program consists of four courses about living out the faith in the workplace. Another cohort of 15 will begin the certificate program in January.
The University of Mary also has 15 people enrolled in its education certificate program, also at St. Joseph’s.
“We want to take people who might have master’s degrees in nursing or radiology and give them what they need to teach at a junior college or at the hospital itself,” said Brenda Kaspari, director of the university’s accelerated and distance education program.
The university is also hoping to offer an accelerated, 18-month master’s in business administration starting in January.
“Offering a Catholic education gives us a certain amount of freedom to talk about what’s important,” Kaspari said.
Ave Maria University is currently offering a master’s in pastoral studies in the Diocese of Phoenix. The three-year course requires students to attend classes one weekend a month, 10 months a year.
Graduates do not need to learn a foreign language or write a thesis, but must complete 36 credits on a variety of subjects.
“By the time they finish the program they have a well-rounded understanding of the Catholic faith,” said Timothy Herman, the associate director and an Ave Maria professor.
The program includes courses in theology, Scripture, moral theology and John Paul II, just to name a few.
Yet Herman said, due to lack of interest, he wasn’t sure if Ave Maria would be able to continue offering the degree in Phoenix. They need around 25 to form the next cohort, which would begin classes in August 2009.
“It comes down to a very simple principle: you cannot love what you do not know,” Herman explained. “We often hear people who lament the fact that their education in the Catholic faith stopped when they graduated secondary school.”
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