Academic Catalog and Handbooks

2024-2025 Edition

Theology, Undergraduate

Department Chair: Kari-Shane Davis Zimmerman

Faculty: Nickolas Becker, OSB; Jennifer Beste; Colleen Carpenter, Kristin Colberg; Shawn Colberg; Chris Conway; Benjamin Durheim; Juliann Heller; Noreen Herzfeld; Micah Kiel, Anna Mercedes; Michael Rubbelke; Anthony Ruff, OSB; Laura Taylor; Kari-Shane Davis Zimmerman.

Religious faith, expressed in countless ways, has played a major role in the unfolding of human history and civilizations. Therefore, as the study of faith, theology is a vital part of a liberal arts education. Because religion intersects with all aspects of culture (for example, art, music, language, literature, history, philosophy, science), theological study offers a unique opportunity to connect the dots from multiple disciplines into a coherent world view.

Faculty members in our theology department are committed to helping students understand religion as a fundamental part of human experience. Exploring how faith and reason combine to form life-orienting perspectives, our faculty join students in grappling with major questions about God, the world, and human existence. This is done in a variety of ways, especially through the critical examination of the sacred texts and values of the Catholic tradition, other Christian traditions, and other religions.

Assessment

The theology department conducts assessment of student learning in order to determine how well the department and its students are accomplishing specified learning goals and objectives. This assessment activity provides the department with systematic feedback to make curricular and pedagogical improvements. While the department protects confidentiality, students should expect that their coursework may serve as evidence in the assessment process and that they may be asked to provide other data or participate in assessment reviews.