It was gratifying to receive a diverse array of campus project proposals for furthering the work of Collegium in inventive ways in this year’s Catalyst Grant applications, especially from first-time applicants and the most recent group of Collegium alums. Funded projects for 2026 are:
Ursuline College (Co-PIs Rosemarie Emanuel and Crystal Petrello): An Online Academic “Alleluia” in Honor of Sr. Dorothy Kazel. The Catalyst team at Ursuline will develop and deliver workshops to faculty from all disciplines on principles of Catholic Social Teaching, with an eye to cultivating ongoing spaces for faculty and students to use their skills and knowledge to have concrete impacts on issues of justice, honoring one of Ursuline’s alumnae, Sr. Dorothy Kazel, martyred in El Salvador in 1980 for daring to challenge the status quo. The team will make this trove of resources part of their upcoming merger with Gannon University.
St. Mary’s University, Calgary (Co-PIs Erin Reid and Matt Risling): Becoming Beholders in Canada. The team will create an ongoing interactive reading group among faculty from all disciplines at one of Collegium’s newest member schools, to engage in the ongoing question of what it means to teach, study and serve at a Catholic university.
St. Mary’s College, South Bend IN (PI Molly Gower): Their Pilgrims of Hope project will engage faculty with the history and charism of their founding congregation, Sisters of the Holy Cross, along with the college’s Philosophy of Walking course to practice synodality and walking together in hope.
University of the Incarnate Word (Co-PIs Michael Frye and Shree Nair): One Journey, Many Voices: Practicing Synodality Across Continents and Cultures. This grant will help the team at UIW develop portable strategies for meaningful international collaborations, using synodality as the driving model for contact, conversation and program cultivation.
Iona University (PI Carl Procario-Foley): Solidarity in Action: A Conference on the Dignity of Refugees and Migrants. Funds will allow faculty and students to participate in a multi-school conference to wrestle thoughtfully with the critical issues of human dignity and care for the migrant, drawing from Catholic Social Teaching and community activists.
Congratulations to these teams and their institutions! Look for summaries of lessons learned in newsletters next winter. And it’s never too early to start planning your own Catalyst Grant application. These are always due on September 15. For details on how to apply, and a list of previous projects, see this webpage. Director Karen Eifler is always happy to talk with you to ensure your application is as strong as possible. Contact her at eifler [at] collegium.org (eifler[at]collegium[dot]org).