A Mission Held in Trust

Stewarding the Church-Related University

Advances in Church-Related Higher Education

Foreword by Heather Templeton Dill
Edited by Todd C. Ream, Jerry Pattengale, and Christopher J. Devers

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$26.99

Length: 216 pages
Dimensions: 6 × 9 in
Published: September 01, 2026
Imprint: IVP Academic
ISBN: 9781514014585

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Your Institution's Mission Is Key to Its Flourishing

For church-related colleges and universities, a mission statement is a powerful tool. It communicates what is distinctive about each institution and its relationship to its faith tradition. Yet having a clear and compelling mission statement is not enough. Universities face ongoing challenges in stewarding their missions in a rapidly changing culture.

In A Mission Held in Trust, leading administratorsand educators from both Protestant and Catholic institutions provide wisdom on mission alignment in higher education. Mission is designed to be held in trust by members of a community and stewarded for the next generation.

Contributors shed light on a number of topics to help church-related colleges and universities advance their missions, including:

how mission statements serve as organizing rationales for exercising institutional identity;
challenges to mission in a post-secular cultural context;
issues of law, lobbying, messaging, and finance;
the theological, philosophical, and legal characteristics of fiduciary service; and
how students, educators, board members,and other stakeholders are formed for service.

This book brings together a distinguished roster of higher education leaders from presidents of Notre Dame, Baylor, Biola, Pepperdine, Franciscan, and Samford to senior officials fromWheaton, Villanova, Saint Louis, and the Catholic University of America. Spanning Catholic, evangelical, and ecumenical institutions, their combined experience in leadership, formation, and ministry offers readers practical, hard-won wisdom they cantrust.

In the midst of uncertainties and change, mission remains a sacred trust—inherited from predecessors and passed along to successors. A Mission Held in Trust is a unique ecumenical resource providing wisdom and encouragement for leaders seeking faithfulness in these vital vocations.

About the Contributors

This volume brings together an outstanding group of higher education leaders. Contributors include Kathleen Byrnes, vice president for student life at Villanova University; Barry H. Corey, President of Biola University; Robert A. Dowd, CSC, president of the University of Notre Dame; Jim Gash, president of Pepperdine University; Aquinas Guilbeau, OP, university chaplain and vice president of ministry and mission at Catholic University of America; John I. Jenkins, CSC, president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame; Karen An-hwei Lee, professor of English and provost at Wheaton College; Linda A. Livingstone, president of Baylor University; Edward A. Malloy, CSC, president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame; Dave Pivonka, TOR, president of Franciscan University; Molly A. Schaller, associate dean of the School of Education at Saint Louis University; Beck A. Taylor, president of Samford University.

REVIEWS

"A Mission Held in Trust is a timely and insightful guide for leaders committed to preserving and advancing the distinct mission of Christian higher education. The contributors offer wisdom, clarity, and practical pathways for stewarding institutions with both courage and conviction. This book is a valuable resource for all of us entrusted with shaping universities grounded in faith and purpose."Candice McQueen, president of Lipscomb University

"A Mission Held in Trust brings together a varied group of academic leaders and faculty to give voice to some of the particular realities on individual campuses while pointing to the larger work that animates and connects the nation's church-related institutions. The authors combine to offer a compelling path forward, responding to the larger culture's secularism with a life-giving vision for institutions who work to produce graduates committed to the common good. The faith-based college and university, the collected essays make clear, offers a particularly powerful platform to advance human flourishing in our time."David Quigley, professor of history and the Robert L. and Judith T. Winston Provost and Dean of Faculties at Boston College

"As faith-based colleges and universities, we need to model what we teach about welcome, shared participation, and collaboration. This book is both a witness and an invitation to that ecumenical mission."Donna M. Carroll, president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities

"A Mission Held in Trust is an inspirational and essential masterpiece for higher education leaders tasked with the honor of stewarding a university's sacred charism and mission. It is the most comprehensive book on the subject, expertly weaving together trustee formation; faculty, staff, and student development; and marketing and finances into a cohesive tapestry of mission-driven leadership. Whether used for cabinet retreats or a leader's personal reflection and growth, this book provides the tools necessary to ensure our institutional missions remain vibrant and true for future generations."Cheryl McConnell, president of St. Joseph's University

"This is a beautiful book. Written as a compendium on the importance of institutional mission, it is both clarifying and compelling in its breadth and depth of insight. A must-read for the leadership teams of every institution serious about defining and articulating its mission and for every individual sincere in their efforts to fulfill it."Gayle D. Beebe, president of Westmont College

"A Mission Held in Trust makes a substantive and timely contribution to the study and stewardship of church-related universities. Drawing from distinguished Catholic and evangelical scholars, the volume offers an insightful examination of the theological, cultural, and fiduciary commitments. Its analyses are both intellectually disciplined and practically instructive, providing a valuable framework for leaders charged with advancing institutional mission. I highly recommend this book for those who labor together to advance church-related higher education."David A. Hoag, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities

"A Mission Held in Trust frames mission not as something temporarily managed but as a responsibility received from predecessors and owed to those who follow. The contributors thoughtfully examine how governance, formation, and operational decisions either strengthen or erode mission over time. This volume offers wise guidance for university communities and leaders seeking faithful continuity across seasons of change."Eric F. Spina, president of the University of Dayton

"Fiduciary responsibility implies imagining a long institutional arc, and in exploring this idea, A Mission Held in Trust presses faith-based colleges and universities to avoid quick fixes and focus rather on long-term strategies that draw on the resources of the Christian faith to serve students, the church, and their various communities. As such, it provides a timely resource for institutions to tack against the gale force headwinds colleges and universities face today."Joseph Creech, executive director of the Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities

“These insightful essays shine a beautiful light on the distinctive, life-giving vocation of church-related universities in a time of significant turbulence in higher education, broader cultures, and the world. Both the clarity of mission and the importance of trust illumine why and how church-related universities can and will lead the way in reimagining higher education for the future.”L. Gregory Jones, president of Belmont University

“A Mission Held in Trust provides inspiring and practical guidance for new and experienced leaders. Those who steward Christian colleges will be strengthened in their understanding of the ways a religious missional commitment provides a foundation for responding to political, social, and financial pressures with integrity and long-term success. There is wisdom here, as well, for those who serve secular institutions from a place of commitment to a higher good.”Marjorie Hass, president of the Council of Independent Colleges

“A Mission Held in Trust is the book Christian higher education needs right now. With clarity and conviction, it calls educators and leaders to understand mission as a living, communal practice—one that shapes decision-making, forms leadership, and anchors institutions in hope. Drawing on the best of Catholic and evangelical wisdom, this volume equips institutions not merely to preserve their heritage but to steward it with courage and imagination into the future. Those who care about the relationship between the church and the academy will find this book thoughtful, timely, and genuinely useful for leadership.”Noah J. Toly, senior fellow for faith and learning for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities

“This volume tackles head-on a critical issue for today’s church-related colleges and universities—that is, how a faithfully constructed mission statement serves as an organizing rationale for the stakeholders of an institution and how it can be articulated, implemented, nurtured, and defended. The authors come from both evangelical and Catholic traditions and are well situated by their commitments and experience to advance these important discussions. This volume is highly recommended for both trustees and educators.”Robert B. Sloan, president of Houston Christian University

“Higher education in the United States has entered a period of rapid and often destabilizing change. It is a moment well suited to the publication of A Mission Held in Trust. This thoughtful collection provides a range of important reflections on how Christian institutions of higher education can understand and live their missions with meaning. By interrogating what it means to actually steward their missions, Christian colleges and universities have an extraordinary opportunity to offer much-needed and truly distinctive educations in an environment in which many schools have lost their way.”Vincent D. Rougeau, president of the College of the Holy Cross

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Foreword by Heather Templeton Dill
Introduction: In an Uncertain Season: Mission Stewardship as a Christian Practice
Todd C. Ream, Jerry Pattengale, and Christopher J. Devers

Part 1: Organizational Context
1. Integrity to the Mission: Leadership, Discernment, and Action
Molly A. Schaller

Part 2: Operational Contexts
2. Called to Justice: The Reciprocal Relationship Between Mission and Law
Jim Gash
3. Making Your Voice Heard: The Importance of Effective Lobbying to Preserving Your Institution's Mission
Linda A. Livingstone
4. Mission Reinforcing Messaging: Making Sure the Outside Mirrors the Inside
Barry H. Corey
5. Balancing Mission and Margin: How Strong Financial Management Can Sustain the Impact of Church-Related Colleges and Universities
Beck A. Taylor

Part 3: Formative Contexts
6. Worship as Mission Formation: Religion's Integral Place in University Education
Aquinas Guilbeau, OP
7. With Purpose and Meaning: Forming Trustees for Mission Stewardship
Dave Pivonka, TOR
8. A Poetics of Presence: Mission and Faculty Formation
Karen An-hwei Lee
9. From Mission to Practice: A Framework for Student Development
Kathleen J. Byrnes

Concluding Reflection: A Trust Held in Seasons: Leadership Succession as Christian Practice
Edward A. Malloy, CSC, John I. Jenkins, CSC, and Robert A. Dowd, CSC
Contributors
Index