Journal of Moral Theology, Special Issue on Contingency and Catholic Colleges ed. by Matthew J. Gaudet and S.J. James Keenan (review)

Matthew J. Gaudet and James F. Keenan, S.J., compiled an issue of the Journal of Moral Theologythat encompasses a broad variety of ethical concerns regarding contingent faculty. It provides important contributions to Christian ethics as well as the study of higher education more generally. The editors purport to provide unique contributions in the scholarly arena regarding this topic. In fact, they assert that they are helping create the foundations for the academic study of these issues: "Prior to this volume, there were a few scattered scholarly pieces on Christian ethics and academic contingency, but the vast majority of work done on the topic [is] limited to journalism and advocacy" (7). Gaudet and Keenan are correct that ethicists have under-engaged this central issue, as concerns about contingent faculty are, as they put it, in "conversation with Catholic social teaching as well as Catholic ideas of mission, vocation, and higher education itself" (4).

The goal of the collection of articles is to help bring about the "wholesale restructuring of the enterprise of higher education as we know it." According to the editors, the current structure of the university business model is such that many institutions financially require contingent faculty labor. Pointing to an additional, more modest goal, the editors hope to advance the dialogue about, and scholarly outlets for, the discussion of the role of non-tenure track faculty in all universities, especially Catholic ones (1). The introduction contains an excellent summary of the work by groups within the American Academy of Religion and the Society for Christian Ethics for scholarly engagement about, and advocacy on behalf of, contingent faculty. (Although, at the risk of appearing at the mercy of a conflict of interest as a member, this reviewer would add the work of the AAR Applied Religious Studies Committee to such a summary.)

The essays are in three parts. The first section is an article by Keenan on contingency and university ethics, which includes developments of thought since the publication of his book of the same name. The second part of the journal issue has essays by five authors, addressing moral concerns and potential solutions related to contingency in academia. These include themes of mission, professional vocation, Catholic social thought, economic structures in academic life, unions, individual rights (especially to the protections of tenure for contingent faculty), the multi-layered damage that accompanies women being overrepresented in contingent labor roles, the spiritual crises for individuals and institutions brought about by contingency, and more.

The third part of the journal issue is two essays that point toward responses by those in higher education, first, tenured faculty in leadership roles, and then, by Gaudet, a call to Catholic higher education to "recommit ourselves to the kind of radical solidarity and inclusive community that Jesus offered us and invited us to extend likewise" (159).

Some of the material in this issue will not be new to those who read the research briefs and follow the responses to unions and other articles on Catholic higher education, but pioneering approaches are included. For example, Claire Bischoff applies Thea Bowman's notion of spirituality as self-awareness, other-awareness, and God-awareness to the impact of contingency and a corresponding crisis of spirituality for individuals and institutions. Overall, the combination of personal experience, hard data, and deep ethical reflection evidenced in these articles is rich and worth reading for those interested in ethics and higher education more generally.