About the San José-Lonergan Chair in Catholic Philosophy
Held by a distinguished academic with a deep understanding of prominent Catholic thinkers, the San José-Lonergan Chair in Catholic Philosophy hosts university-wide seminars and workshops to promote dialogue that integrates the interdisciplinary nature of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition to enhance the Catholic dimension and identity of St. Mary’s.
The overarching task of the San José-Lonergan Chair in Catholic Philosophy is to open opportunities that build the intellectual substance of community among our faculty, administration and professional staff, as well as among our students.
The spirit of the San José-Lonergan Chair in Catholic Philosophy is captured by the motto of John Henry Newman, author of The Idea of a University:
Cor ad cor loquitur (heart speaking to heart).
About the Chair
James Greenaway, Ph.D., is the St. Mary’s University San José-Lonergan Chair in Catholic Philosophy and the former Chair in Human Dignity. Greenaway seeks to enhance the Catholic dimension and identity of St. Mary’s University by promoting the study and understanding of the Catholicism and Marianist spirituality.
Aside from regular academic responsibilities, Greenaway has taught philosophy courses in Texas Department of Criminal Justice prisons that aim at restoring and cultivating an understanding of human dignity among inmates. He has also promoted awareness of human trafficking in south Texas with public events that have allowed victims and survivors of trafficking to tell their own stories. Greenaway has a philosophical commitment to liberal arts education in a Catholic setting, and currently runs seminars that promote self-appropriation and a dialogical search for the unity that underpins the university.
Initiatives
Faculty, Administration and Professional Staff
It is the objective of the San José-Lonergan Chair in Catholic Philosophy to provide channels of communication amongst disciplines, specialties, and offices that substantiate the mission of the university in light of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. In a three-tiered seminar series, faculty, administration, and staff can participate in the GEM Program (Generalized Empirical Method) to think together about their roles and responsibilities, their teaching and researching, and their knowing and loving.
Students and Wider Community
The programs organized by the San José-Lonergan Chair in Catholic Philosophy go beyond faculty and staff development. An annual reading group called “The Common Good Series” invites students from different majors to read, think about, and discuss significant texts on philosophical themes related to human flourishing. Beyond the St. Mary’s University campus, “Human Dignity and Self-Appropriation” is a prison outreach program that offers inmates short philosophy courses.