Janet Clark, Ph.D., vice president for academic and student affairs, spoke to students and employees during the Foundation Day of Service morning prayer.
In case you don’t remember me, I’m Janet Clark, and I serve as the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. It’s my privilege to offer the reflection on today’s prayer service.
As you hear President King mention during her welcome, Foundation Day of Service has become a new Woods tradition. A time to honor the legacy that has shaped where we are today. It’s a time to reflect on our past, help those around us, and think about how our values today help shape our future.
Foundation Day, Oct. 22, is a time that we remember and celebrate our founding in these woods, 180 years ago. Like children with a favorite story, we do not tire of hearing about the six Sisters of Providence from Ruille, France, who left their homeland and all with which they were familiar, to come to the wilderness of Indiana. They and the Sisters of Providence who came after them, with help from many, founded and sustained a school here. We recall the stories of their struggles and perseverance, we marvel at their ingenuity and we speak often of their legacy to us.
If you haven’t heard or read her story, it’s worth repeating a little bit here to help you understand the enormity and extent of what she created here in this sacred place. Many of us love to utter the phase very relevant to this week, “Come down Sisters, we have arrived,” but today I chose a different passage that came a little later. Her own written words collected in her journal and letters were, “It is astonishing that this remote solitude has been chosen for a novitiate and especially for an academy. All appearances are against it.”
However, she did it. She grew the religious congregation, and she created an academy which is now a college.
Before the days when a formal education philosophy was the norm, Mother Theodore had one. All good professors have a teaching philosophy and she had one too. Remember, she was teaching young girls, versus college students. In advising the teachers, she stated, “You must try to invent a means of correcting your children, but remember that the most powerful are rewards; a kind word, an approving glance, a little gesture is sometimes sufficient.” She further admonishes, “God confides these young girls to us so that we may form them to virtue. Speak to them respectfully, and they will respect both you and themselves.”
These words from Mother Theodore reflect her love of students and her care for them, beyond their education. They compel us at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College to care for our students deeply and to include virtue with the knowledge that we impart.
That’s our motto – Virtue with Knowledge United. It appears on the SMWC seal and coat of arms. Chosen by SMTG, it embodies our institution’s faithfulness to Catholic values and excellence in academics. I recently had an opportunity to reflect on our motto and our mission. I love the words in our mission, and I believe them, “Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College empowers students to think critically, engage in lifelong leadership and effect positive change in a spirit of service and social responsibility.” But just recently the words of “virtue with knowledge united” just resonated with me deeply.
In my role of shepherding our academic programs and student experience, I see the big picture. As administrators, we often get asked “what does SMWC do differently than other colleges?” Why choose SMWC? It’s hard to distinguish or identify tangible things, but all the sudden, when President King said these few words in our meeting stating our motto and said “here’s what we do that makes a difference” and for me, it was like – wow – she’s right!
In the classroom, as faculty we really get in the weeds. I remember teaching about molecules, bond energy and Newton’s Laws of Motion, and it was pretty cool. However, taking a day outside the classroom to reflect on something bigger and remind ourselves collectively about why we are here and what difference we can make is really unique and important. So, thanks for being here today, and take some time today to think about this. Do you recognize that this is the environment we are placing you in?
What we are focusing on today is our core values and how the legacy that has shaped our values and what they mean and honor those values today.
She cared for her sisters, educated students and cared for her community. She engaged with locals in Terre Haute and helped influence others. That’s social justice.
She cared for the land, had a working farm and used herbs as medicine. That’s sustainability.
She trusted in God and His plan for her to keep going and inspire others. That’s spirituality.
She never marginalized the children and families she served and educated. She believed in educating young girls. She was treated poorly for being Catholic and she was treated poorly by the bishop who wanted to control her. However, she treated all people with respect. That’s gender equality.
The roots of our four core values come from the legacy of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and what she created for us. In a world full of change and turmoil, it’s up to us to understand these values and live up to them to help repair the world and bring about peace.
What I hope I’ve portrayed somewhat today is that real people can make a real difference. It begins with ordinary people who have a passion. She was a real person who dealt with real problems. She was hesitant to take on the difficult mission of leaving France and starting a congregation and academy in Indiana. She didn’t think she was a leader or a pioneer. She was just like you and me. She was not sure what she had inside her that made her special or why she was chosen.
However, her trust in Providence – the protective care of God – led her to do amazing things. I believe Mother Theodore aspired higher and look what she did. I trust that you can do it too as Sisters and Brothers of The Woods. We still have promises to keep and miles to go!
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