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July 2025
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students in the Klingler College of Arts & Sciences,
I hope that this month has brought you a good mix of work and rest. The Gift of Time
afforded me an opportunity for a retreat at a Benedictine monastery. On retreat I
came across a Scripture passage (which then appeared in the next morning’s prayer
service) linking prophecy and hope: “[F]ulfill the prophecies spoken in your name.
Reward those who have hoped in you, and let your prophets be proved true” (Sirach
36: 20–21). We hope for a new and different future, and prophets are called to articulate
possibilities about which we may not have dared to dream.
In last month’s message I invoked Walter Bruggemann’s book The Prophetic Imagination and promised I would have more to say about it. Fundamentally, Bruggemann challenges
us to change. Foreshadowing Pope Francis’ admonishments about managerialism in The Joy of the Gospel, Bruggeman says the “dominant culture” is “wearied” and complacent, “nearly unable
to be seriously energized to new promises from God” (4). This culture “believes there
are no mysteries to honor, only problems to be solved” (37). But this “closed world
of managed reality”—which “may be characterized as madness masquerading as control;
phony assurance of sustained well-being; […] and a grim system of retribution”—is
“false” (64, 97).
Enter the prophetic imagination, which both “critiques” and “energizes” (59). The
prophet helps us dream beyond “managed data” and keep imagination alive (14). The
task of prophetic ministry is “to bring people to engage the promise of newness” (59-60).
Bruggeman calls for “public arenas in which serious hopefulness can be brought to
articulation” (62-63). Catholic universities should be such arenas. They should illustrate
that prophetic imagination is a practice (121). There are echoes here of Ex corde ecclesiae, St. John Paul II’s apostolic constitution on Catholic colleges and universities. Particularly
apt is section 32, which reads in part: “University research will seek to discover
the roots and causes of the serious problems of our time […]. If need be, a Catholic
university must have the courage to speak uncomfortable truths which do not please
public opinion, but which are necessary to safeguard the authentic good of society.”
Let us, then, discern together the ways in which we are called to be prophets of hope.
All of the faithful share in Christ’s triple office as prophet, priest and king/queen,
as Susan Wood, SCL, emphasizes in her new book, A Synodal Church. Wood is just one of the distinguished speakers who will be here on campus September
4-7 for a conference, “The Legacies of Nicaea I and Vatican II: An Inheritance Unfolding.” Please help spread the word. Gatherings like this are a reminder that fortunately,
none of us has to do this work—even the most challenging prophetic work—alone. And
on that note, a highlight this month was Dr. Aleksandra (Aleks) Snowden joining the
dean’s office as our Associate Dean of Faculty, Research and Graduate Studies. Possessing
an impressive combination of emotional intelligence and analytical acumen, Dr. Snowden
is an excellent addition to the team and I hope you will all have the opportunity
to interact with her in this new role.
Reflecting back upon my time thus far at Marquette—as I noted in my May message—fills
my heart with gratitude and hope. Thank you all for the generous sharing of your talents
with one another and the wider community. Thanks for your patience and resilience
during the hard times. Thanks for your thoughtfulness and commitment to the life of
the mind, which inspired me to organize a conference panel on that topic and to write
a brief essay about it called “Leadership and the Life of the Mind.” I wish you a beautiful continuation of the summer and hopeful thoughts as we anticipate
the start of another excellent academic year.
As always, please feel free to contact me with questions, concerns or suggestions. I appreciate hearing from you and exploring
ways we can all work together for the common good.
Dr. Heidi Bostic
Dean, Klingler College of Arts and Sciences
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