UK : Dr JOHN LYDON – APPOINTMENT AS ADJUNCT PROFESSOR NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY

Principal Lecturer and Programme Director of the MA in Catholic School Leadership at St Mary’s University, Twickenham,Dr. John Lydon has been appointed by Professor Roger Alford, Academic Director of the Global Gateway as Adjunct Associate Professor at the American University of Notre Dame’s International London campus. Teaching will take place on the London Undergraduate Programme for the Spring semester period 16th January 2017 to 5^th May 2017.

Notre Dame, founded by the Congregation of the Holy Cross Order in 1846, is known to be the oldest Catholic university in the U.S. located in Indiana, near Chicago. It is a leading research university and is consistently ranked in the top 15 of universities in the United States and as a major international university with an endowment of over $10 billion. The appointment is mainly for Notre Dame’s London programmes and Summer Seminars.

Dr Lydon will advance lecturing and professional development placement projects. These include teaching an undergraduate programme on ‘Catholic Education and the Common Good – insights from theory and practice’ which will integrate experience of teaching in London Catholic schools with a reflection on practice informed by contemporary scholarship. The course will begin with an introduction to the English Catholic school, its history and relationship with the state. It will then examine controversy in the face of religious pluralism, secularisation and the question of the separation of Church and State, Catholic school ethos, spiritual capital and finally leadership of a Catholic school. It will provide students with a critical understanding of the role of education in promoting (or otherwise) the common good and first-hand experience of the British Catholic secondary education system.Although still primarily based at St Mary’s, Dr Lydon will be a regular visitor, principally to Notre Dame in London.

Remarking on his appointment, Dr John Lydon said, ‘I have a long association with Notre Dame, especially thedistinguished Mary Ann Remick Leadership Programme and the Rev. Dr. Ron Nuzzi at theAlliance for Catholic Education (ACE) which are part of the University of Notre Dame’s Graduate School and the Catholic Higher Education Supporting Catholic Schools (CHESCS) Group of the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) of America.These support schools and teacher formation and are especially committed to providing a Catholic education to low-income families. There are strong synergies between the University of Notre Dame’s mission and that of St Mary’s University.This is why I am delighted to accept this position at such an outstanding university’.

Dr John Lydon joined St Mary’s University in 2002. He is currently the Programme Director for the MA in Catholic School Leadership, Co-Director of the CCRS Programme and Deputy Director for the Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education (CRDCE).  He is also Assistant Editor for the renowned International Studies in Catholic Education journal.The CRDCE was launched in November with a keynote lecture given by Prof. Gerald Grace on St Mary’s University’s contribution to Catholic education since 1850. Qualified individuals interested in pursuing a PhD, the MA in Catholic School Leadership or research with the CRDCE, are advised to contact its administrator, Kit Penny, in the first instance: kathryn.penny@stmarys.ac.uk.