June 14, 2002
The Rev. Bernard J. Lee, S.M., has been appointed to the newly-created
position of assistant
chancellor of St. Mary’s University, Charles L. Cotrell, Ph.D., president
of St. Mary’s, announced June 14.
Lee, who has been a professor of theology at Loyola University in New
Orleans for
14 years, is a product of two Society of Mary (Marianist) educational
institutions, having
graduated from Central Catholic High School in San Antonio and St. Mary’s,
where he earned
a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and English literature in 1954.
The assistant chancellor, who must be a professed Marianist, reports
directly to the
president and is a member of the University’s Executive Council. The
position was created
to ensure the continued voice and presence of Marianists at the highest
level of University
administration. With his appointment to a three-year term, Lee vacates his
position on St. Mary’s
Board of Trustees, where he had served since June 2001. He begins his new
duties in July.
This year, St. Mary’s is celebrating the Sesquicentennial of its founding
by French Marianist
brothers and priests in 1852, as members of the religious order were the
original keepers of
the flame of the traditions given them by founder Blessed William Joseph
Chaminade. In recent
years, though, St. Mary’s has been administered almost entirely by lay
people.
“Father Lee will work with the University’s top administration to give a
deeper Marianist
identity to St. Mary’s mission,” said Cotrell, who was named St. Mary’s
first lay president
in 2000. “He will help to intensify collaborative efforts and partnerships
for the transformation
of society based on the values of peace, justice and solidarity, ” Cotrell
said.
As the assistant chancellor, Lee will supervise Campus Ministry and the
Marianist Forum,
both of which are devoted to the Marianist mission of St. Mary’s. Lee
taught in the theology
department from 1985 to 1988 when he was instrumental in establishing the
Marianist Forum,
which is based on the concepts of dialog in community and the integration
of faith and culture.
Lee received his master’s degree in Greek and Latin from the Catholic
University in
Washington, D.C. At the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, he earned a
bachelor’s degree
in sacred theology (S.T.B.) and a licentiate in contemporary philosophy
(Ph.L.). In addition, he
holds a doctorate in theology (Th.D.) in systematic and philosophical
theology from the Graduate
Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif.
His extensive scholarship on religious life includes writing books, journal
articles and contributing
to other works. Among Lee’s recent books, “The Catholic Experience of
Small Christian
Communities;” “Habits for the Journey: A Mystical and Political
Spirituality for Small Christian
Communities;” “Conversation, Risk and Conversion: The Inner and Public Life
of Small Christian
Communities;” and “The Future Church of 140 B.C.E: A Hidden Revolution.”
His latest project,
a book on the spirituality of active, apostolic religious congregations,
will be published by Paulist Press in 2003.