Heartland Delta
The Heartland Delta network is a collaboration of the 12 Jesuit colleges & universities within the five Midwest and Delta provinces in the US. This regional group developed from a commitment among the national network of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities to cultivate their common Jesuit identity. Heartland Delta recognizes that American Jesuit Higher Education today thrives on the dedication of lay people committed to the Jesuit educational mission. The Heartland Delta network aims to foster the Ignatian spirituality and values that root Jesuit higher education, with a special concern for lay-Jesuit cooperation and mutual leadership.
Two gatherings of the Heartland Delta colleges and universities serve this goal: Faculty Conversations, an annual gathering for small groups of faculty to discuss a shared theme; and the Heartland-Delta plenary conference, a gathering every 3-4 years for nearly 500 faculty, staff & administrators to explore an overarching issue of Jesuit education.
Heartland Delta Members
- Creighton University - Omaha, NE
- John Carroll University - Cleveland, OH
- Loyola University Chicago - Chicago, IL
- Loyola University New Orleans - New Orleans, LA
- Marquette University - Milwaukee, WI
- Regis University - Denver, CO
- Rockhurst University - Kansas City, MO
- Saint John's College - Belize City, Belize
- Saint Louis University - St. Louis, MO
- Spring Hill College - Mobile, AL
- University of Detroit Mercy - Detroit, MI
- Xavier University - Cincinnati, OH
Heartland Delta Plenary Conference
In May 2010, Xavier University will host the sixth Heartland Delta Plenary conference. Hundreds of faculty, staff and administrators from the Heartland Delta Schools will gather as companions in mission to engage the question of implementing mission in our various work roles. This tradition of gathering began here at Loyola University Chicago in 1994.
2010 Conference Website link to come
2007 Conference Website
Heartland Delta Faculty Conversations
Each year, faculty from the Heartland Delta schools to explore mission in the context of teaching and research. In February of 2007, Mission and Identity hosted the 8th annual Heartland Delta Faculty Conversations gathering. Nearly 70 faculty members from the Heartland Delta schools attended Called to Higher Standards to discuss and share best practices for implementing mission as a faculty member.
Dean Brackley, SJ, Keynote Address and Powerpoint Presentation
Heartland Delta History
A great transformation has taken place in US Jesuit higher education over the last century. Until the 1940’s, Jesuit colleges and universities were smaller institutions staffed and led primarily by Jesuits. Over the next 25 years, the schools typically grew, were served by fewer Jesuits, and drifted from a vision of shared identity & purpose. By the late 70’s, initial efforts were begun to strengthen the connections within this nationwide learning community. In 1989, a comprehensive gathering of the 28 schools, known as Assembly ’89, fostered this renewed commitment to a unified network of Jesuit institutions. Assembly ’89 participants committed to developing regional follow-up meetings, and thus the Heartland-Delta collaboration began.
In 1994, nine Midwest schools first met as the Heartland at Loyola University Chicago; in 1997, 11 schools assembled at Saint Louis University to continue the expanded collaboration. By 2000, the group had grown to formally include the Delta region, and 12 schools gathered at Creighton University for Heartland-Delta III. After meeting at Marquette University in 2004 and at John Carroll University in 2007 to further the dialogue on Jesuit education, the Heartland-Delta Conference VI will convene in 2010 at Xavier University.