Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education

This groundbreaking book provides a comprehensive resource that addresses the growing movement for incorporating spirituality as an important aspect of the meaning and purpose of higher education. Written by Arthur W. Chickering, Jon C. Dalton, and Liesa Stamm--experts in the field of educational leadership and policy--Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education shows how to encourage increased authenticity and spiritual growth among students and education professionals by offering alternative ways of knowing, being, and doing.

Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education includes a rich array of examples to guide the integration of authenticity and spirituality in curriculum, student affairs, community partnerships, assessment, and policy issues. Many of these illustrative examples represent specific policies and programs that have successfully been put in place at diverse institutions across the country. In addition, the authors cover the theoretical, historical, and social perspectives on religion and higher education and examine the implications for practice. They include the results of recent court cases that deal with church-state issues and offer recommendations that pose no legal barrier to implementation.

The authors examine the questions of institutional change and professional development and outline the special characteristics that leaders need to develop if they are to move toward authenticity and spirituality on campus. Designed to demystify the process, Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education offers practical recommendations for adopting the book's suggested strategies into existing programs and policies.