Institutional Purpose
Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, legally titled the St. Louis Roman Catholic Theological Seminary, is a not-for-profit corporation operated by the Archdiocese of St. Louis under the laws of the State of Missouri. It comprises Kenrick School of Theology, a four-year graduate and professional program that prepares men for ordination to the Roman Catholic priesthood, and Cardinal Glennon College, a four-year undergraduate program that prepares men for ordination studies at Kenrick or elsewhere. Founded in 1893, the seminary today continues a rich heritage of philosophical, theological, and priestly pastoral service, attentive to the needs of its constituencies, while cognizant of the challenges of contemporary evangelization.
Programs
Cardinal Glennon College operates a collaborative-model undergraduate formation program conjointly with the College of Philosophy and Letters of Saint Louis University. Seminary students complete two years of general education requirements at the University and two years of philosophy and theology requirements at the seminary campus, culminating in the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy.
The Pre-Theology Program of Kenrick School of Theology is a program that operates in cooperation with the Cardinal Glennon College, the undergraduate division of the seminary. This program is for candidates who have completed undergraduate study but have not met the philosophy and theology requirements for entry into Kenrick’s graduate-level programs. This option requires participation in a human and spiritual formation program at Kenrick, and normally entails two years of residency there as well. Those who meet the academic requirements may earn a B.A. in philosophy.
Kenrick School of Theology operates a four year program of priestly formation. All students who complete the program receive the Master of Divinity degree. Concurrent with this program, students have the option of also completing a Master of Arts in Theology. The M.A. requires successful completion of a thesis.
Authority and Governance
Kenrick-Glennon Seminary derives its rights, responsibilities, and powers from its articles of incorporation and bylaws/statutes, and from its ecclesiastical authorization as an institution of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. On this basis, it maintains the legal and moral authority to establish and operate educational programs, to confer certificates or degrees, to provide for personnel and facilities, and to assure institutional quality and integrity.
The structure and scope of this authority is based on the relationship of Kenrick to the Archdiocese. The articles of incorporation and bylaws of the seminary establish a Board of Directors and a Board of Trustees with specific authority for maintaining the integrity and vitality of the school. Trustees are chosen on the basis of qualifications appropriate to the task they will undertake, with a specific view towards diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, profession, and educational background.
The Archbishop of St. Louis, as President of the Board of Directors, appoints the chief administrative leadership and the faculty of the seminary. The Board of Directors approves new members of the Board of Trustees, manages the assets of the seminary, enters into contracts, approves the budget, and performs other functions deemed appropriate or necessary for the operation of the Seminary. The Board of Trustees serves in an advisory capacity to the Archbishop with specific powers specified in the statutes. The statutes further delegate authority to the administration and faculty of the seminary to fulfill their respective roles and responsibilities.
The Administration of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary is responsible for achieving the school’s purpose by developing and implementing institutional policies and administrative structures in shared governance with the Board of Trustees, the faculty, the students, the administrative staff. It reflects the shared values of the greater Kenrick community in the management of resources, in communication with constituencies, and in evaluation and planning. Responsibilities and structures of accountability are clearly defined in a set of administrative position descriptions.
Faculty Formators
The members of the faculty of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary constitute a collaborative community of faith, formation and learning, and are crucial to the scholarly activities of teaching, learning, and research as well as the human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation of seminarians. The faculty includes academic faculty responsible for classroom teaching, spiritual formation faculty who serve as spiritual directors, formation faculty who serve as formation advisors and administrative faculty who serve in various administrative roles. The core of the faculty at Kenrick is a group of 20+ full-time and continuing part-time faculty supplemented by a pool of qualified adjunct faculty. Kenrick treasures the resource that this faculty represents, and provides its faculty members appropriate structure, support, and opportunity.
Kenrick-Glennon Seminary appoints to faculty positions only those persons who possess the appropriate credentials for graduate theological education, normally a research doctorate for academic faculty. In addition to academic preparation in its faculty members, Kenrick also values ministerial and ecclesial experience, and sees this as an important qualification in the composition of the faculty as a group. In determining the composition of the faculty, Kenrick is guided by its institutional purpose, and includes attention to this composition in its strategic planning. Its hiring practices reflect the value of diversity in race, ethnicity, and gender, as well in educational background and point of view. Since it is a Roman Catholic seminary, it maintains a preference for hiring qualified Roman Catholic priests when this is possible, without prejudice to its commitment to diversity. In the context of the seminary’s institutional purpose and in accord with the provisions of Canon Law and the norms of the Program of Priestly Formation (5th ed., 2006), Kenrick acknowledges and respects the freedom of faculty members to seek knowledge and to communicate their findings (ATS 6.1.2).
On an ongoing basis, the faculty of Kenrick exercises responsibility for the planning, design, and oversight of the seminary’s programs. It provides leadership in the development of academic policy, oversight of academic and curricular program, establishment of admissions criteria, and recommendation of candidates for graduation. It also participates in the processes concerning the appointment, retention, and promotion in rank of faculty members.
Kenrick-Glennon Seminary maintains policies concerning faculty rights and responsibilities, freedom of inquiry, procedures for recruitment, appointment, retention, promotion, and termination, criteria for faculty evaluation, faculty compensation, sabbaticals, and other conditions of employment. These policies are published in an up-to-date faculty handbook.
Kenrick faculty members have freedom in the classroom to discuss the subjects in which they have competence. They are also encouraged to include whenever possible in their classroom work a cross-disciplinary and pastoral perspective. Kenrick maintains a program for evaluating faculty performance, including teaching competence. This program involves interaction with the President-Rector and the Academic Dean, as well as with fellow faculty members.
Kenrick faculty members are involved in evaluating the quality of student learning by identifying appropriate outcomes and assessing the extent to which they have been achieved. Faculty members are also involved in the development of the library collection and other resources. Faculty members further contribute to students’ learning by being available for regular advising and interaction with students.
Kenrick provides structured opportunities for faculty research and intellectual growth in such means as faculty colloquia and in-service workshops, in allowances for books, memberships, and attendance at conventions, and above all in sabbatical leaves. The latter are offered to full-time academic faculty every seventh semester at full salary or every seventh year at half salary. Faculty are encouraged to make available the results of their research by means of scholarly publication, constructive participation in learned societies, informed contributions to the intellectual life of Church and society, as well as in their teaching.
Finances
Kenrick-Glennon Seminary is governed by the principles of good stewardship in the planning, development, and use of its financial resources. These are deployed to support the purpose of the seminary effectively and to enable it to achieve its mission and goals. Kenrick-Glennon Seminary maintains the purchasing power of its financial assets and the integrity and utility of its physical facilities. It maintains stable and predictable sources of revenue, sufficient to maintain the educational quality of the institution.
It projects prospective increases in revenue conservatively. It normally balances budgeted revenues and expenditures, while employing a prudent endowment spending rate. As an agency of the The Archdiocese of Saint Louis the seminary is audited annually by an external, independent auditor, Deloitte and Touche LLP, in accordance with the generally recognized auditing standards for not-for-profit organizations as published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. An annual financial report is available on request.
Kenrick-Glennon Seminary ensures that revenues, expenditures, and capital projects are budgeted and submitted for review and approval by the Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors, clearly reflecting the directions of the strategic plan for the school. Such budgets are developed at the administrative level of the school in consultation with the administrators, staff, and faculty who bear responsibility for managing programs.
Kenrick-Glennon Seminary maintains an institutional advancement program congruent with the principles of the seminary. This program is the direct responsibility of the Development Director of the seminary under the supervision of the President-Rector. The Development Director is assisted by the Communications Specialist, Stewardship & Events Coordinator, and Database Coordinator. The program also involves the Board of Trustees, the alumni, the faculty, the staff, the Archdiocesan Office of Stewardship and the Annual Catholic Appeal, and a number of volunteers. Advancement efforts are evaluated on an annual basis. Further information regarding the seminary’s development activities can be found at Kenrick.edu/support.
Facilities
Kenrick-Glennon Seminary is located on 44 acres of landscaped ground in the City of Shrewsbury, Missouri, adjacent to the southwest limits of the City of Saint Louis. The seminary maintains for its programs a complex of three buildings totaling 230,000 square feet. Originally constructed in 1931, the facilities received a major renovation completed in 2012. Infrastructure updates included all new plumbing, electrical, windows, and HVAC. A new wing of the building houses faculty offices and a rooftop patio/dining area. The library was expanded and enhanced. A former power plant was converted into a three-story student center. The entire renovations project demonstrated a commitment to preserving the historical and architectural character of the building while making necessary upgrades to provide an adequate and safe facility for priestly formation in the 21st century.
The main seminary building houses both the College and the School of Theology. It has four floors with high speed fiber optic internet wireless service and central air conditioning and heating throughout. The building contains administrative, staff and faculty offices, 6 classrooms (with additional classroom space in the library). One of the classrooms is equipped as a homiletics and liturgy laboratory. There are several conference or seminar rooms and five small rooms for prayer and spiritual direction. Other resources include a computer lab, music rooms, an auditorium (capacity 300 persons) and a 14,000 square foot three level library. Living space includes 139 student rooms, 10 suites for resident faculty/administrators, and 9 guest suites. The refectory seats up to 140 persons and there is also a student kitchen and dining area with roof top terrace above the faculty office wing. There are three chapels.
The Kapaun Student Center is named after Kenrick alumnus and Medal of Honor recipient chaplain Fr. Emil Kapaun whose cause for canonization is underway. It houses student lounges, game rooms, weight room and bookstore. The convent building has a chapel and living spaces for resident Religious Sisters and in the lower level houses the Archdiocese of St. Louis’ Vocations Office. Kenrick-Glennon Seminary’s grounds include an outdoor tennis/basketball court, patio, soccer field, baseball field, outdoor swimming pool and walking/running trails. All facilities are attractive and safe. The building is fully accessible in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act including several accessible dorm rooms and suites.
