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The late Rev. Lawrence C. Gallen, O.S.A., immediate past vice president for Academic Affairs, devoted nearly 30 years of service to the University, as a member of the faculty and later the administration. During his tenure as vice president for Academic Affairs, from 1981 until his retirement in 1994, he oversaw and supported many initiatives, including the establishment of the Core Humanities Program and the Arthur C. Ennis Fellowships.

Recently, it was announced that a new fellowship has been created that will honor Gallen’s memory. Two Lawrence C. Gallen Fellows will join the Ennis Fellows in teaching in the Core Humanities program beginning in September 2004.

According to Dr. John A. Doody, associate dean, Core Humanities, the two fellowships differ in responsibilities and the candidates they will attract.

“The Ennis positions are three-year, non-renewable post-doctoral fellowships. When we first conceived of the Ennis Fellows, we thought of them as people who would come here, do their research and teach for us,” Doody said. “Over time, as the Core Humanities grew up, we started doing such things as the learning communities, such as the Villanova Experience and the Robert F. Birmingham Lunch Series {created to showcase faculty members’ recent work and encourage faculty from different departments to come together]. Then the Ennis Scholars were being involved in things that had to do with curriculum development, conferences, etc. It was putting a strain on their ability to do their research.”

The creation of the Gallen Fellowships enables the Ennis Scholars to return to their original mission, and to provide the Core Humanities with the resources it needs to expand. The Gallen Fellowships are two-year, renewable teaching positions. In addition to teaching, the Gallen Fellows will be asked to participate in many and varied service activities of the Core Humanities Program: curriculum development, the student learning communities, lecture programs, conferences, journals and other publications.

The new Gallen Fellows will need plenty of energy. Doody said that the learning communities will expand over the coming years to include more first year students. “Right now, we have 33 to 40 percent of our students in learning communities; we want to get closer to 90 or 100 percent," he said. “I’ve been working with Dr. John Immerwahr, associate vice president for Academic Affairs, and Kathleen Byrnes, assistant vice president for Student Life. The three of us have come to the conclusion that, by and large, learning communities make sense and make a difference.”

Doody and his associates in the Core Humanities are determined that the program continue to be a dynamic and evolving one, demonstrating the University’s ongoing commitment to undergraduate education. Borrowing from nature and a Woody Allen movie, he likened the Core Humanities program to a shark. It has to keep moving or it will die.

The associate dean recently forwarded to the Core Humanities steering committee a white paper on the next steps in the Core’s evolution and he is thinking on the large scale. “What do you call a program that has post-docs, teaching fellows, a book series, a journal, conferences, lecture series?” he asked with a broad smile. “You call it a center and right now, I’m looking for a name for a Center for the Core Humanities.”