Collegium: Day One The Longest Day

Collegium
June 08, 2007

I have been accepted to participate in the 2007 Collegium. The Collegium summer colloquy was developed in response to concerns about the religious identity of Catholic colleges and universities. The Collegium purpose is to assist Catholic institutions uphold their faith-based mission statements and identify, recruit, and develop new faculty who can both articulate and expand the vision of the Catholic intellectual tradition.

Collegium is a national organization of Catholic colleges and universities. It was founded by and directed by Thomas M. Landy. The Collegium consists of 62 colleges and universities. In 2002, Collegium became a part of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), which includes over 200 members.

The Collegium meets in one of three Holy Cross Order universities; College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts, St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota and the University of Portland, Portland, Oregon. This year the Collegium is in Portland. I am going to the Pacific Norwest!

The focus is on the Integration of Faith and Reason. This is a combination of learning and focusing on the Catholic Intellectual Traditions and spiritual development. We will not study spirituality, the program includes retreats, we will practice our spirituality. I am excited.

But first I have to get there. I was supposed to leave at 6:00 A.M., fly to Atlanta and then fly on to Portland. By 11:00 A.M. I was to be in Oregon, renting a car and taking time before registration to visit the Pacific Ocean. That did not happen.

I missed the plane by about two minutes. The next plane got me to Atlanta too late to arrive in Oregon in the morning. When I finally boarded the plane in Atlanta a severe storm hit and we sat on the tarmac for three hours. Instead of eating Salmon at our banquet I was given a cookie.

When I got into Portland I took the light train to the Convention Center. There were no students there to guide me to the shuttle to the university. When I called the school the students were not able to help me. I walked around trying to get a cab. People were putting up tents all over the place. Tomorrow was their Rose Parade. It is the 100 anniversary of the parade. I did not know Portland was the rose capital of the world.

I finally got a cab. We drive past bus stops all covered with Native American styled mosaics. The city looks like an artist colony. I finally register and get to my room at 11:00 P.M or 3 A.M. my time. I am starving and exhausted but I am in Portland!