Issues and answers

Brother Tim Driscoll, S.M., has taught religion, art and English. “I was happy to teach a subject that didn’t have just one right answer,” he said. That will serve him well in the position he assumed this year at UD, that of vice president for mission and rector, as this University — and all educational institutions — confront a plethora of challenges that don’t have simple, cookie-cutter solutions.

“Rector,” a word perhaps not used much today, denotes a leader; the term has ancient educational and ecclesiastical roots. At UD, the post has traditionally been the link between the University and the Society of Mary, and it has expanded to include preserving and nurturing the University’s mission.

Driscoll, new as rector, is not new to UD, having served eight years on the board of trustees; as rector, he continues on the board ex officio.

“When I joined the board, transformation was already an issue,” Driscoll said. “And we were ahead of others on a number of problems. We were looking at the demographic cliff years ago. We realized operating margins would decline and addressed the budget.”

Falling birth rates and shifts in population translate into fewer college students. Also, soon after Driscoll arrived, COVID hit, intensifying institutions’ financial stress and deeply affecting a generation of young people.

“The challenges now differ from those of the past,” Driscoll said. COVID and other forces have affected the mental health of young people. Institutions have grown more complex. Family life has changed. The digital world makes the days of three or four television stations seem like ancient history.

“Students today have pressures we didn’t have,” Driscoll said.

Faculty members have pressures, too. Driscoll cited “change fatigue,” something different from old-fashioned apathy but a force working against engagement. Taking on that challenge, Driscoll said, is a UD faculty passionate about students. This past fall, he talked to 40-some faculty members, including Marianist Educational Associates (who have gone through a yearlong formation program) as well as members of the Academic Senate. They not only had a variety of interests but also offered ways of dealing with challenges.

Part of dealing with challenges calls for structural changes, including the loss of programs and of people. “These people were not just colleagues of those who remain,” Driscoll said. “They were friends.” Many of their programs were successful — but not sustainable.

“Grief is the price we pay for loving.” Driscoll uses that observation of a Catholic theologian when he speaks of coping with change. The apostles who gathered in the upper room were grieving. But the Spirit came and informed their revitalization.

“... meals are a way of literally staying at the table. And we do, both literally and metaphorically. We have worked hard so that, when we say we are a family, we mean it.”

“Part of my job is to help build community and sustain it with sacramental life at its center,” Driscoll said. “There’s a joke that Marianist hospitality always includes eating. But meals are a way of literally staying at the table. And we do, both literally and metaphorically. We have worked hard so that, when we say we are a family, we mean it.”

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY THE MARIAN LIBRARY, Copyright 2002 The Saint John’s Bible, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A version of this article appears in print in the Spring 2026 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 14. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE