
Benedictine Leadership Studies was recently named the best program in the country for Mission Integration by the Association for Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities (ASACCU).
The Rule of St. Benedict serves as the cornerstone leadership model for the program, offering a deeper understanding of leadership in your personal and professional life and in service to local, national and global communities. Benedictine Leadership Studies is a virtue-based, ethical structure for the study of leadership. The program is grounded in the Benedictine Wisdom Tradition, which has been developing since The Rule of St. Benedict was published 1,500 years ago. Its 10 core principles, or hallmarks, are derived from The Rule and form the core of BLS.
The Benedictine Leadership Studies (BLS) program will allow you to analyze who you are as an individual called to serve and promote the common good of your community, and to develop a meaningful understanding of God’s purpose for your life, using the teachings of the Catholic Church and Benedictine spirituality as guides.
The 10 Hallmarks shape the character of the BLS program. As a BLS fellow, you will be educated in the virtues associated with the Hallmarks, and encouraged to develop them in ways appropriate to your future profession and vocation. Love of God and neighbor as self, purposeful reflection, commitment to one's obligations, openness to truth, steady work habits, humble regard for others, and a respect for creation are all attributes encouraged by the program. Recognizing that all leadership takes place in the context of communities, whether they be civic, natural or supernatural, the BLS program seeks to cultivate the complete human person: body, soul and spirit.
For more information, please contact the BLS Director, Michael Krom, Ph.D. at michael.krom@stvincent.edu.
To learn more about Benedictine Leadership Studies, follow us on Facebook or on Instagram: @StvincentBLS, @benedictinels
BLS program content includes:
• Academic courses each semester with your fellow BLS students focused on the Catholic intellectual tradition and on Benedictine spirituality
A central component of the Benedictine Leadership Studies program is the sequence of courses you will take focused on the Catholic intellectual and Benedictine wisdom traditions. Many of your BLS courses will also count toward fulfillment of the college's core curriculum. The curriculum, with examples of texts you will read, is as follows:
Freshman Fall Semester
Learning Seminar
Freshman Spring Semester
Ethics
Sophomore Fall Semester
BLS Elective (varies each year; examples include Ancient Greek and Roman History, Outdoor Leadership, Catholic Literature)
Sophomore Spring Semester
BLS Elective (varies each year; examples include Medieval European History, Statesmanship in Shakespeare)
Junior Fall or Spring Semester
BLS Internship
Senior Fall Semester
Loving Seminar
BLS 200 Leadership and the Eternal City (1 credit)
Senior Spring Semester
BLS 300 Rome Capstone Seminar
In addition, take one course in each of the following three categories:
1. Political Thought
OR
OR
BLS Portfolio – You will maintain an online portfolio throughout your four years as a BLS fellow. The portfolio will contain examples of your work, reflection on the skills you have gained and thoughts on how you are growing in understanding and implementing the hallmarks in your life. In addition to serving as an assessment tool for BLS faculty, this portfolio may be shared with family, friends and prospective employers.
Retreats – Each year you will participate in a weekend retreat run by Campus Ministry. The retreats will help you grow as a member of the Saint Vincent College community, and also help you to discern God’s unique calling for you. After the retreat, you will write a reflection on what you learned about yourself based on the Benedictine Hallmarks.
Experiential Learning – To pursue the BLS Certificate you must participate in experiential learning activities each semester of your four years, and complete a reflection on what hallmark(s) you put into practice, to be included in your portfolio. Examples of experiential learning activities are a team-building ropes course, career planning activities and service learning projects.
Self-Leadership Exercises – You will be asked throughout your four years to reflect on how you are integrating the 10 hallmarks into your self-understanding and daily life. It is central to the program that you reflect on how your future profession and vocation will be shaped by your commitment to being a Benedictine leader. To facilitate this process, you will participate each semester in reflective exercises. Working with a faculty, staff or Benedictine mentor, you will write a personal narrative based on these reflective exercises each academic year.
Rome Capstone Seminar – In the spring semester of your senior year, you will enroll in BLS 300: Rome Capstone Seminar. The core component of the course is an all-expenses-paid spring break trip to Rome. A member of the Saint Vincent College faculty will coordinate and teach the material presented in the course. The academic essay that you will write after the trip, reflecting on the models of leadership presented by the leaders of Roman history studied throughout the week, will be included in your portfolio.
The Fall 2023 application is now closed.
Please note: Students must apply for admission to Saint Vincent College and be accepted prior to applying for an Honors Community program.
The early application deadline is December 1st and the spring application deadline is February 28th. All early applicants will receive priority consideration for the program.
Admission to BLS is competitive. Interested students apply for acceptance in the winter before their freshman year, and only 20 students are selected each year. Selection criteria include items such as GPA, leadership activities, community service, student essays, a video describing why you want to be in the program and professional recommendations.
For more information, contact Dr. Michael Krom, professor of philosophy and director of Benedictine Leadership Studies, at michael.krom@stvincent.edu or 724-805-2844.