White Paper

The undersigned were participants in a retreat that was convened in Palm

Desert, California on April 4-6, 2011 to discuss the findings and policy

implications of the recently released book Cultivating the Spirit: How College Can

Enhance Students’ Inner Lives.1

James R. Appleton

President, University of Redlands

Charles R. Bantz

Chancellor, Indiana University, Purdue University, Indianapolis

Arthur W. Chickering

Author, Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education" and Education and

Identity

Peter Hill

Professor of Psychology, Biola University

Fr. Dennis Holtschneider

President, DePaul University

Arthur E. Levine

President, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation

David E. Maxwell

President, Drake University

Rev. William (Scotty) McLennan, Jr.

Dean, Religious Life, Stanford University

Carol Geary Schneider

President, Association of American Colleges & Universities

David K. Scott

Former Chancellor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"!By

!

Alexander W. Astin, Helen S. Astin, & Jennifer A. Lindholm (Jossey Bass/Wiley, 2011).!

"!

Attending to Students’ Inner Lives

A Call to Higher Education

This statement sets forth some of the major reasons why higher education

institutions should consider giving greater priority to facilitating students’ spiritual

development. It also reviews specific policies and practices that research has

shown to be effective means of assisting students in their spiritual quest.

We believe that spirituality is fundamental to students’ lives. The “big

questions” that preoccupy students are essentially spiritual questions: Who am I?

Why am I in college? What are my most deeply felt values? Do I have a mission or

purpose in my life? What kind of person do I want to become? What sort of world

do I want to help create? What is my role and place in the universe? When we

speak of students’ “spiritual quest,” we are essentially speaking of their efforts to...