Quality with Soul: How Six Premier Colleges and Universities Keep Faith with Their Religious Traditions

by Robert, Benne and Robert Benne

This book demonstrates that, despite much evidence to the contrary, there are still Christian colleges and universities of high academic quality that have also kept their religious heritages publicly relevant. Respected scholar Robert Benne explores how six schools from six different religious traditions (Calvin College, Wheaton College, St. Olaf College, Valparaiso University, Baylor University, and the University of Notre Dame) have maintained "quality...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802847048
• ISBN13: 9780802847041
• Release Date: March 2001
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
• Length: 229 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A good work on an important subject...

Benne takes six universities (Calvin, Wheaton, Baylor, Notre Dame, St. Olaf, and Valparaiso), and examines the paths these schools have taken in trying to establish the highest educational quality while maintaining their Christian soul. What makes this book interesting is to see the different approaches that the schools have taken to tackle certain difficulties (i.e. should we require a certain percentage of students/faculty to come from our denominational/theological background, what kind of relationship should we have with our sponsoring religious tradition, how should we encourage our students to participate in the religious life of the university, etc.). I went to Baylor myself, and it was cool to see how my school differed from other prominent Christian institutions in shaping school policy. The only criticism I have of Quality with Soul is that it is at some points dull, and at times difficult to get through. But perhaps that is because: 1) I am not a scholar; and 2) Benne doesn't deviate from what he sets out to do.