A Complex Mission: Integration of Catholic Social Tradition with Business Education

Abstract

With business education becoming more prominent in Catholic universities, this paper presents the proposition that the key to a mission-driven business education at Catholic universities rests in a correct understanding of the Catholic social tradition as an exercise in practical wisdom. This paper argues this position in three stages by examining the current faculty situation in relationship to the Catholic social tradition and Catholic business education; exploring the challenges concerning the engagement between this tradition and business theory and practice in relationship to practical wisdom; and offering a curricular guide for a more mission-driven Catholic business education informed by the Catholic social tradition. The hope of this paper is to foster a vibrant and intellectually serious conversation on this most important and complex task of business education at a Catholic university.