Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education,
Arthur W. Chickering, Jon C. Dalton, and Liesa Stamm
Jossey-Bass, 2006.
Reviewed by Matt Fisher, Saint Vincent College

Three pages into the first chapter of Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education, Arthur Chickering quotes the words of the late Wayne Teasdale: "Being religious connotes belonging to and practicing a religious tradition. Being spiritual suggests a personal commitment to a process of inner development that engages us in our totality... The spiritual person is committed to growth as an essential ongoing life goal." With those words, Chickering and his coauthors Jon Dalton and Liesa Stamm make it very clear their book is intended as a resource for all in higher education who are concerned about fundamental purposes of higher education, not just those who work at faith-based institutions. Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education has much to offer those who work at public and private institutions, from large research universities to regional comprehensive institutions to small liberal arts colleges.

Now is a particularly fortuitous time for this book to appear. Many faculty and administrators find themselves powerfully affected by the writings of such individuals as Parker Palmer on recovering the inner dimensions of higher education. AACU's Greater Expectations outlines a vision of learners who are "responsible for their actions and civic values." Derek Bok's most recent book contains an entire chapter on building character. Higher education is struggling to come to grips with what it means to help students develop their own values, connect those values to actions, and deepen their sense of responsibility to others and the communities that our students will become part of—in short to help our students develop spiritually as well as intellectually.

But as readers of NTLF are well aware, such development is not the realm of a single group within higher education. Unlike writing or oral communication skills, helping students develop spiritually will involve many different aspects of higher education—faculty, academic support staff, student affairs professionals, and administrators up to the president of the institution. One of the strengths of this book is its ability to engage a range of audiences. Yes, there is a chapter on curricular content and pedagogy that directly speaks to my work as a faculty member. But that chapter is bracketed by one on policy issues (legislative and institutional) and a second that focuses on the work of student affairs. Other chapters provide background information on the dynamics of spirituality and religious experience, professional development particularly relevant to these areas, assessment, and leadership skills necessary for "recovering spirit." This is a book that can be read by many individuals at an institution and help bring people together to discuss what it means to encourage spirituality and authenticity in our students. Having that discussion at each of our colleges and universities is a critical first step if we are to address the challenges that Chickering, Dalton, and Stamm lay out in the first part of their book.

But this book is more than a good way to start an important discussion on our campuses. It is a powerful combination of both the general and the particular. The second part of the book (comprising four chapters) focuses on what the authors call "institutional amplification." Here is where the reader finds individual chapters addressed specifically to faculty, student affairs professionals, those charged with the responsibility for developing institutional policies, and others. Each of these chapters approaches a particular theme by describing both important general principles as well as examples from specific institutions that illustrate these general principles. As I read the chapter on curriculum and pedagogy, I found myself wondering what the general principles described might look like when implemented in my classroom. When I encountered the specific examples, I began to see ways that I might implement some of these same general principles in my classes, even though some of the details might be different from what the authors describe. The combination of both the general and the particular was a much richer source of ideas for my own work than either aspect would have been by itself.

The same combination of the general and the particular is used in the third section of the book, where the focus shifts from what encouraging authenticity and spirituality might look like in particular contexts to how we move from our present practice towards the possibilities outlined in earlier sections of the book. But now the chapters are not focused towards specific audiences, but rather around particular challenges that are part of the process of institutional change and development. Here are found chapters on professional development, assessment, leadership, and a final chapter that outlines both principles and specific practices that institutions can use in their efforts to create environments that foster moral and spiritual growth. This last chapter is a fitting summary of the wealth of ideas and examples that are found throughout the book, and that make it a rich resource for everyone in higher education who is concerned with helping our students and ourselves grow morally and spiritually.