Abstracts Education

A Qualitative Case Study on the Functional Role of the Chief Mission Officer within the Organizational Structure of a Catholic Higher Education Institution: A Strategy to Preserve the Integrity of Institutional Mission and Identity

by D'Cunha, Fidelis Teresa

An Abstract The challenges faced by Catholic higher education institutions have led them to use strategies to safeguard the integrity of their institutional identity. The purpose of this single instrumental case study was to describe the role of the chief mission officer used as a strategy to preserve and maintain institutional mission and identity. The findings revealed that the role is multidimensional and that this centralized initiative with an intentional placement achieved its purpose through collaborative partnerships and participatory engagements. The results of the study indicated that the task of institutionalizing mission at a Catholic higher education institution is communal and achieved through the unity established within the campus community. The findings revealed that the functional role is relational and its functions, within the organizational structure is part of the process involved in the institutionalization of mission. The study contains practical implications for institutions serious about mission. They could use the indicated pathways to mission integration revealed in the findings as achieved through the process of dialogue between members of the community. The relational processes found within the organizational structure can be further explored to suggest more avenues for mission integration. The sustainability factor involved can be further explored and developed.