Stability and the University

When I began studying the Rule of Benedict, it wasn’t as an academic, but as a fundraiser seeking to build support for Mount Marty University. I wanted to understand what I was representing when I spoke to donors and alumni about our Benedictine mission. Benedict’s wisdom, I discovered, wasn’t just history, but a living guide for how people and institutions can thrive today. Eventually, I enrolled in a PhD program to deepen my understanding of how Benedictine education and the liberal arts are keys to fulfillment, peace, and joy in life. What greater gift could we give our communities? 

Over time, Benedict’s teaching on stability has become very important to me. Stability is one of the great gifts of living and working in a Benedictine community. This stability is grounded in, and the result of, community members personally and professionally living the Rule and embracing a deep sense of connection. Benedictine stability is about remaining faithful to people, and to God’s call. In the Rule, Benedict instructs us to “persevere in stability,” meaning to stay rooted in the community where God has planted us, even when it is difficult (58:17). This commitment is not about rigid resistance to change; rather, it reflects a deep trust that God’s grace is revealed through enduring relationships and shared purpose. Stability allows us to slow down, listen, and discern when the world wants us to reinvent and move quickly. Stability reminds us that growth happens best in environments of trust. 

Benedict knew that even the most faithful communities need structure in order to be stable. His Rule outlines clear expectations for leadership, communication, and accountability, which are structures that sustain stability. The abbot’s role is to guide with wisdom and compassion, while every member has a role to play in the common good. Everyone knows who to turn to and how their work serves the whole. That clarity does not exist for control, but to create peace and order within the community, ensuring that each person’s gifts contribute to the stability of the whole. 

A university’s stability should have a similar foundation. Clear reporting structures and transparent leadership create trust. When faculty, staff, and students understand how decisions are made and how their efforts advance the mission, collaboration replaces confusion. Benedict also modeled what we in academia call “shared governance.” He instructed the abbot to “call the whole community together and himself explain what the business is; and after hearing the advice of the brothers, let him ponder it and follow what he judges the wiser course. The reason why we have said all should be called for counsel is that the Lord often reveals what is better to the younger” (3:1-3). That ancient spirit of consultation lives on when faculty, administration, and the board of trustees share their wisdom. When we engage one another with respect and discernment, stability deepens. Shared governance, at its best, is Benedictine. 

What sets Benedictine universities apart is not size, wealth, or prestige, but the way we live our mission with integrity, resulting in stability, peace, and genuine community. In a fragmented world, this Benedictine way is a gift for each of our students and the communities in which they will one day settle.