For those faculty members who wish to engage more directly with the Lasallian heritage and mission of the College, Manhattan offers opportunities to attend several off-campus Lasallian formation programs. These programs are generally held for one to two weeks during the summer at other Lasallian colleges and universities around the country. The program attendees include faculty members from other Lasallian colleges and universities and, in some cases, teachers from Lasallian primary and secondary schools.

These formation programs were developed by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools with the understanding that the ability of a university to cultivate a culture and a curriculum faithful to the Lasallian perspective is dependent upon having a lay faculty who understand and commit themselves to a Lasallian Catholic perspective on education. Because the Christian Brothers are no longer a majority of the faculty at Lasallian universities, the Brothers have made a commitment to acquaint lay faculty with the distinctively Lasallian mission and to engage the faculty in carrying out the essential calling of the founder.

As members of the Manhattan College faculty have begun attending these formation programs, there has emerged a more visible community of Lasallian lay partners on campus. Participants in these programs return to the Manhattan College community to be resource persons, mentors and animators. Most importantly, they return with an increased awareness that Lasallian spirituality and Catholic identity are essential core principles that drive Manhattan College.

If you are interested in attending any of the Lasallian formation programs listed below, please contact Dr. Karen Nicholson, chair of the Lasallian Education Committee. The participants listed for each of the programs below are also excellent resources for more information.

• The Buttimer Institute of Lasallian Studies
• The Lasallian Leadership Institute (LLI)The Lasallian Social Justice Institute (LSJI)
• The International Lasallian University Leadership Program
• Collegium:  A Colloquy on Faith and Intellectual Life