Rockhurst Sentinel

Issue date: 10/14/05 Section: News

Father Edward Kinerk, SJ pictured at the Mass of the Holy Spirit held earlier this year. (photo courtesy of Rockhurst.edu) [Click to enlarge]

Since 1998, Rockhurst has seen many dynamic changes, from the physical to the conceptual to the spiritual. Through all these changes, as a university, Rockhurst has known only one name: Father Edward Kinerk, S.J. That too, will soon change, as Father Kinerk has tendered his resignation as president of Rockhurst University.
From the moment he was inaugurated as Rockhurst's thirteenth president, Father Kinerk made history as the first alumnus to hold the position. He used his connection to the school, as well as his connection to Kansas City, to build a legacy that will not soon be forgotten.
In 1999 Father Kinerk officially changed the name of the school from Rockhurst College to Rockhurst University, in an effort to build a more solid identity of the school and the programs Rockhurst has to offer. The identity of Rockhurst has been an issue of great importance for Father Kinerk, especially its identity in regard to Catholicism.
David Gentile, Regents member and father of senior Blair Gentile, said of Father Kinerk, "His vision of what it takes to be a faith based institution is probably his most telling characteristic...I have seen in practice how important it is to him to have that as a critical criteria for success."
Father Kinerk recently authored The Catholic Identity of Rockhurst University, a seven-page statement, addressing the issues of Rockhurst as a faith-based institution, the Catholic understanding of reality, and Rockhurst's external expression of faith. He cites Pope John Paul II and his Ex Corde Ecclesiae. Fr. Kinerk calls upon the Rockhurst maxim, stating, "we do not teach students what to think but how to think." In his introduction, Father Kinerk states, "Rockhurst's mission to engage in the search for truth is common to all universities. However, Rockhurst is more than just a university; it is a Catholic university and its identity as a Catholic university expands its freedom of intellectual inquiry...and extends its mission beyond the hallowed university ivory tower."

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