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Dear Friends,
Although I have been living and working at MEC for the past 12 years in various capacities and am not a stranger to many of you, I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself as I step into the new role of president.
I have always had a strong interest in serving the Church and recently completed my doctorate in education with a dissertation topic addressing Catholic identity in education. It is, therefore, a privilege to continue helping MEC achieve its mission of forming Catholic leaders for the good of the Church and society at large.
My predecessor and close friend, Dr. Luly Fernández, leaves hard shoes to fill, but with the grace of God, Luly’s previous leadership and the outstanding team of faculty and staff at MEC, I am confident that we will continue to offer the integral formation needed to help and serve our guide, the Catholic Church, in whatever ways we can, ultimately assisting others to know Jesus Christ. As always, I am impressed by the continuous support of family, friends, benefactors and members of the community who have supported us all along the way in the process of achieving the long sought after accreditation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and state approval from the Rhode Island Board of Governors of Higher Education (RIBHE).
In this time in which the Church is seeking a new thrust of enthusiasm and hope in her evangelization efforts, MEC wants to respond to the call. Pope Benedict sees the signs of the times, and is seeking Christians prepared and ready to serve the Church. MEC students are educating and forming themselves to join the Holy Father in fulfilling the plan for a New Evangelization that is being delineated, “a plan where the urgency for a renewed proclamation will take care of formation, in particular for the new generations… If, on one hand, the whole community is called to reinvigorate the missionary spirit to give the new proclamation that the men of our time await, it must not be forgotten that believers' style of life needs to be genuinely credible, convincing all the more when the life situations of those who see it is all the more dramatic.” (Pope Benedict XVI, May 30, 2011).
In other words, MEC students are forming themselves to not only “talk the talk, but to walk the walk” that is required in order to lead others to be who they are called to be. I look forward to supporting them by serving MEC in this new capacity, and I ask for your prayers as we begin the new school year and this important period within the Church. May we answer the task required of us by offering well prepared leaders to the Church and the world.
Yours truly,
Deb Bauer
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