FALL 2011 - The University of Scranton

Get to Know Ronald H. McKinney, S.J., Ph.D.
RONALD H. MCKINNEY, S.J., PH.D.
Title: Professor, Philosophy
Years at Scranton:
27 years
Hometown: Grew up in
Michigan, but came east
with family during college
Hobbies/Interests:
Fantasy football and
baseball; addicted to
reading, playing piano,
writing plays and walking
Most Remarkable
Place You Have Visited:
El Salvador
Childhood Hero:
St. Francis of Assisi
In 2010, you passed the baton
as the director of the University’s
Special Jesuit Liberal Arts Honors
Program, ending a 24-year run.
You have called directing SJLA
a privilege, how so?
To be able to work with remarkable
students from the first day
of school, to see them develop
as persons and scholars over
the next four years, and then
stay in touch with many of them
and their families for years to
come, that’s a privilege not every
professor gets to experience.
If you could ensure your former
SJLA students learned one
thing in the program, what
would it be?
Only one thing? Compassion
for themselves and others. The
realization that we don’t have
all the answers, but despite
our limitations, God still works
through us and others. A close
second: A sense of humor and
love for the incongruities of life.
You have been complimented
as having a “sleeves-rolled up”
approach to Ignatian education.
What do you think your
admirers mean by that?
Perhaps they mean that
my informal attire mirrors a
desire to go beyond a merely
academic approach to things.
That we’re not just educating
minds, but whole persons.
What does magis mean to you?
The usual translation as “the
striving for excellence” doesn’t
work for me. I’m very wary
of perfectionists. Perhaps my
legendary “teasing” of students
is due to my awareness of our
mutual need for humility. Magis,
for me, is more the willingness
to find serenity in the things we
can’t change. It’s linked more
to gratitude than to a desire to
make the world more perfect.
When did you realize you wanted
to become a Jesuit and why?
I come from a long line of Protestant
ministers in my family.
Though I converted to Catholicism
in order to become a Franciscan,
I quickly learned that
the Jesuits were a better fit for
me as I went through college.
Their model of the hyphenated
priest (professor and minister)
was always the draw for me to
the Jesuits.
What drew you to philosophy?
Philosophy has always enabled
me to be the interdisciplinary
generalist I am by nature. As an
undecided student when I went
to college, I chose philosophy
because it allowed me to also
pursue my interests in science,
politics, history, literature, art,
theology and psychology.
What is your favorite place on
campus and why?
No, it’s not the chapel. I’m not
that stereotypical. Outside my
own room in the residence
hall (I’m an introvert after all),
I would say my favorite place
is Jefferson Auditorium during
musical productions of the Liva
Arts Company, the student group
I moderate. It’s easy there to
have a tangible feel of pride for
what our students are able to
creatively accomplish together.
Last year, a play you wrote was
performed in Baltimore, Md.
Tell us about the play, and what
was it like seeing it come to
life on stage?
I have been writing plays for
a long time and was lucky to
have my first play, “HAMMAR-
SKJÖLD,” produced by the
Spotlighter’s Theater this past
summer. What amazed me most
was watching the director and
actors discover dimensions
within the characters I created
that I never “consciously”
intended, but were clearly there
on some level.
7
OntheCommons
Celebrating World Youth Day
Several Scranton students spent a portion of their summer break
sharing and celebrating their faith during World Youth Day in Madrid,
Spain. The event, held every three years, celebrates the Catholic faith,
but invites all youth, regardless of religious convictions, to celebrate.
Pictured (front, from left) are: Ryan Schuster, Steph Boccuzzi, Kelsey
Hassig, Elena Habersky, Jess Wiler,
chaperone Maria Vital,
Leahy Family Clinic,
(back) chaperone Danielle
Frascella, Community
Outreach graduate
assistant, Andrew
Gentilucci, Maureen
Bullis and Danny
Satterfield.
Family Weekend
Showcases Scranton
The University unveiled a
new direction for Family Weekend
to the delight of the more than
2,300 students and family
members attending Sept. 30-
Oct. 2. Intended to entertain
and inform students and their
guests alike with classes, facility
tours, games, receptions,
performances and fairs, the
2011 event was the best-attended
Family Weekend to date.
Chemistry Professor Michael C. Cann,
Ph.D., alias Dr. MC², was among the
faculty members presenting a class
during Family Weekend. Dr. Cann
presented “Science Is Fun,” which
showcased several exciting and simple
science experiments.