After many years of scholarship, administrative experience, and leadership in Catholic higher education, the author has written a book that draws upon many academic disciplines to paint a picture of the past and the current situation (challenges, strengths, and weaknesses) of Catholic universities. After identifying the foundational pillars of Catholic higher education, he points the way to a future that is open to modern culture without capitulating to it, embraces Catholic intellectual traditions without fossilizing them, and presents a vision of its relationship to the hierarchy that is respectful, independent, faithful, and dynamic.