A Consideration of Teaching, Friendship, and Boundaries in Catholic Higher Education

Paul J. Wadell is widely recognized for his work placing friendship at the heart of ethics. Wadell develops a robust Christian vision of friendship, and invites us to think about friendship as constitutive of the good life. Beginning with a discussion of the virtues Wadell characterizes as central to friendship—hospitality, humility, and love—we consider the role of friendship in the life of faculty at Catholic colleges and universities. Through his theology and his living example, we propose, Wadell offers friendship as a model for teaching. Teacher-as-friend, we argue further, helps faculty navigate a number of difficult challenges familiar to Catholic higher education, particularly around boundaries. We take up three: diminished boundaries in a social media culture; stressed boundaries in an era of abuses of power; and threatened boundaries in a capitalistic culture.