Review of the Lupina Centre for Spirituality, Healthcare and Ethics
The President of Regis College has commissioned a review of the Lupina Centre for Spirituality, Healthcare and Ethics.
The terms of reference of the review are
- to assess the performance of the Centre in pursuing its stated mission and objectives
- to review the mission and objectives of the Centre in the evolving context of the understanding of the inter-relationships of spirituality, healthcare and ethics
- to make recommendations to inform the next phase of the Centre’s activities.
A statement of the mission and objectives of the Lupina Centre is attached to this notice. A self-study document prepared by the Director of the Lupina Centre is available below.
Members of the Review Panel are: Professor Emeritus Carolyn Hughes Tuohy (member of the Board of Directors, Regis College); Professor Pamela Klassen (Department and Centre for the Study of Religion) and Fr. Joseph Schner, S.J. (Regis College).
The Review Panel welcomes submissions in response to the terms of reference from members of the university community, leaders in the healthcare community, healthcare practitioners and members of other constituencies addressed by the Lupina Centre. Submissions should be submitted to The Lupina Centre Review Panel, c/o The Registrar, Regis College, 100 Wellesley Street West, Toronto ON M5S 2Z5; email regis.registrar@utoronto.ca. The due date for submissions is Friday, June 8, 2012.
Mission and Objectives
The Lupina Centre was established in 2007, with a mission to address fundamental questions concerning the interrelationships among spirituality, healthcare, and ethics. The Centre believes that, as individuals live and flourish within the web of relationships in their communities, the physical and spiritual health of the individual will only be pursued adequately in relation to the health of the community and the ethical and spiritual convictions and aspirations of the community. The Centre pursues its mission through engagement with its constituencies on questions central to its mission.
Based on the Lupina Centre’s conviction that truly comprehensive care of the sick–and in some cases the dying–must address all aspects of health and human flourishing, the Lupina Centre seeks to address such questions as: What is human flourishing? That is, what does it mean to say that a person is healthy in mind, body, and spirit? Correlatively, what is the relationship among mental, physical, moral, and spiritual health? More specifically, how will a more comprehensive view of the human person and human health shape our administration and delivery of health care? How does suffering fit into human flourishing and how does our view of suffering affect the way we administer healthcare to the sick and dying? How does our view of the human person affect the patient-healthcare professional relationship and the other relationships surrounding a sick person (family, friends, other healthcare providers)?
In the pursuit of these questions, the Centre seeks to engage several communities as conversation partners. First, the university community who is addressing questions relevant to a holistic vision of health. This includes not only those in the theological, philosophical, and medical fields, but also those in the various humanities, social sciences, sciences, and professional fields, all of whose insights and contributions are necessary for our collaboration to be truly fruitful. Second, those exercising leadership in the healthcare community in the Greater Toronto Area. This includes both those administrators whose leadership shapes the delivery of healthcare in hospitals, community health centres, clinics, and private practices and also those who lead governmental departments related to healthcare. Third, those working directly with patients and addressing spiritual and ethical concerns on a daily basis. This community includes medical social workers, chaplains, and hospice workers in addition to other healthcare professionals.
The nature of the mission of the Lupina Centre requires it to proceed collaboratively with other bioethical centres, adopt a trans-disciplinary approach and address an interfaith audience. In its initial five year mandate, the Centre was directed
- to function as a research centre encouraging institutional links with such centres, as the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute, and the national Canadian Bioethics Society (CBS), and with leading figures in the field. This will entail organizing a regular series of seminars and symposia, and the publication of materials arising from them;
- to provide for public education through workshops, seminars, and public lectures designed to foster discussion in relevant areas of interest and concern;
- to nurture the next generation of scholars in the related areas through a series of graduate and postgraduate interdisciplinary fellowships.
May 10, 2012