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For Vincent Novak, S.J., what started as a mission to educate young people about the Vatican II Council morphed into a 40-year career during which he nurtured a generation of religious leaders who now serve around the world.
Now, as Father Novak and his faculty prepare for the 40th anniversary celebration of religious education training at Fordham on May 1, he is also preparing to step down from his post. Father Novak’s legacy will be one of vision as he set a new standard for religious education.
"In the course of Father Novak's tenure as dean, the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education has served the local and universal churches with creativity and distinction,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University. “In the process, it has helped the University fulfill its mission of service to the Church and the world in a remarkably effective way.”
In the early 1960s, Father Novak spearheaded the development of the Lord and King High School Religion series (Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 1964-1968), which was incorporated into Catholic high school curricula across the country to build students’ understanding of the Vatican II Council.
“I am very proud to have been a part of this book project that educated young people in the Catholic world,” said Novak, who authored two books and edited the series. “It had a tremendous impact.”
The publication of Lord and King led to the creation of summer institutes at Fordham that offered high school teachers religious education training using the book series. These institutes blossomed into a master’s program in religious education at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education in 1964 and eventually, the founding of the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education (GSRRE) in 1975. Father Novak directed these initiatives and has served as dean of the GSRRE since its inception. The school now offers six master’s degree programs and a doctoral degree in religious education.
“The graduate school afforded me the best educational program that I have ever attended,” said Donna Spigarolo (GSRRE ’81), a teacher and former board president for Habitat for Humanity. “The academic rigor was tremendous, and it was combined with a real caring for the students. I think that emanated from [Father Novak].”
Locally, GSRRE graduates run the six Roman Catholic diocesan school systems in the New York City metropolitan area. However, in recent years, the school has taken on a decidedly international flavor, as about 35 percent of the student body is foreign. Its graduates hail from 61 countries, where they serve as leaders in parishes, diocesan schools and spiritual healing ministries from Kenya to Korea to Latvia. This diversity is a reflection of Father Novak’s commitment to building a multicultural program.
A Fordham search committee is currently working to fill Father Novak’s position. After he officially retires on June 30, he plans to pursue continuing religious education projects with young adults seeking to renew their faith.
“After teaching and launching programs for 40 years,” said Father Novak, “it’s about time that I translated that experience into action on my own.”
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