Financial restructuring at ITI: consolidation for a stronger future

08.12.2014,

The Grand Chancellor and the Board of the ITI, with the support of the Congregation of Catholic Education, presented in February 2014 an exciting vision that aims to prepare the ITI for a future in which it can better serve Church and society through its unique theological formation and evangelization programs.   However, over the last years, a disproportionately high dependency on donations, combined with a large structural deficit, has lead to the dwindling of the ITI’s reserves and a resulting cash flow shortage that is being keenly felt today. During the past two weeks, the ITI has been obliged to make substantial cuts in the area of personnel in order to structurally reduce its global salary costs and regain financial stability. Recent unforeseen financial setbacks forced the ITI leadership to act swiftly, rather than wait until the end of the academic year. At the same time plans have been made to increase the number of paying students attending the ITI as of the next academic year. Both these measures will improve the Institute’s finances in a lasting way by systematically balancing income and expenses. The resulting reduction in faculty and staff will take effect in February 2015 with the beginning of the Spring semester. This is of course a painful process, affecting both faculty and administration. The ITI leadership is keenly aware of its responsibility to assist each of those affected in finding new work, which it is currently doing, whilst at the same time securing the continuation of its various academic degree programs where currently 70 students are enrolled. With its gifted remaining staff, the ITI will achieve this. Academically, the ITI will concentrate on its core mission which is the formation of young men and women in Catholic theology and a Christian worldview with a special focus on marriage and the family. It is especially in the area of marriage and the family where, as the recent and future zenith shows, there is such a need for a deeper and better understanding of the beauty and richness of the sacrament of marriage and the Christian understanding of the family. The ITI will thus focus its main efforts on three programs: namely the Master Program in Sacred Theology (STM), the professional Masters program in Marriage and Family Studies (MMF), and the one year Studium Generale (SG) which aims at providing those coming out of High school with a basic formation in the Catholic liberal arts. Our License (STL) and Doctoral (STD) programs will henceforth be operated to become entirely focused on specialization on Marriage and Family Studies from a theological prospective, and will be able to provide rich fruits in research and teaching in this so very important area in human life - more than ever the ITI is called to serve the good of humanity. We are confident that with this smaller, though motivated team, the ITI will keep fulfilling its core mission as given by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1996 and now expounded by our present Holy Father Pope Francis. Enquiries might be directed to the President, Dr. Christiaan Alting von Geusau, [email protected] Donate now