MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

This “Memorandum of Understanding” was formulated on October 26, 2002, by those present at the 2002 Salesian Scholars Seminar, held at De Sales Resources & Ministries Center, Stella Niagara, NY. It was renewed and updated at the October 2004 meeting of the Seminar.

Organization
The Salesian Scholars Seminar understands itself as a working group that operates with a certain formality. Ordinarily, the Seminar meets every two years at the De Sales Resources & Ministries Center. Papers prepared by Seminar participants are circulated and read prior to the Seminar meeting; Seminar sessions are devoted to discussion of these papers. Typically, the Seminar is scheduled during the last half of October, beginning on Thursday evening and continuing until Saturday evening. Themes for future seminars will be solicited from the wider membership and discussed by participants present at the prior Seminar meeting.

Some Seminar participants are also members of other scholarly societies (e.g., Patristic, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies Conference, Sixteenth Century Studies Conference, Renaissance Society of America, Society for Emblem Studies, Society for Early Modern Catholicism, Catholic Historical Society, etc.) and may, as the opportunity presents itself, arrange for panels or sessions focused on the Salesian tradition at the annual meetings of these societies. Seminar members may be invited to participate. This interface with other academic societies can give the Seminar wider visibility and familiarize other academics with the Salesian tradition. As in the past, the Seminar may choose to meet at a different locale and time if circumstances arise that would make that appropriate.

Leadership
Collaborative leadership will be chosen from among Seminar participants. For the 2006 Seminar, Fr. Joseph Chorpenning, O.S.F.S., and Dr. Wendy Wright will continue to serve as leaders. Decisions about future leadership will be determined at each Seminar. Leaders are responsible for planning, organization, and communication about upcoming Seminars, as well as for maintaining communication with Seminar members about topics of common interest. Leaders will finalize themes (previously suggested by the membership) for Seminars. Leadership will make decisions about structure, attendance, and direction of the Seminar. Leaders will be responsible for contact with staff at the Seminar site. As in the past, for the foreseeable future the De Sales Resources & Ministries Center staff will provide support and on-site organization.

Membership
Membership in the Seminar is by invitation. It will consist primarily of working scholars, archivists, and those who represent an important link to the lived Salesian tradition. There will be no calls for papers, but the invitation to participate will be extended to past and present members. The seminar may decide to invite, either on a one-time or long-term basis, guest scholars, participants, or auditors.

Communication
Seminar leaders will maintain communication among members about future Seminars or other gatherings of interest. Projects, new or ongoing research, publications, etc., should be reported to Seminar leaders so that members can be informed of developments in Salesian scholarship. Any new publications or major research should also be reported to Fr. Alexander Pocetto, O.S.F.S., for inclusion in the International Commission on Salesian Studies (ICSS) Newsletter ([email protected]). All Seminar members should be receiving this Newsletter. Seminar information should also be provided to centers and Province leaders who are engaged in disseminating Salesian spirituality.

Publications
The Seminar is involved, in a variety of ways, in bringing to birth new publications on Salesian spirituality. Individual members of the Seminar may be more or less engaged in any given project. Most of these projects are presently being carried out on the initiative of or with the cooperation of the De Sales Resources & Ministries Center and under its imprint. Present projects include the publication of a collection of the essays of Fr. Joseph F. Power, O.S.F.S., and a collection in English translation of the essays of Sr. Mary Patricia Burns, V.H.M., on St. Jane Frances de Chantal. The Seminar also encourages its members to publish in other venues and with other publishers. Papers from past Seminars are archived at the De Sales Resource Center.

Finances
In general, each Seminar participant (or sponsoring institution) will pay his or her own expenses, including travel, room and board, and overhead (for expenses at site). If the need exists (graduate students, overseas travel etc.), a search for outside grants and gifts will be initiated by Seminar members. If needed, DeSales Resources and Ministries will help coordinate the grant. At the present rate, the cost of a three-night, two-day Seminar at the Resource Center, utilizing the facilities at the adjacent Center of Renewal, is $235. per person. This includes meeting space, room, and board. Travel is extra. An additional small overhead charge may be necessary.

Next Seminar
The next Salesian Scholars Seminar will take place at De Sales Resources & Ministries Center in late October 2006. It will begin with a meeting on a Thursday evening and conclude with Mass and dinner on Saturday evening. The theme for the 2006 Seminar will be “IMAGES, IMAGERY, AND SYMBOLS IN THE WRITINGS OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.” This theme was suggested and adopted in light of the publication in 2005 of Elisabeth Stopp’s study and a facsimile edition of Adrien Gambart’s emblem book, La vie symbolique du bienheureux François de Sales (1664).