Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item STUDENT AFFAIRS AND INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT PARTNERSHIPS AT CATHOLIC COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES: A CASE STUDY(2024) Puma, Michael A.; O'Meara, KerryAnn; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Catholic institutions of higher education have continued to operate at a crossroads as challenges to long-term financial sustainability have intensified the need to reduce costs and increase revenue. Institutional personnel must find ways to streamline offerings in academic programs and student services while maintaining a commitment to their distinct Catholic identities. Given the primacy of academics to the educational enterprise, student affairs divisions are particularly vulnerable in an environment aiming to reduce operating expenses. For student affairs, fundraising may serve as an avenue to offset the impact of budget cuts, enhance cocurricular programs, and promote mission-specific strategic initiatives. Conversely, leaders of institutional advancement divisions may expand and diversify their donor base by partnering with student affairs colleagues. Student affairs initiatives may appeal to donors who value contributing directly to student success and well-being. The purpose of this multisite, case study was to understand how Catholic universities create third-space organizational partnerships between their institutional advancement and student affairs divisions. The third space of partnership was defined as “an emerging technical and sociocultural entity distinct from those within the partnership’s home organizations” (Hora & Millar, 2011, p. 16). The research design included 41 semistructured virtual interviews, three virtual focus groups, document analysis, and site visits at three Catholic institutions over a span of 18 months. Interestingly, the findings did not indicate a distinct third space was necessary to create and sustain partnerships between institutional advancement and student affairs divisions. Still, the following organizational practices supported the development of partnerships: presidential and divisional leaders supported the partnerships and were motivated by enlightened self-interest (Hora & Millar, 2011); leaders agreed on clear goals, scope, and objectives; and adequate resources were dedicated to the partnership. There were also similar characteristics of partnerships between the three institutions. Characteristics included the embrace of a mission-informed approach to the partnership; institutional advancement boundary spanners guiding the development of structures and routines governing the partnership; the creation of workflows around annual events; and consensus on how to communicate and use technology across divisions and with prospective donors. Definitions of success and effectiveness of the partnership varied by campus and constituent group. Institutional advancement participants defined success through traditional fundraising metrics such as dollars raised and increasing the number of donors who make annual gifts. Student affairs participants tended to conflate success and effectiveness as they were more focused on operational efficiencies, expanding student programs, and developing connections with alumni and parents. These findings led to the development of a best-practice model to inform future student affairs fundraising partnerships. Suggestions for future research on student affairs fundraising partnerships at both Catholic and nonreligiously affiliated institutions are included in the final chapter.Item Clerical Conduct Related to the Perpetuation of Child Sexual Abuse in Pennsylvania Catholic Dioceses: A Developing Framework(2019) Britto, Crystel; Roy, Kevin; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis reiterated that clericalism played a major role in the global Catholic sexual abuse crisis. Research has not been able to back this claim due to lack of data on cultural and structural elements that have contributed to the various crises. The present study aims to fill this gap in research by examining narratives regarding clerical sexual abuse and seeks to explore themes contributing to a framework of abuse. Qualitative data analysis was conducted by examining the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury Report of Pennsylvania, focusing on correspondence between various actors regarding 12 priests in Pennsylvania and their involvement in child sexual abuse. Using grounded theory with elements of narrative analysis, the study seeks to explore themes of belief, behavior and emotion of clergy between 1930-2016. The results provide insight into the nature of the Catholic Church’s involvement in the perpetuation of child sexual abuse.Item RELEVANCE, SELF-DETERMINATION, AND UNIVERSALITY THROUGH ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S GOSPEL CHOIR(2019) Visceglia, Victoria Lynn; Lie, Siv B.; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The Second Vatican Council provided ample opportunity for individual Catholic parishes to choose music that suited their congregations and contribute to the “Universal Church” through their particularity. St. Augustine Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. formed a gospel choir in light of this newfound freedom. Based on about one year of participant observation, this thesis analyzes the Gospel Choir’s role in making the Mass more relevant and interactive for parishioners. Singers maintain certain practices and ideals of the Church that they know make their ministry more effective while acknowledging the shortcomings of Catholicism at an institutional level. They animate listeners to respond dialogically with the Mass, allowing their lived experiences to inform their spiritual transformations. After more than 40 years, the Gospel Choir continues to navigate the boundaries between sacred and secular, Catholic and Protestant, and contrasting conceptions of African American identity.Item LEARNED BEHAVIOR: RACE, RELIGION, ETHNICITY AND THE EVOLUTION OF EDUCATION IN 19TH CENTURY BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, 1825 - 1872(2012) Ryan, Meghan Higgins; Mar, Lisa R; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis examines the complex relationship between religion and racial/ethnic identity through the perspective of the evolving systems of public and private education in 19th century Baltimore. In doing so, this thesis argues that public education was constructed as a means of shaping a unified American identity, and that this purpose was understood by all relevant stakeholders. These stakeholders, regardless or their religious, racial or ethnic affiliation all fought to shape the public schools into something that validated their affiliations and included them in the definition of American citizenship.Item THE SWEETS OF INDEPENDENCE: A READING OF THE "JAMES CARROLL DAYBOOK, 1714-21"(2005-04-20) Flanagan, Charles M.; Sies, Mary C.; American Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation is a study of the "James Carroll Daybook," a journal of transactions that a colonial Maryland planter and merchant used between 1714 and 1721. This Irish Catholic partisan's career is illustrative of early eighteenth century mercantile culture in which one could gain elite status by using intellectual skills to master the market and by owning consumer goods. The dissertation is, thus, a material culture study of the commerce that yielded Carroll a fortune and secured his social standing. The literature of the eighteenth-century consumer revolution provides the intellectual foundation of this study, which uses a method derived from performance theory to analyze sequences of trade as dialogues about value. Carroll's accounts are organized in topical chapters about domestic furnishings, local trade, Atlantic trade, consumption, and preserving a legacy. Each chapter studies related transactions in the context of scholarship, yielding a case study showing the consumer revolution in action. This study complements quantitative social histories by examining a living network of trade and detailing the differentiated use of goods by people from all social ranks. This dissertation discusses an important era of change in colonial Maryland. It studies the commercial accounts of a merchant and analyzes trade as dialogue about how people valued material items. It examines Carroll's role as an advocate for Catholic rights in the colony, showing him as a defiant figure who used consumption to assert his status and Catholic interests. It also details his contributions to a Catholic gentry faction in Maryland politics. It presents a close study of Carroll's local and trans-Atlantic business, to show how local trade, the slave trade, and the import trade worked. It demonstrates the lucrative quality of skilled accounting in managing commercial data and demonstrates the role of a merchant as a credit source in a society without banks. It discusses Carroll's consumer buying and spending, including his use of consumer goods as forms of payment, and his plans to educate an heir. In sum, this is a study of the commerce that provided opportunities for James Carroll and a study of material culture in colonial Maryland.