Dr. Jason West has decided to resign after a 12-year presidency, the longest in the history of Newman Theological College in Edmonton.

“I think I’ve always thought that for this sort of role 10-12 years is the right amount of time in terms of an institution and needing refreshing leadership,” said West. “As this role has evolved over the last dozen years, I came to the conviction over the past few months that the things I meant to do and was called to do had been accomplished. The institution has reached a state of maturity and stability that makes this transition possible without major upheaval.”

West, moulded as an academic at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ont., and the University of Waterloo, is not permanently bidding Newman adieu. Following a year-long sabbatical commencing upon the college hiring an interim president, the educator plans to return to the teaching staff full-time in 2025.  

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One of the signature accomplishments of West’s tenure was directing the development and launching of a new three-year, 93-credit Bachelor of Arts in Catholic Studies program in September 2021, a unique offering in Western Canada. West said the B.A. undergraduate students have invigorated the campus with infectious, captivating energy.

“Before we started that program we had a lot of activity, but it was sporadic or evening courses,” said West. “A lot of days if you came to the college the building would be empty. Now it’s filled with teenagers and young adults in their early 20s studying theology and philosophy. To be able to work with that new demographic is exciting.”

West added that while he got to know students in his capacity as president, serving as a full-time professor affords him an opportunity to “be a part of their intellectual and spiritual journey.” 

Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith, board chair of Newman, congratulated West on his next chapter and commended him for his “12 years of exemplary service.”

“Dr. West is respected by colleagues, educators, community leaders and students for his openness and dedication to the joy — and the responsibility — of educating our young people,” said Smith. “He is both a colleague and a friend to me and many others.”

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Tracey Bailey, vice-chair of Newman’s board of governors, touted West for leaving “Newman Theological College in a stronger position than when he began as president” by securing accreditation, fortifying the financial outlook, strengthening the college’s governance and making critical strides in shaping Newman as a present and future leader in developing religious life vocations.

In 2021, under West’s leadership, NTC secured a $986,510 (U.S.) grant from the Lily Endowment Fund to establish the Pathways to Ministry Project. This initiative identified the root causes behind the continued nationwide decline in seminarians and candidates for professional lay ecclesial ministry and formulated solutions to reverse the trend.

In the past six months alone, Newman's Benedict XVI Institute for New Evangelization unveiled an illuminating research report — authored by Dr. Ryan Topping — about the background, discernment and formation of Canada’s recent ordination classes titled “Meet Our New Priests.” Topping also spearheaded well-attended vocations rallies in Edmonton and Calgary.

More religious-life-building initiatives are forthcoming over the next year. This autumn, Newman and Western Canada dioceses are poised to launch a vocations directors’ association to provide support and professional development opportunities. Novel research about the Canadian vocation director landscape is also on the way.

Early findings indicate that approximately 25 per cent of vocations directors have an annual plan.

“We thought this would be an area where we can come together and try to develop a template,” said West. “What does an annual plan for a vocations director look like? How can you realistically discern what should be in it and provide that to vocations directors? We want to raise that number of vocations directors with a realistic, strong plan for their work over a year.”

West has empowered Topping and other academics to carry out this important work in the years ahead. In addition to devoting time to the important roles of husband, father and grandfather, he intends on wearing the professional hat of “author” during his sabbatical.

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“I am looking forward to a new project,” said West. “This will be about Divine Providence. It will be the interest and care that God takes for humanity. I am interested in pre-Christian tradition — there are a lot of arguments made by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and in their literature like Homer’s Iliad and (the poems of) Virgil — and the difference the Christian message makes. With Christianity, this very rich dispute among the ancients seems to be resolved.”

A book about the French-Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain, long a figure of academic fascination for West, is also being published in partnership with Catholic University of America Press in September.