Cultivating Talent

OPTalkspodcast
Written By Open Plaza

César "CJ" Baldelomar and Dr. Hosffman Ospino discuss Boston College's report on the recent national study of Hispanic educators in Catholic schools

 
 

"What does a study on Catholic schools and Hispanic teachers in Catholic schools have to do with theology?" asks Dr. Hosffman Ospino. "The answer is: a lot."

A turning point for several conversations about Catholic education and Hispanics throughout the country was Boston College's Catholic Schools in an Increasingly Hispanic Church: A Summary Report of Findings from the National Survey of Catholic Schools Serving Hispanic Families (2016). Among the authors of this first-of-its-kind study was Dr. Ospino, then Assistant Professor of Theology and Ministry at Boston College.

Six years later, Dr. Ospino is Associate Professor of Hispanic Ministry and Religious Education, and Chair of the Department of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry at Boston College, where he among the Principal Investigators of its latest report, Cultivating Talent:  A Summary of Findings from the National Study ‘Examining Pathways to Increase the Presence of Hispanic Teachers and Leaders in Catholic Schools’ (2022). The study was also led by Boston College School of Theology and Dr. Melodie Wyttenbach, executive director of the Roche Center for Catholic Education at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development.

In this episode of OP Talks, César "CJ" Baldelomar talks to his mentor Dr. Ospino about this latest study, which aims to help those interested in Catholicism "understand and appreciate the various ways in which Hispanics are transforming the American Catholic experience." A particular focus is on research that has supported, strengthened, and transformed Catholic schools in the United States that serve immigrant communities.

“One of the things we highlight in this report,” Dr. Ospino told Boston College News, “is that we see, in Hispanic school teachers and leaders, an instance in which the Hispanic community is beginning to shape the structures of the Catholic Church…Hispanic educators are bringing in their own experience, biculturalism, and bilingualism to shape not only the identity of Catholic schools but also the sensibilities that inform that curriculum and the witness of Catholic schools today.” 

 

READ MORE

Ospino, Hosffman and Patricia Weitzel-O’Neill. "Catholic Schools in an Increasingly Hispanic Church: Musings Inspired in a Recent National Study." Momentum (Winter 2017).

 
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César J. Baldelomar

A scholar with wide-ranging interests, César "CJ" Baldelomar is a doctoral candidate in Theology and Education at Boston College, where he is currently working on his dissertation and teaching in the International Studies and Theology departments. His research blends critical theory (especially postmodernism and poststructuralism) and decolonial thought, exploring how knowledge production (epistemology, theory, and scholarship) and consumption (teaching and learning) inform the formation of identities (ontologies). His work seeks to find different ways to imagine and talk about the self and about justice in an effort to envision possible sites of resistance. CJ is the author of several academic and popular articles and of the upcoming book, Fragmented Theological Imaginings (Convivium Press).

He holds two law degrees from St. Thomas University School of Law: a Master of Laws (LL.M) in Intercultural Human Rights and a Juris Doctor, with certificates in immigration law and international law. CJ also holds a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) in Religion, Ethics, and Politics from the Harvard Divinity School and a Master of Education (Ed.M) in Learning and Teaching from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is a former legal intern at the Southern Poverty Law Center and current Associate Member Representative of The Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS). You can read more of CJ's work here or learn more about him here.

Featured
Hosffman Ospino

Dr. Hosffman Ospino is a native of Colombia, where he pursued undergraduate studies in Philosophy. He holds an MA in theology with concentration in Church History and a PhD in Theology and Education from Boston College. His research explores the dialogue between faith and culture, and the impact of this interchange upon Catholic theological education, catechesis, and ministry. He has served as the principal investigator for several nationally recognized studies on how the Hispanic Catholic presence is transforming parishes, schools and organizations. Dr. Ospino writes a bilingual monthly column for Catholic News Services (Journeying Together / Caminando juntos), and his writings have received several prizes from the Catholic Press Association. He has also authored and edited more than a dozen books, including Cultural Diversity and Paradigm Shifts in Catholic Congregations (Fordham University Press, forthcoming). An officer of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS), he is actively involved in ministry and faith-formation projects in various parts of the United States. Dr. Ospino has received many honors, among them the 2018 ACHTUS Virgilio Elizondo Award for his distinguished achievement in theology.

 
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