The Padua Program

The Franciscan Institute's training program in Franciscan mission-based leadership.

The Padua Program at St. Bonaventure University helps Franciscan institutions and ministries transmit the values of Saints Francis and Clare to new generations of leaders.

Infusing this mission into the daily operations of Franciscan schools, hospitals, retreat centers, and social service programs requires competent leaders. Individuals completing the Padua Program will increase expertise in preservation and promotion of the Franciscan legacy.

The Padua Program was designed and directed four years ago by Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F., former president of St. Bonaventure University; Fr. David B. Couturier, O.F.M. Cap., executive director of the Franciscan Institute; and Dr. Pauline Albert, a writer, researcher, teacher, and organizational specialist. It has educated five cohorts of participants from the fields of education, health care, social services and retreats.

Padua is a program of the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure. The institute engages in three principal areas of scholarly concern: research, publication and workshops, and seminars and academic conferences on the Franciscan intellectual tradition.

The Padua Program hosts its workshops in the University Conference Center in Doyle Hall on the SBU campus.

Cohort VI: July 17-20, 2024

The Padua Program: An Overview

The Padua Program is an educational program in Franciscan mission-based leadership for directors, managers and leaders of Franciscan institutions. It includes an on-campus workshop at St. Bonaventure University (Part One), as well as nine monthly seminars on Zoom.

The first part of the program is held on the campus of St. Bonaventure University over three days in July. All accommodations (an air-conditioned townhouse apartment and all meals) are included in the registration fee. Participants will have an opportunity to meet one another in person and begin the study of Franciscan spirituality and apply it to the latest research on leadership in both profit and not-for-profit enterprises.

This workshop will be an introduction to the Franciscan movement, its meaning and values. These sessions, with appropriate readings, will guide participants through an understanding of the meaning of the Franciscan tradition, as proposed in the life stories of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi.

Directed by some of the country’s best scholars in Franciscan studies, participants will study the unique features of Franciscan leadership as proposed by these two founders of the Franciscan movement. We will explore what it means to have a Franciscan mission and a Franciscan institutional vocation in the 21st century.

This next section of the course is devoted to monthly seminars that address the tasks and challenges of Franciscan mission-based leadership in various kinds of institutions (education, hospital, social services, etc.) Participants will also investigate special topics such as:

What is Franciscan mission-based leadership?
Franciscan Mission and Margins
Franciscan Mission and Organizational Ethics
The Role of the Mission Officer and relations through the Institution
Strategic Planning as a Mission Leader
Franciscan Decision-Making Models
Mission Assessment in your organization

2024 Cohort VI cost and registration

Cohort VI: July 17-20, St. Bonaventure University.
Cost: $3,000

A welcoming environment for all

Our scenic campus welcomes diversity and scholarship, and our University Conference Center is newly renovated for comfortable adult learning.

Nestled in the valley of Western New York’s Enchanted Mountains, the campus of St. Bonaventure University provides a relaxing venue for community building and interactive learning about Franciscanism and leadership.

Our Padua Team will bring to the table years of scholarship and practical experiences in mission development and integration, organizational and leadership studies, ethics, and business consulting. This interdisciplinary approach will enhance personal skills and institutional integrity.

For information contact Fr. David Couturier, executive director of the Franciscan Institute, at (716) 375-2160, or Heidi Strauss, at (716) 375-2062. To send us an email, click here.

The Padua Team

We have assembled a great team of specialists in Franciscan life and spirituality, leadership and management across the various ministries and institutions that Franciscans run and sponsor today.

Fr. David B. Couturier, O.F.M. Cap., Ph.D., DMin., director of the Padua Program, executive director of the Franciscan Institute, associate professor of Theology and Franciscan Studies, and director of University Planning at St. Bonaventure University.

He also holds an appointment as the Dean R. Hoge Professor of Pastoral Planning and Church Management at the Graduate Theological Foundation in Oklahoma City, where he designed the Doctor of Ministry program in Pastoral Planning and Church Management. Trained in clinical psychology, mediation and organizational development, he serves the Padua Program as an organizational development and Franciscan studies specialist.

Michael Gallagher, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance in the School of Business at St. Bonaventure University.

He also serves as director of the Foster Center for Responsible Leadership at St. Bonaventure, which promotes cross-discipline scholarship in the Franciscan intellectual tradition, with a particular focus on its application to issues of responsible leadership. It strives to integrate Franciscan values with business and civic leadership. He serves the Padua Program as a leadership development specialist.

Julianne Wallace, DMin., vice president for Mission at St. Mary’s University in South Bend, Indiana.

Julianne has developed a new theory of institutional Franciscan vocation that can be applied across various industries, ministries and institutions. She serves the Padua Program as the Franciscan institutional vocation specialist.

Colleen M. Walters, M.A., vice president of Mission and Ethics at BayCare Health System of Clear Water, Florida.

BayCare is a leading not-for-profit organization comprised of 15 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. She received her master’s degree in health care mission at St. Thomas Aquinas Institute of Theology in Saint Louis. Colleen provides executive leadership to ensure a successful integration, assessment and development of all mission, ethics and pastoral care activities across the system. She serves the Padua Program as a health care mission and ethics specialist.

Michael Fischer, Ph.D., professor of accounting in the School of Business at St. Bonaventure University.

He has served as vice president for Academic Affairs and provost at the university. He has written and given several lectures on the fra Luca Pacioli, a 15th century friar and mathematician who is known as the father of modern accounting and accounting. He serves the Padua Program as a Franciscan higher education and mission specialist.

Sr. Margaret Magee, O.S.F., congregational minister for the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany in Allegany, New York.

She has served 12 years in congregational leadership and is currently serving as the associate congregational minister. For six years she served as associate director of the Franciscan Federation, a national organization that promotes and deepens the understanding of the Franciscan Third Order charism and spirituality. For six years, Margaret had served as the president and the chair of the Board of Franciscan Action Network, stepping down in 2019. FAN is a national organization bringing a collective Franciscan voice to transform United States public policy related to peacemaking, care for creation, poverty, and human rights. She continues to serve as a member of the board. She serves the Padua Program as a congregational leadership and justice specialist.

Douglas Pisano, Ph.D., dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Merrimack College; former founding dean of the DePerro School of Health Professions at St. Bonaventure University.

Doug has served as vice president for Academic Affairs and provost at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences University, with campuses in Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts, and Manchester, New Hampshire. He received his doctorate in law, policy, and society – health policy and law from Northeastern University and serves the Padua Program as a health professions and mission specialist.

Jeffrey Papia, MBA, MTS, chief strategy officer at Our Lady of Victory Human Services in Lackawanna, New York.

He is the former vice president of Mission Integration and Campus Ministry at Hilbert College in Buffalo, New York.

Debi Haug, M.A., executive director for Mission at the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities.

With a master's in theological studies and years of experience as pastoral assistant and campus minister, Debi serves on the Padua Team as director of engagement.

Heidi Strauss, M.A., business operations manager for the Franciscan Institute.

A native of Olean, Heidi comes to SBU with a master’s in marketing and business development. She has a strong background in project management, accounting, and business development. Her campus office is in the Murphy Professional Building, Room 100. Her phone number is (716) 375-2062.

Fr. David Couturier, O.F.M. Cap.

Executive Director

Franciscan Institute & Franciscan Institute Publications

(716) 375-2160

Send an email

Heidi K. Strauss

Business Operations Manager

Franciscan Institute & Franciscan Institute Publications

(716) 375-2062

Send an email

Murphy Professional Building 100