On August 14th 2000, at the request of President Edmund Dobbin, OSA, Dr. Barbara Wall, Assistant Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences was appointed Special Assistant to the President for Mission. In this role, over the course of the next nine years, Dr. Wall designed and implemented a variety of new initiatives that sharpened Villanova's commitment to its Catholic identity and Augustinian heritage.
Effective January 1, 2009, President Peter Donohue, OSA selected Dr. Wall as the university's first Vice President for Mission and Ministry. The Office for Mission Effectiveness was renamed the Office for Mission and Ministry and was restructured to include direct responsibility for the following:
- Augustinian Institute, which includes the Augustinian Historical Institute and the Patristic, Medieval, Renaissance program; Campus Ministry; the Villanova / CRS Partnership; the Center for Peace and Justice Education.
Since that time, the Center for Faith and Learning was created and added to the responsibilty of the Vice President.