Conversations Spring 2020 On Jesuit Higher Education Number 57

The World of Jesuit Institutions Under Pressure and Reaching Out

Inside: The Unique Vision of Don Doll, S.J. SPRING 2020 NUMBER 57 Conversations Members of the National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education On Jesuit Higher Education

Gerard A. Athaide Loyola University Maryland Heidi Barker The World of Jesuit Institutions Regis University Ronald Bernas , editor University of Detroit Mercy Alice V. Clark Loyola University New Orleans Patrick J. Howell, S.J., chair Seattle University Timothy P. Kesicki, S.J. President, Jesuit Conference ex officio 23 Molly Pepper The Unique Vision of Gonzaga University Don Doll, S.J. Nancy Rourke Canisius College Stephen C. Rowntree, S.J. , sec Holy Name of Jesus Church New Orleans FEATURES Lucas S. Sharma, S.J. Seattle University CRISIS IN THE CHURCH Michael Sheeran, S.J. President, AJCU 3 Addressing the Church’s Clerical Culture, Richard Gaillardetz ex officio 8 A Movement to Restore Trust in Buffalo, NY , Maureen Hurley and Nancy Ware Clint J. Springer Saint Joseph’s University 10 Pastoralism Could Be a Way to Address Sexual Abuse Coverups in the Church, Michael F. Tunney, S.J. Mary Gail Frawley-O’Dea Fairfield University Rachel Wifall HIGHER EDUCATION UNDER FINANCIAL PRESSURE Saint Peter’s University 14 Can Jesuit Institutions Afford Formation for Mission? Robert Niehoff, S.J. Conversations is published by the 17 An Ignatian Relighting of Contemporary Higher Educational Fires, National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education, which is jointly sponsored Timothy Law Snyder by the Jesuit Conference Board and 19 The Risk of Mission at Jesuit Schools, Erika M. Hollis the Board of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. 21 A Business Approach to Mission, Gerard Athaide The opinions stated herein are those 31 A Conversation: Staff Perspective on Layoffs and Difficult Times, Alice Clark , with of the authors and not necessarily those of the JC or the AJCU. Kathy Gros, Paula Saurage-Ruiz, Dianna Whitfield, Angelique Dyer , and Brian Lousteau Comments and inquiries may be 34 ‘Without a Vision, the People Perish’ Lessons from Wheeling, Jessica Wrobleski addressed to the editor of Conversations Ron Bernas University of Detroit Mercy GLOBAL REACH OF JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION 4001 W. McNichols Road 36 A Dream for Greater International Cooperation Fulfilled, Michael Garanzini, S.J. Detroit, MI 48221-3038 phone: 313-993-1251 41 Jesuit Education: From the River Cardoner Across the Globe, e-mail: [email protected] Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, S.J. For information about subscriptions 45 The Beijing Center Carries on Jesuit Traditions of Friendship and Scholarship, to Conversations: Stephen C. Rowntree, S.J. John Sember Secretary to the National Seminar 48 Transformation through Global Learning, Diane Ceo-DiFrancesco on Jesuit Higher Education Holy Name of Jesus Parish New Orleans 1575 Calhoun Street 51 STUDENT VOICE New Orleans, LA 70118 Phone: 504-865-2781 Building a Bridge of Solidarity, Michael Tanaka e-mail: [email protected] Conversations back issues are 12 AN HISTORICAL MOMENT: Canisius College, Audrey R. Browka available online at conversationsmagazine.org 55 TEACHING THE MISSION: From Desperation to Engaging Discussions, Design and layout by Pauline Heaney. Ellen M. Maccarone Printed by Peacock Communications, Fairfield, N.J. Cover: Traditional Turkana dancers perform at the graduation ceremony of the Jesuit Worldwide Webmaster: Lucas S. Sharma, S.J. Learning Program in Kakuma, Kenya. Photo by Don Doll, S.J. FROM THE EDITOR

Three Crucial Topics in Jesuit Higher Education

It’s become almost trite to type the phrase “the Catholic Because this is my first edition as editor, I would like to in - Church is in crisis.” It seems, in recent years, that the troduce myself. For most of my career, I worked at small Church is always in crisis, careening from one to another. and large daily newspapers as a writer, editor, and copy ed - When one fades away for a moment in one part of the itor. I left the field in 2000 and entered the more family- world, another arises somewhere else. Though not all the friendly field of public relations. Since 2015 I have been crises are inter-related, the cumulative effect is a constant working in the Marketing & Communications department pressure on the worldwide Church. at University of Detroit Mercy, helping spread the good That is what was on the minds of the members of the news about Jesuit (and Mercy) education. National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education when they I am a product of public schools and two state univer - met at University of Detroit Mercy in April of last year to sities and, though raised Catholic, I had only a passing plan this edition of Conversations . The horror of the sexual knowledge of what a Jesuit is and even less about what Je - abuse scandal and its coverup was once again in the news; suit education is. What I learned about Jesuit education Jesuit universities were facing tough financial decisions that came over time at dinner tables and picnics with my wife’s put their missions at stake, and the rise of nationalism here large immediate and extended family, nearly all of whom and around the globe were seen not as separate issues, but are Jesuit educated. I listened to the way they discussed is - as many parts of one. In Jesuit fashion, the discussion sues, analyzed books and movies and art, laughed, wel - quickly changed from a litany of woes to a call for reflection comed others, and found and explored connections others and action. What can the nation’s Jesuit colleges and uni - may have missed. While this makes for freewheeling—and versities do to address the crises? sometimes tense—discussions, at the center of it all is a This edition looks at ways Jesuit institutions can lead strong and unwavering faith discussed in a matter-of-fact the discussion on how to address the sex abuse crisis, how way that can still surprise and move me. It’s what inspired they can shepherd their institutions through harsh financial me to look into a position at Detroit Mercy where I have realities yet remain true to their missions (and about what found a welcoming home. It is a place of deep commitment happens when they don’t), and how the worldwide net - to the Jesuit mission and one that has deepened my own work of Jesuit institutions can work together to create faith and commitment to the Jesuit values I first saw global citizens who work for the common good. demonstrated over meals almost 30 years ago. These are challenges, no doubt, and they are not the I am thrilled my three college-aged children are at Jesuit only ones facing the Church. Jesuit institutions are in a institutions because I see what they can become, and I can’t strong position because of our clarity on a vigorous, healthy wait to see what, as Jesuit-educated global citizens, they mission, and it is one we should take full advantage of to will bring to the world. And I thank the National Seminar effect change. It’s what we expect of our graduates, and we for choosing me to help, in my own small way, shape the should expect it from our institutions as well. conversation on Jesuit higher education.

ttt Ron Bernas, editor

The National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education For more information about the National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education, its goals, and its members please visit our website at: http://www.conversationsmagazine.org/national-seminar/ COMING UP Issue # 58 (Fall 2020) For more information on how to contribute to Conversations please see our website at: Exploring the four Universal http://www.conversationsmagazine.org/for-contributors/ Jesuit Preferences

1 Remembering Seminar Chair Fr. Patrick Howell, S.J.

The National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Ed - ucation especially mourns the loss of Fr. Patrick (Pat) Howell, S.J., who died peace - fully from cancer on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 2019. He was 79. Fr. Howell had served as chair and gen - eral editor of the Seminar and this magazine since 2000 and during his leadership, count - less women and men have continued to be formed to be leaders in mission across the AJCU network. Born in 1940 in North Dakota, Fr. How - ell recalled the move from his hometown of Lisbon to Gonzaga University in 1958 by train as the most significant turn in his life. His time at Gonzaga set him on his lifetime trajectory. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1961 in the midst of major change in the church and society. Francis’ profoundly influential 2013 interview with An - “Pat was above all a Jesuit of the Second Vatican tonio Spadaro, S.J. Available to be missioned by the Council and was profoundly inspired by two great provincial when asked, Fr. Howell was interim execu - leaders of our times — Fr. Pedro Arrupe and Arch - tive director of the Loyola Institute for Spirituality in bishop Raymond Hunthausen of Seattle,” said his Jesuit Orange, Calif. He had also been the associate director classmate Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J., who is current and interim director of the Seattle University Institute president of Seattle University. “He served the Society for Catholic Thought and Culture. This academic year, and its partners in everything he did and in a special a testament to his commitment to the Jesuit mission, he way by his impact on the document ‘The Role of perceived a need and was missioned to Gonzaga Uni - Women in Church and Society’ of General Congrega - versity to work in Jesuit Catholic identity formation. tion 34, which was likely the highlight of his Jesuit life.” At the age of 35, Fr. Howell suffered a major mental Fr. Howell was ordained to the priesthood in 1972. breakdown that landed him in a Portland, Wash., psy - He served as principal at Gonzaga Preparatory School chiatric ward. His recovery led to his very personal and in Spokane from 1978-83. He earned a Doctorate of Min - revealing book about his break, Reducing the Storm to a istry in Pastoral Theology from the Catholic University Whisper , and a rich ministry committed to bringing of America in 1985 and taught pastoral theology at Seat - awareness and resources to people experiencing mental tle University for more than 30 years. He was the found - illness. In the Archdiocese of Seattle, for example, he led ing dean of SU’s School of Theology and Religious a group to ensure that mental illness awareness was a Studies. Named both a full and Distinguished Univer - focus of priests and parishes. sity Professor, Fr. Howell also served as vice president Fr. Howell loved to garden and was a good and for mission and ministry, and was the rector of the Ar - generous Jesuit brother. He was known for buying tick - rupe Jesuit Community at Seattle University. ets to treat friends to the symphony, and loved to con - During a yearlong sabbatical following his term as verse over a bowl of popcorn. He is remembered with rector, Fr. Howell went to work for America , a Jesuit deep affection by many people across the nation who publication, and was commissioned along with four remember his passion for lay-Jesuit collaboration and other experts to translate from Italian into English Pope the warmth of his spirit.

2 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION Crisis in the Church

Addressing the Church’s Clerical Culture

By Richard Gaillardetz

Pope Francis has identified the evil of clericalism as erence—they help sustain that culture, rendering a principal cause of the church’s current crisis (“Letter many of its problematic features ever more invisible. to the People of God,” Sept. 2018). The pope had al - Because of the limits of space, the focus of this article ready, on previous occasions, denounced clericalism, will be on the way in which the theology, structures, which he defined as an attitude marked by a sense of and practice of ordained ministry have played a de - superiority and a failure to remain close to the people cisive role in sustaining a clerical culture. one is to serve. Soon after the appearance of the pope’s letter, Bishop Vincent Long of Parramatta, Aus - Signs of Clericalism tralia, warned, however, against imagining clericalism in the Presbyterate simply as an attitude manifested by certain individu - als. Rather, he insisted, “it is a question of clericalism What are some indications of this clerical culture? inherent in the very culture of the Church.” First, we can see it in a persistent preoccupation with His employment of the term “culture” is not in - the maintenance of a distinct clerical identity, an inor - significant here. According to the sociologist and ec - dinate fascination with clerical garb and titles, often clesiologist, George B. Wilson, S.J., speaking of a at the expense of a sense of solidarity with the whole clerical culture suggests “very concrete patterns of people of God. Second, this clerical culture is rooted behavior and ways of thinking” that operate at a in a problematic theology of the ministerial priest - largely unconscious or unexamined level (Wilson, hood. Such a theology fails to properly correlate the Clericalism: The Death of Priesthood, 3). To the extent ministerial priesthood to the service of the baptismal that the laity share the same cultural presupposi - priesthood. It relies on an exaggerated account of the tions—that is, to the extent that they willfully accede sacramental character conferred at ordination. It to clerical claims to privilege and an uncritical def - stresses the conferral of new powers, for example, the

3 Crisis in the Church

power to confect the Eucharist and absolve sins, Episcopal Contributions stripped of any substantive ecclesial reference. on a Clerical Culture A third indication of clericalism is the sense of being exempt from criticism or accountability by The seeds of clericalism lie just as much in the current those outside the clerical guild along with a determi - theology, structures, and practices associated with the nation to protect the good reputation of their guild at office of the bishop. Church law and custom today ac - all costs. Those outside the guild, it is presumed, can - centuate the bishop’s relation to the episcopal college not properly appreciate the demands placed on those as a whole and to the pope in particular, often at the within the guild. Finally, while a balanced theology of expense of his relationship to his flock. Here again, we the church will acknowledge a diversity of roles and see one of the features of a clerical culture: an empha - ministries in the life of the church, clericalism re-de - sis on belonging to an elite group (the episcopal col - ploys these distinctions to justify hierarchical superi - lege) and a weakened sense of solidarity with, and ority, the exercise of dominating power, and the accountability to, those they would serve. expectation of uncritical deference.

4 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION Consider that approximately 40 percent of today’s bishops—ordained church diplomats, many Vatican “Ordination should bureaucrats, and every auxiliary bishop—is assigned to a titular see, that is, they are made bishop of a dio - not be about cese that existed once, but no longer does. So, techni - cally, every bishop is ordained to serve a local church, honorifics or even if that local church has no living members. How ecclesiastical can such a custom not trivialize the bishop’s relation - ship to the local church? Since the 19th Century, it has promotion; it should been the practice of the Vatican to appoint bishops to dioceses with minimal input from the local churches be about pastoral themselves. Add to this the fact that bishops today are leadership of a local frequently transferred from one diocese to another, often as a form of ecclesiastical promotion from seem - flock, no more, ingly peripheral pastoral appointments to more pres - tigious ones. Finally, consider the use of lofty forms of no less.” address directed toward bishops (“Your Excellency”), toward archbishops (“Your Grace”), toward cardinals, (“Your Eminence”) or the fact that cardinals are still A more adequate theology of the ministerial often referred to as “princes of the church.” All of these priesthood should, in turn, inform how our church structures and practices have played a role in sustain - calls forth candidates for priestly formation. If we are ing an entrenched clerical culture. to purge the church of clericalism, we must reassess our traditional criteria for suitability to priestly min - A Way Forward? istry. Personal holiness, for example, is a necessary but not sufficient condition for priestly ordination. We need holy priests, to be sure, but we also need So how do we move forward along the path of re - healthy ones; even a cursory history of our tradition form? Let us first consider presbyteral ministry be - affirms that these two things do not always go to - fore turning once more to the episcopate. gether. The lack of a healthy psycho-sexual maturity and the attendant tendencies toward sexual repres - • Recover a Healthy Theology of the Priesthood sion and self-deception have helped create condi - and Reform Seminary Formation tions ripe for inappropriate clerical behavior. The psycho-sexually immature candidate is likely to be One antidote to the scourge of clericalism would be attracted to an insular clerical culture precisely be - the widespread embrace, particularly in seminary cause the uncritical deference that such a culture en - education, of a sound theology of the ministerial courages can allow him to avoid healthy, vulnerable priesthood, one that attends to the teaching of Vati - relationships. Priestly celibacy, which has long been can II that the ministerial priesthood exists to serve central to our Catholic tradition, is engaged most au - the priesthood of all believers. Such a theology thentically when it is recognized as a charism to be would recognize that ordination is not, in the first in - lived faithfully by the psycho-sexually mature rather stance, about the conferral of special powers; ordi - than a requirement imposed by law on those who nation draws the presbyter into a new relationship may be called to priestly ministry but who do not with Christ and Christ’s church-sent-in-mission. The recognize in themselves the charism for authentic empowerment that ordination effects does not pre - celibacy. When celibacy is imposed by the burden of cede but rather follows the presbyter’s sacramental law rather than embraced as an authentic gift, psy - configuration to Christ and his Church.

5 Crisis in the Church

Finally, we should seek out candidates who are eager collaborators in ministry, candidates who de - light in identifying and supporting the gifts of oth - ers. To be blunt, our current system is often better equipped to identify impediments to ordination than to recognize and cultivate authentic charisms for pastoral leadership. If the ministerial priesthood exists to empower all God’s people for their missionary task, then it does not make sense to prepare diocesan priests in quasi-monastic seclusion, separated from worldly realities and concerns. How healthy is it for seminar - ians to be insulated from the everyday realities of family budgeting, shopping, cooking, and doing laundry? Seminarians should be expected to pursue their studies in academic contexts where they would be accompanied by lay men and women as students and where they would be taught by a diversity of professors, lay and ordained, men and women. These proposals all have as their aim a practice of priestly formation that moves away from privileged separateness while encouraging gospel practices of pastoral accompaniment and solidarity with those whom they are ordained to serve.

• Strengthen the Bishop’s Relationship to the Local Church

As already noted, the clerical culture which pervades our church is sustained not only by problematic the - ologies and practices associated with the priesthood, but also with the episcopate. The structural weaken - ing of the bishop’s solidarity with his flock is a signif - icant factor in the perpetuation of a clerical culture. In the church of the first four centuries, the bishop’s relationship to his local church was main - tained by much more solidaristic bonds than are present today. One of the most widely shared con - victions of early Christianity concerned the right of the local church to affirm, either by election or accla - mation, the appointment of their bishop. Pope Ce - lestine I (422-32) would declare in the early Fifth Century: “Let a bishop not be imposed upon the chic and affective mechanisms may develop for cop - people whom they do not want.” Pope Leo the Great ing with that burden that can lead to immature in - (440-61) would further insist: “He who has to preside terpersonal relationships and an inability to develop over all must be elected by all.” authentic intimacy with others.

6 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION In contrast to this ancient practice, procedures in Finding inspiration in the the 1983 Code of Canon Law provide for little input Pact of the Catacombs from the local church. The Church needs to develop revised procedures that give local churches greater Throughout the course of Vatican II a number of bish - say in the selection of their local bishop. One could ops were moved by Pope John XXIII’s evocation of a easily draw from the centuries of experience among “church of the poor” and began meeting at the Bel - consecrated religious men’s and women’s commu - gian College in Rome. These bishops had become per - nities who have developed proven methods for ec - suaded of the need to engage in a more evangelical clesial discernment in the election of their leaders. ministry inspired by direct Gospel imperatives. In the In consideration of necessary reform, we should fall of 1965, as the council was drawing to a close, recall the early Church’s strict prohibition against or - some 40 bishops gathered secretly in the Domitilla daining a bishop without a pastoral charge to a liv - Catacombs outside of Rome where they celebrated ing local church. Episcopal ordination should not be the Eucharist and signed a pact which would come to about honorifics or ecclesiastical promotion; it be known as the Pact of the Catacombs. This remark - should be about pastoral leadership of a local flock, able pact included the following pledge: no more, no less. We, bishops assembled in the Second Vatican The church would also do well to re-institute, al - Council, are conscious of the deficiencies of our lowing for prudent exceptions, the ancient canonical prohibition against the transfer of a bishop from one lifestyle in terms of evangelical poverty. … We do diocese to another. The transfer of a bishop violated not want to be addressed verbally or in writing the nuptial symbolism of a bishop’s “marriage” to his with names and titles that express prominence people. At a pastoral level, the prohibition also helped and power (such as Eminence, Excellency, Lord - forestall episcopal careerism. A bishop who has been ship). … [W]e will seek collaborators in ministry so embraced by his local church, and considers himself that we can be animators according to the Spirit “married” to his flock, however modest, is more in - rather than dominators according to the world. … clined to keep the concerns of his people foremost in May God help us to be faithful. mind rather than the approval of his “superiors.” If we are to succeed in purging our Church of the Finally, if we are to break up the clerical sedimen - scourge of clericalism, we will need Church leaders tation that exists in our church, we must apply, “all at every level who are prepared to enter into the spirit the way down,” Pope Francis’ principle of synodal - of this historic pledge. But it will also require that we, ity calling us to become a “listening church.” To the lay faithful, enter into our own examination of transpose metaphors, we cannot pour the “new conscience, mindful of the ways we, too, have been wine” of ecclesial synodality into the “old wine - complicit in the rampant clericalism in our Church, skins” of canonical structures still tainted by clerical for none of us is exempt from the call to conversion privilege. What is needed is a richer culture of col - that authentic Christian discipleship requires. laboration in church governance at all levels. Cer - tainly, there are quasi-synodal institutions currently Richard R. Gaillardetz is the Joseph Professor of Catholic available in canon law that hold some promise, such Systematic Theology at Boston College and is currently the as pastoral and diocesan councils, diocesan synods chair of the Theology Department. This article offers an ab - and plenary councils like the one currently being breviated version of lectures given at Catholic University of planned for the church of Australia. However, new America and Seattle University. A much fuller, more docu - institutional structures beyond those currently avail - mented version appeared in Worship (Summer 2019) able in canon law must also be developed that draw under the title, “A Church in Crisis: How Did We Get the laity into a fuller participation in the governance Here? How Do We Move Forward?” of the church without compromising the distinctive apostolic oversight of the pope and bishops.

7 Crisis in the Church

A Movement to Restore Trust in Buffalo, NY

By Maureen Hurley and Nancy Ware

On August 14 , 2019, the one-year window opened significant donors to the diocese and its ministries. in New York state for victims of sexual abuse to file We are five men and four women, seven of whom claims that would otherwise have been barred by the were Jesuit-educated, and who represent the fields statute of limitations. Within the first 24 hours of the of law, medicine, victim advocacy, real estate devel - opening, more than 100 claims were filed under the opment, and education, from early childhood to uni - Child Victims Act against priests and the Diocese of versity. It was clear that each of us wished to channel Buffalo, far more than any other diocese in the state. our anger and frustration over what was happening The Pennsylvania grand jury report of 2018 in our Church into something constructive. We an - painted a horrifying picture of a Catholic Church more nounced the formation of the MRT on Oct. 31, 2018. concerned with its reputational risk than the devastat - With help from John Carr at Georgetown Univer - ing harm to young people. Revelations in our own sity’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Pub - Diocese of Buffalo several months earlier thrust the lic Life and Leadership Roundtable, a consulting diocese into a spiritual, financial, and public relations firm created by prominent Catholic business leaders crisis. This included the CBS News show 60 Minutes in the wake of the sex abuse scandal in Boston, we featuring the bishop’s former secretary who told of held an opening symposium at Canisius College in documents removed from the diocese that contained Buffalo, in late November 2018. We recruited a panel revelations of a priest being returned to active ministry of speakers to spark a thoughtful discussion of the by the current Bishop of Buffalo Richard Malone after issues arising out of the sex abuse scandal. Four hun - substantiated findings of sexual impropriety. In many dred attended the symposium in person and we es - respects, Buffalo has become Ground Zero of the timated another 1,000 watched the various live Church sex abuse scandal in the United States. streams and radio broadcasts of the event. In the wake of these revelations, a group of nine We followed the symposium with a workshop lay Catholics formed what we called The Movement at Canisius 10 days later at which we broke into six to Restore Trust (MRT). Our purpose was to address working groups, each directed toward a particular the diocese’s handling of the sex abuse scandal and issue arising from the sex abuse crisis and the culture to begin the process of healing. within the Catholic Church. Throughout 2018, some in Buffalo were calling These six groups recruited about 150 lay and re - for Bishop Malone to resign, but the bishop has re - ligious who worked for the next four months, peatedly stated he intends to stay. The founders of through holidays and winter weather, to develop a the MRT concluded that our work would need to series of recommendations on how the diocese could transcend the term of any individual bishop. It begin the painful process of restoring trust among its needed to involve a more comprehensive approach, faithful. Most of the volunteers who studied these where laity would take an active role in identifying topics and laid out recommendations were not the - real steps to be taken that would begin the process ologians or canon lawyers, but they did a solid job of restoring trust in a beleaguered diocese. of sizing up the situation—whether it was the dio - Our organizing committee represented practic - cese’s handling of sex abuse cases, the transparency ing Catholics in the diocese, several of whom were in its finances, or the involvement of women and

8 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION laity in the life of the Church. Their recommended solutions reflect the passion, commitment and wis - dom of the laity and for that reason alone, they could not be ignored. This full 68-page compilation of re - ports is available on the MRT website at movement - torestoretrust.org, as are along with several other items referred to in this article. Our organizing committee prepared an executive summary of the reports to present to Bishop Malone who recommended the formation of a Joint Implemen - In October, the Vatican asked Brooklyn Bishop tation Team (JIT) comprised of MRT and diocesan rep - Nicholas DiMarzio to conduct an apostolic visitation resentatives to move the process of reform forward and of the Buffalo Diocese. Bishop DiMarzio visited Buf - the JIT began meeting with Leadership Roundtable act - falo three times and interviewed 80 people, includ - ing as facilitator. Several good things happened: ing two members of the MRT. His report was We sponsored several listening sessions across submitted to the Vatican before the New York bish - the diocese with the bishop so he could hear first - ops travelled to Rome for their ad limina visit with hand the frustrations, concerns, and, yes, the hopes, the Holy Father in mid-November. of the faithful amid so much discouraging news. Throughout the fall, the MRT waited for news The bishop revamped the Diocesan Finance Council, on whether Bishop Malone would resign. In early appointing a layperson as the new chair of the coun - December, just as this magazine was going to print, cil and replacing three clergy on the council with the Vatican announced it had accepted the bishop's three highly qualified lay women. resignation effective immediately. Local church offi - The Diocesan Review Board, created to deter - cials expressed hope that the diocese could then mine the credibility of claims against priests, was re - move toward healing. The MRT continued to pro - named the Independent Diocesan Review Board to mote its reform agenda to ensure that these terrible emphasize its independence from diocesan control. evils within the Church can never happen again. Additional investigators were hired to expedite the completion of these investigations. Please visit conversationsmagazine.org for the latest In the process, the MRT has learned that engaging news on this issue. in co-responsibility between the laity and the Church has challenges. We have different perspectives and Maureen Hurley served for 31 years as an intellectual work on different schedules. With support from Lead - property lawyer and executive for Rich Products ership Roundtable, the MRT has emphasized that Corporation, a $4-billion privately-owned, interna - restoring trust in the Buffalo Diocese requires immedi - tional, frozen food manufacturer headquartered in ate action. The church’s record of adapting and adopt - Buffalo, NY. She currently serves on the boards of the ing change over centuries will not suffice. Catholic Health System, WNY Public Broadcasting, the Unfortunately, the Diocese took another step John R. Oishei Foundation and is a founding member of backward in September 2019 when it was reported the Movement to Restore Trust. that Bishop Malone had apparently mishandled a new investigation involving a claim of sexual mis - Nancy Ware is founder and President of EduKids Early conduct by a diocesan priest and a seminarian. The Childhood Centers, providing nationally accredited early salacious details of a possible love triangle involving childhood education and childcare at 15 locations though two diocesan priests and a seminarian pushed the out western New York. She currently serves on the boards situation in Buffalo to a crisis point. The MRT of Canisius College, WNY Public Broadcasting and is a stepped forward and asked Bishop Malone to resign founding member of the Movement to Restore Trust. for the good of the Church in Buffalo. He refused.

9 Crisis in the Church

Pastoralism Could Be a Way to Address Sexual Abuse Coverups in the Church

By Mary Gail Frawley-O’Dea

In 2002 with the expose by the Boston Globe , the sexual Clericalism has theological as well as structural under - abuse crisis in the Catholic Church exploded onto the pinnings. For example, the belief that a priest experi - public square. Since then, countless newspaper and ac - ences an ontological change at the moment of ademic articles, movies and documentaries, books, a ordination, rendering him literally an “alter Christus” papal commission, and a papal summit have delved is pretty heady stuff. It separates him from the laity and into the reasons for sexual abuse and its mishandling. can be contorted as elevation over, rather than induc - The website bishop-accountability.org provides an on - tion as, a servant of the People of God. Far from Jesuit going treasure trove of data on every aspect of the Daniel Berrigan’s admonition that, “If you want to fol - scandal. This article explicates one aspect of an inter - low Jesus, you better look good on wood,” clericalism related morass of theological, sociological, political, at its worst stymies self-criticism, regret, remorse, or and psychological threads which, together, offer a still- humility. In clericalism, protection of individual and in - evolving picture of the causes and cures of sexual stitutional power and prestige trumps servant leader - abuse in the Church. ship, honesty, and moral decision making. Certain First, it is important to state that sexual abuse itself psychological defenses support clericalism is not the “crisis.” Unfortunately, sexual abuse occurs Denial is a common defense against acknowledging and always will occur in organizations and in families. the pain of a truth. It didn’t happen; if it happened, it Rather, the Catholic Church’s crisis is the disgraceful wasn’t because of me; if it happened because of me and lack of integrity and indifference to victims inherent in there were consequences, someone else is to blame for its leaders’ responses to sexual abuse of the young. those. Clergy from popes to priests, and many of the Even that, again unfortunately, is not so unusual when laity, have used denial rather than face the excruciating institutional or familial sexual crimes are identified. pain of processing or criticizing aspects of Catholic the - The Church’s failings are especially galling, however, ology and structure that fuel the cover-up of abuse. For because of the hypocrisy inherent in its scandal - the example, just this month defrocked and disgraced yawning chasm between its claim to be the true arbiter Theodore McCarrick denied in a Slate interview that he of morality, the truest representative of Christ on earth ever abused a seminarian despite mountains of evi - - and its vile history of enabling sexual violation of the dence and first-person accounts of his exploitation of young. And that continues too often despite all the young men. Similarly, in April 2019, Pope Benedict books and data. Why? reared out of retirement through a letter restating hack - Many commentators on the topic cite clericalism neyed excuses for sexual abuse as a precipitate of the as a central culprit in the scandal. Clericalism, also ‘60s sexual revolution, homosexuality in the priest - called clerical narcissism, privileges the needs, inter - hood, and secularism. He acknowledged nothing in - ests, and agendas of clergy and equates holiness and trinsic to the teachings or organization of the Church. righteousness with the clerical state rather than with Projection , the psychological mechanism attribut - the values and behaviors of the individual. As he be - ing to others one’s own failings, is another common comes more self-absorbed with power and the rev - Church response to the cover-up of sexual abuse. Je - erence he expects, the clericalist exhibits diminished suit psychologist, W.W. Meissner, held that projec - empathy for others perceived to be of lower station. tion was common to the Church and was used to

10 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION preserve its prestige when it perceived a threat to its integrity by attributing to outside forces qualities in - herent in the Church but unacknowledged by its members. Denial and projection have gone hand-in- hand, as when Church figures decry the media or “anti-Catholics” for distorting the scope of the scan - dal. Here, the Church becomes the victim of dishon - est and excessive critics rather than acknowledging itself as a perpetrator of dishonesty and cruelty. For example, former Bishop Thomas Daily, found by the Massachusetts attorney general to have kept known abusers in active ministry with children and trans - ferring them without informing the receiving loca - tion of their sexually abusive past, likened criticism he received as a cross he carried in imitation of Christ, thus identifying himself as an innocent victim rather than as an enabler of child abuse. If clericalism is a disease process fueling cover- ups, pastoralism is a key antidote and Pope Francis ican officials tamped down expectations about it, is one of the purveyors of pastoral approaches to casting it as a beginning, not an end. On the other much in the Church. His commitment to servant hand, he defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick leadership has modeled kindness, empathy, humil - quickly when credible allegations of decades of sex - ity, and humor, qualities in short supply among cler - ual abuse were lodged and Francis reversed initial icalists. He also has been less rigidly doctrinal when support of accused Chilean bishops, removing three discussing sexuality, gender, the role of women in of them from office. Similarly, he sent Cardinal the Church, the goodness of other religions, atheists George Pell, a senior papal advisor, back to Australia and even the possibility of a heavenly destination for where a court convicted him of sexual abuse and dogs. Villanova professor and researcher on the sentenced him to a six-year prison term. Church, Massimo Faggioli, says that Francis prefers Since the sexual abuse scandal of the Catholic bishops who are less “representatives of Rome” and Church exploded into public consciousness in 2002, more pastoral shepherds of their local churches. the Church has swerved in and out of denial versus Truly pastoral bishops, empathically connected to acceptance, public relations ploys versus more effec - their priests and their laity, may be less likely to pro - tive policies, empathy for victims/survivors versus tect a perpetrator and the Church than to extend vicious attacks on them and their advocates. The on - themselves to victims past and present. going failure to mandate the involvement of civil au - While Pope’s Francis’s pastoralism is encourag - thorities in reports of sexual abuse is particularly ing, his approach to sexual abuse has been inconsis - worrisome. It remains to be seen if this pope, his suc - tent. His papal commission lost credibility when two cessors, the hierarchy, clergy, and the laity can ever survivor members resigned, stating that they expe - really insist of full disclosure of sexual abuse and rienced the commission as ineffective. In May 2019, privileged care for victims and survivors. Pope Francis decreed that sexual abuse has to be re - ported to bishops and can be reported directly to the Mary Gail Frawley-O’Dea is the author of Perversion Vatican, but he did not mandate reports to civil au - of Power: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church and thorities, an implied denial of the bishops’ histori - a psychologist who has, for 30 years, specialized in cally proven failure to respond pastorally to victims treating adolescent and adult male and female survivors or to take appropriate action against perpetrators. of sexual abuse. His 2019 papal summit got mixed reviews when Vat -

11 AN HISTORICAL MOMENT

Canisius College Celebrating 150 Years of Excellence By Audrey R. Browka

The Founding Years Canisius opened downtown on El - on Dec. 30, 1912, the “new” Canisius licott Street as the 35 students who College opened. In the years after the Civil War, Most comprised the college’s first class re - Rev. John Timon, Buffalo’s first bishop, ceived their first homework assign - Sacrifice, Scholarship asked German Jesuits to open a college ment — memorize Our Father and in Buffalo to serve the city’s immigrant Hail Mary in Latin. Canisius soon The December 1941 attack on Pearl citizenry. Canisius College opened its moved to Washington Street and, in Harbor that shocked the U.S. also re - doors in 1870 at a time when Samuel 1912, to its forever home on Main. verberated through the halls of Cani - Clemens (pen name, Mark Twain) was sius College. From the utterly tragic editor of The Buffalo Express and Mil - A “New” Canisius loss of life to the diminished enroll - lard Fillmore (13th U.S. president) was ment, it was a time of tumult. Still, chancellor of the University at Buffalo. The implications inherent of a growing Canisius rose to the occasion. Most of the Jesuits who taught at Can - enrollment became apparent in 1908 To counter the demands of a re - isius in its early years were German- and Canisius laid plans to move the duced student body, Canisius’ war- born men who’d been educated or had college from its second location, at 651 time president, Rev. Francis A. taught at one of the half-dozen Euro - Washington Street, to a third location O’Malley, S.J., levied a curricular inno - pean universities founded by Peter at 2001 Main Street. vation: He agreed to share responsibil - Canisius, the 16th-Century Jesuit College President Rev. Augustine who’d recently been beatified. Miller, S.J., did what every good col - Above: Old Main was the first building to be constructed on the “new” campus. It remains lege president should do. He formed a the symbol of Canisius College and its golden Building Fund Committee to raise dome is one of the most distinguished land - $100,000 for a new building. The com - marks throughout the city of Buffalo. mittee’s 140 members canvassed the Left: Ellicott Street was the first building to city for donations of $1 or more and in bear the name Canisius College. The ground just 32 days, the college surpassed its floor of the former bookstore was converted goal, raising $100,059. Soon after, Can - into a single large room for the Latin class. The upstairs rooms served the residential isius turned the first spade of earth and purposes of the Jesuit fathers.

12 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION Below: To counter the depleted enrollment due to the draft, Canisius provided academic training to women enrolled in the Buffalo Hospital of the Sisters of Charity School of Nursing. Right: An early classroom, circa 1908. Below center: Dugan Hall is the newest residence hall at Canisius and home to about 270 freshman and sophomore students.

The college heightened admissions standards, increased the number of full-time professors and shrunk the student-faculty ratio. Canisius also modernized the campus, investing $150 million in 24 capital projects, eight of which included the modernization or construction of major residence halls to meet the increasing demand by stu - dents for on-campus living. ity of the academic training of women lege’s Jesuit approach to education by Canisius’ physical transformation enrolled in the city hospital’s School of enriching the learning experiences for was paralleled by a spiritual rebirth. Nursing, with Canisius’ neighboring students so they could pursue profes - Responding to a call from Superior school, the University of Buffalo. sional careers and lead meaningful in - General Rev. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, Short term, the ad-hoc arrange - tellectual lives. S.J., which urged Jesuit universities to ment cushioned the depleted enroll - develop students whose hearts are ment. Long term, it opened the door – A Modern Campus touched by direct involvement with in - albeit slightly – for the eventual full ad - nocent suffering, Canisius introduced to mission of women to this traditionally By the 1990s, Canisius began to think students the first of several international all male institution. of excellence pervasively, raising the service-immersion experiences. (120) academic bar of its students, faculty Academic Excellence and facilities. Canisius 150 As the troubled times of the 1960s and Today, Canisius stands at the threshold ‘70s gave way to a new decade, Cani - of its 150th anniversary. A lot has sius began to grow its academic pro - changed since the college first opened, grams and build a distinct brand of but what remains is the college’s com - teaching excellence. mitment to students and educational The distinguished Richard J. Wehle excellence, and aligning those with the School of Business, Raichle Pre-Law present and future social outreach Center, George Schreiner Pre-Medical needs of the community in which Can - Center and All-College Honors pro - isius calls home. gram were all born during this era, largely with support from Western Audrey R. Browka is managing editor of New York’s most prominent business, Canisius College Magazine. medical and legal professionals. Their endorsements provided Canisius the resources necessary to further the col -

13 Higher Education under Financial Pressure

Ignatius Loyola, Rockhurst University.

Every spring, we find more stories Can Jesuit about universities in enrollment or fi - nancial crisis, another public chal - lenge to the value of university Institutions education, or some tale of university leadership mismanagement. This last year on top of all of the fiscal and Afford Formation leadership failures, we heard about an unimaginable admissions scandal, targeting some of the most selective for Mission? and high-profile universities. Last spring we saw the withdrawal of Je - suit sponsorship at Wheeling Jesuit By Robert Niehoff, S.J. University. These are just a few of the challenges that all but a few lucky universities have faced.

14 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION Another financial milestone was crossed last ation of our annual operating budget…begins with spring when the National Association of College identifying priorities.” ( Conversations, Fall 2019) and University Business Officers (NACUBO) re - A key priority is the formation for mission of ported that the average financial aid discount pro - faculty, staff, and students through deepening the vided with institutional funds exceeds 50 percent of campus’ understanding of and commitment to its the listed tuition and fee costs at NACUBO member Jesuit and Catholic character. Mission commitment institutions (400-plus private, nonprofit universi - is essential. ties). By and large, except for the few highly selec - In 2010, AJCU presidents approved a document tive private institutions, the combined financial titled “The Jesuit, Catholic Mission of the U.S. Jesuit pressures of a declining traditional college-age stu - Colleges and Universities.” The presidents stated: dent body demographic and the growing competi - The full responsibility for the policy, gover - tion for students has resulted in static annual tuition nance, and operation of each of our colleges revenues and even tuition revenue declines at many and universities rests with its board of directors, private institutions, including some Jesuit schools. trustees, or regents as established by articles of These are pernicious and pervasive fiscal challenges incorporation and by-laws. Each of these insti - for Jesuit universities. tutions is legally and functionally independent On a more positive note, America published an of the Society of Jesus. … Most importantly, it article on the three women presidents at U.S. Jesuit holds in trust the Catholic, Jesuit character of universities, a historic threshold event ( May 27, the college or university and has a responsibil - 2019 ). While celebrating this momentous leadership ity to understand, assure, provide resources to development, Emma Winters notes that there is a support, foster, and assess this character. (9) “need for a new leadership style” in the face of higher educations’ institutional challenges. Clearly, the boards bear full responsibility to assure In these more challenging times for AJCU the continuance and flourishing of the Catholic Jesuit schools, a university board’s fiduciary obligations character of the institution. AJCU boards now have are far more than good fiscal stewardship and select - some assistance in this task. ing a president. Regional accreditors now expect In the same Fall 2019 issue of Conversations , boards to craft a strategy that will achieve the insti - James Miracky, S.J., shared his perspective of the tutional mission, especially its service to its students. Mission Priority Examine (MPE) Process initiated by The Western Association of Schools and Colleges the Society of Jesus. Every MPE, Miracky notes, fo - (WASC) states this commitment in the first of their cuses on the following two questions: standards for accreditation: • Do you want to continue to be a Jesuit, Catholic The institution’s formally approved statements University? • If so, what are the two to four mission goals (and ac - of purpose are appropriate for an institution of companying strategies) that you will prioritize for the higher education and clearly define its essential next few years? values and character and ways in which it con - By using the “Some Characteristics” document, tributes to the public good. (WASC, Standard which gives a foundation to the Examen process, the 1.1, 2013) MPE has helped AJCU institutions evaluate the Our Jesuit universities must try to achieve their depth of their campus’ inculcation of Jesuit, Catholic mission with limited resources and yet ensure their values in the institution with a focus on leadership, fiscal sustainability. Thomas Curran, S.J., president academic life and campus cultures, service to the of Rockhurst University, captures the challenge well: Church and society, and Jesuit presence. “Caring for the apostolate means attending to our Of course, substantial mission formation pro - current budgetary concerns, as well as ensuring our gramming was already taking place prior to the MPE sustainability in every sense of the word. … The cre -

15 Higher Education unde r Financial Pressure

process. The enumeration of these mission formation and the Ignatian Colleagues Program. (AJCU, activities is a bit long, but instructive: The Jesuit, Catholic Mission of the U.S. Jesuit Each of our colleges and universities has created Colleges and Universities, 2010.) responsibilities, structures, and programs for the Even amid fiscal challenges, mission formation hiring, orienting, and developing of faculty and is essential to the regional accreditors as well. Fiscal staff according to our Catholic, Jesuit mission. challenges may require institutions to make difficult We make available special retreats, seminars in choices, and mission formation programs will al - Ignatian spirituality and Jesuit education, pro - ways need to be scaled to fit the size and resources grams and colloquia which seek to enhance of their institution, but formation for mission begin - ning at the board level is not optional. Catholic, Jesuit identity, development and AJCU institutions cannot afford not to prioritize scholarship opportunities, service and immer - and fund a robust mission formation program. In ad - sion experiences, special events that focus on dition, AJCU schools can collaborate to develop our mission, and we utilize university convoca - more and more effective mission formation pro - tions, conferences, liturgical celebrations, and grams, and encourage each other to be truly Catholic award ceremonies to articulate our Catholic, Je - and Jesuit institutions living up to their “essential suit identity. Some of our colleges and universi - values and character” to the public good. ties have established individual institutes of Jesuit and Catholic studies. At the same time, we Robert Niehoff, S.J., former president of John Carroll take advantage of several regional and national University, 2005-17, is the provincial assistant for programs of formation in Jesuit leadership for Higher Education for the U.S. Jesuits West Province colleagues in higher education, such as the and consultant to the president of the Jesuit Conference AJCU Seminar on Higher Education Leadership of Canada and the U.S. for Higher Education.

Seattle University

16 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION An Ignatian Relighting of Contemporary Higher Educational Fires

By Timothy Law Snyder

A sense of crisis is in the air: the presumed and social habitats. This ability to adapt has irrelevance of higher education, particularly of the strengthened Jesuit education and ensured that our liberal arts, with declarations that higher education schools’ offerings retain their value amid changing is a bubble about to burst. Stories of humanities circumstances. This is counter to the notion that we degrees landing indebted students into barista are living apart from reality; fairly stated, we have smocks at Starbucks stoke fear and evoke thought helped evolve reality. pieces that inhibit learners from pursuing the major Some of the expressed concerns about higher of their dreams and talents. Parental worry about education can be addressed through mission. For return on investment is amplified by surveys and instance, at Loyola Marymount University we have analyses that use starting salaries and student debt responded to parents’ legitimate concerns about as surrogates for measuring educational value. return on investment: Within six months of Reports on declining birth rates, the rise of artificial graduation, 99 percent of undergraduate students in intelligence (AI), automation, and online learning the Class of 2018 were employed, in graduate school, stretch stories of higher ed’s pending demise. pursuing post-grad service, or in the military. Their Harvard Business Professor Clayton Christensen has success, however, results not from career-centered divined that half of American universities will be out curriculum focused only on a first job but, rather, of operation in 10 years; his claims comprise from a mission-driven curriculum that shapes splathered headlines. leaders who transform the world. If we have been While I acknowledge the necessity of addressing true to our mission, our students should be well these worries, I reject the seemingly ubiquitous prepared to meet society and its needs where they framing of this sense of crisis. Genuine threats to are. And we can expect that meeting those needs will traditional models of higher education exist, but happen through fulfilling jobs with good pay. Our Jesuit higher education is uniquely poised to meet students—because of our core curriculum grounded and overcome those challenges. in the liberal arts and our methods of educating, and Since the establishment of the first Jesuit college not despite them—possess the very skills and virtues in 1548, Jesuits and their apostolates have been employers seek. Jesuit-educated students are “meeting people where they are” or, as I would nimble-minded citizens who can change with the widen it, “meeting reality.” We encounter rather than times and context. They problem-solve in diverse react. Adapting selectively to our social reality group settings, thinking critically and creatively, and accords with the nature of the liberal arts. For communicating effectively. Further, our graduates example, eloquentia perfecta , a pillar of the Jesuit elevate the world’s expectations, for they understand liberal arts core curriculum, rests on a conceptual more deeply than their peers how concerns of ethics, framework that encourages us to understand and faith, and justice inevitably pervade all aspects of adapt to emerging communications technologies economic and professional life.

17 Higher Education unde r Financial Pressure

Some of our AJCU schools are challenged, and of our budgets, with tuition increases to match. ( We we have witnessed unexpected closures and are the proverbial Joneses!) mergers. But are these signs of a coming collapse, or We decipher this conundrum by calling on our are they adjustments on the way to something else? foundation in mission and recognizing the source of Jesuit higher education grew magnificently over the our value. Our Jesuit edge comprises academic rigor, past century, adapting to new realities along the way. innovation, change, adaptability, interdisciplinarity, We may be experiencing a period of adjustment or and resonant foci on justice and the common good. realignment as our schools once again embrace that We must tell our story better about the distinctive spirit to envision innovative responses to enrollment and enduring significance of a liberal arts-grounded, hurdles driven by demographic and social shifts mission-centric education. We must examine how beyond our control. we promote ourselves, keeping ourselves true to We must assure that the cost structure of higher mission, and engaging in continual cura personalis — education matches and supports its value. We cannot part of which requires that we make clear to others do so without observing budget-driving realities that what our universities can do for those here, those to do not appear on our spreadsheets: first, a clientele come, and for the Earth. that continues to demand all things from all Discernment can help us realize we cannot be or institutions of choice; and second, our inability to do everything. Each institution must own a differentiate our institutions and offerings into distinctive contribution to the common good. We specialized areas of strength where, for example, one must meet prospective students and parents where institution boasts superior film facilities while they are, even if that means greater flexibility toward another prioritizes psychological services available new educational approaches such as less-traditional to students. At present, when any institution degrees, more certificate programs or content innovates, all have to follow suit, then we scramble delivered online. Even if that means we recognize to keep up. Eventually, when our budgets expand, the worthy intent of parents’ utilitarian tendencies we have to keep up with ourselves by fulfilling and encounter them appropriately and lovingly. enrollment expectations that have grown with many Even if that means we embrace the opportunities created by AI and automation and partner with their possibilities, while maintaining vigilance over the attendant human costs they may invoke. We are differentiated from the remaining educational landscape more than any other sector or category of higher ed. This is not a time to be bashful. We must assure that people know who we are, what we do, why we do it, and what it can mean for them and for all. We have achieved a distinctiveness that can protect us—one that not only keeps us alive and strong, but one that helps us help others, thereby bringing forth the very soul of St. Ignatius’s stunning and beautiful fire.

Timothy Law Snyder is president of Loyola Marymount University. Loyola Marymount University

18 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION The Risk of Mission at Jesuit Schools

By Erika M. Hollis

Service of others rarely happens in a sanitary, se - action many Jesuit values — chief among them, cure, and sheltered environment—and thus Jesuit, sending men and women to be in service of others Catholic enterprises have always had to pay atten - and opportunities to model the work of contempla - tion to issues of risk. The early Jesuits’ missions took tives in action. Risk managers will see in the pro - them to places of great unrest, human rights viola - posed program the good — and the risk. The risk tions, and disease—like the Canadian Martyrs or managers will worry about the unrest in the neigh - Peter Claver, S.J., who ministered to slaves in the boring country, the un-vetted travel excursions for New World. The Jesuits have always done this work the students with uninsured operators, vaccinations because they go where God needs them. for all participants, giardia in the water sources, and Contemporary risk management practices inher - concern that the spouse and children of the faculty ently include many Jesuit, Catholic values and prin - member traveling with the group create additional ciples. The University Risk Management & risk for the university. Insurance Association defines risk management as The role of risk management and the general “the continuous process to identify, assess and pri - counsel’s office is to both recognize the call of our oritize risks in an effort to control, avoid, minimize mission and the reality of how things might go or eliminate the effects of risk on an organization’s wrong, to better ensure that the program can achieve assets.” A university’s assets include facilities, tech - the desired goals. Common tools in such work in - nology, finances, people (faculty, staff and students), clude insurance to mitigate unknown risks like local reputation and mission. unrest and to ensure that program participants can Importantly, the definition of risk management be removed quickly in the event of a civil disruption, does not include risk elimination. In fact, attempts to eliminate all risk could risk eliminating the very mission of a Jesuit, Catholic enterprise. Risk management serves the core mission of ed - ucating our students while protecting our assets. At a Jesuit university, student immersions are some - times risky, but they are also at the heart of our mis - sion, one that is often the result of discernment that led a program director to identify where God needs the school and students to serve. A real-world example: A health program offers an opportunity for students to perform clinical work in a developing country. The faculty member’s pro - gram goals include critical clinical experiences and students witnessing and serving those who lack con - temporary medical practices. The faculty member is Obstacle course team building, Seattle University. also working to create an experience that puts into

19 Higher Education unde r Financial Pressure

waivers to ensure that the actual risk to the univer - is a tabletop exercise that presents a simulated emer - sity’s assets is limited and training for faculty on the gency situation to a group of institutional leaders. trip to ensure they know what to do if participants Participants review the roles they would play and are harmed. Another tool is a requirement that a the work they would do in that emergency and con - group must have two vetted and unrelated faculty duct a post-incident evaluation. That evaluation is or chaperones on a trip so participants always have intended to identify what worked, what didn’t, and a chaperone. what was forgotten. In many ways, risk management work is a truly These tabletop exercises are secular, but they Jesuit enterprise. It requires an organization to be lend themselves to an adaptation of the Jesuit tradi - aware of what it wants to achieve with a particular tions of an examen. It is a method for identifying the activity, how the activity uses the organization’s weaknesses of an organization so the organization strengths, and how that work fits the mission. can plug holes, be stronger and, thus, more resilient. A key risk management and emergency man - At a Jesuit enterprise, the post-incident evaluation agement tool for identifying strengths and weakness also properly includes an evaluation of where the or - ganization acted in accordance with its mission and where its values were tested. For example, in an emergency, Regis University recognizes that it may be a refuge for the surrounding community and could be called upon to provide food, shelter and services to our university community and neighbors. In addition, our Rueckert- Hartman College of Health Profes - sions has identified and trained clinicians and students we will call upon to provide medical care for the university community and the sur - rounding area. Our tabletop exercises helped us identify this reality and, as a result, we have a dedicated medical health professional to act as the chief medical officer in our emergency management plan. An institution that routinely evaluates and recognizes its strengths and weaknesses is better able to mit - igate and prepare for challenges— which no organization can avoid entirely. This work of cura apostolica serves God’s greater mission. Regis University Erika M. Hollis is vice president and general counsel at Regis University.

20 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION Loyola University Maryland

A Business Approach to Mission

By Gerard Athaide

The cost of a college education is soaring. As a case tion can lead to enhanced job and salary prospects. in point, the average cost of tuition at a four-year, Consequently, there has been a steady increase in the private college now exceeds $35,000 a year (Adam number of students choosing more “job ready” ma - Kirsch, “Stop Worrying about the Death of the Hu - jors—business, engineering, and nursing—rather manities,” The Wall Street Journal , April 26, 2019). In than the liberal arts. addition, student loan debts and defaults are at This trend has important and potentially trou - record high levels. Of the estimated total student bling implications for Jesuit colleges and universi - debt of $1.5 trillion, $89.2 billion was in default as of ties. Rooted in the liberal arts, Jesuit colleges aim to June 2019, while another 11 percent, or $160 billion, have their students strive for the “magis” and the was at least 90 days behind on repayments (Jean Ea - “greater glory of God” by inspiring them to become glesham et al., “Soaring Student Debt Opens Door to women and men for and with others—especially the Relief Scams,” The Wall Street Journal , August 26, poor and marginalized. But as the crisis at Wheeling 2019). Not surprisingly, parents and students are University (formerly Wheeling Jesuit University) il - placing increased emphasis on how a college educa - lustrates, a failure to adapt can place this mission in

21 Higher Education unde r Financial Pressure

jeopardy. A potential solution lies in adopting busi - ness principles to guide decision-making. The bene - To succeed and grow, fits of a liberal arts education are obvious: Effective communication, critical and analytical thinking, and Jesuit colleges and self-discovery facilitate richer appreciation of the world around us and fuller participation in civic life. universities need to However, the benefit-cost ratio (or the value) of this adapt their curricular education is under increased scrutiny from parents and students alike. In response, admissions officers offerings to reflect place great emphasis on communicating the favor - able earnings potential—in the long-run—as well as the pragmatic the greater job versatility of liberal arts majors. Ad - realities of the ditionally, considerable discourse and debate has fo - cused on rightsizing the core liberal arts curriculum modern world. to accommodate the acquisition of technical skills that are often regarded as ensurers of career success. While these approaches are necessary, they are awareness skills with a global studies major or minor not sufficient. To succeed and grow, Jesuit colleges would require courses in history, languages, and in - and universities need to adapt their curricular offer - ternational business among others. If developing ings to reflect the pragmatic realities of the modern and offering new, interdisciplinary majors and mi - world. Fortunately, they are well-equipped to do so. nors is challenging, a more viable approach may be Indeed, innovating and adapting to a changing to identify and market major-minor combinations world have been foundational to the Jesuits’ that can increase the appeal of the liberal arts to the longevity and success. From a business perspective, more pragmatically oriented parents and students. long-term success depends on the ability of a prod - For example, a languages/international business uct to meet the needs and wants of the market. In an combination or a psychology/marketing combina - educational context, the curricula, in general, and the tion offers the promise that blending education-ori - portfolio of majors and minors, in particular, repre - ented and more training-oriented offerings will lead sent the product while parents and students com - to increased enrollments in both the liberal arts as prise the market. well as the more professional courses—in other A useful starting point to guide the development words, a win-win situation. of innovative curricular offerings that meet market Because the cost of a college education is an im - needs is to identify the technical skills students need portant consideration in parents’ and students’ col - upon graduation. In an increasingly global economy, lege choice, Jesuit colleges and universities face a there is considerable agreement that creativity, nu - challenging future. Their historical commitment to a meracy, and global awareness are foremost among liberal arts-based education is under siege. Fortu - these needed skills. Fortunately, acquiring these nately, the thoughtful incorporation of a business ori - skills requires the interdisciplinary approaches that entation via innovative curricular initiatives can Jesuit colleges and universities are well equipped to provide a path forward that does not compromise provide. For example, addressing the creativity skill the mission. requirement via a major or minor in innovation and entrepreneurship requires the ability to think across Gerard Athaide is Busch Scholar and professor of disciplines and avoid siloed approaches to problem Marketing at Loyola University Maryland. He teaches solving. Courses from the arts, sciences, engineering, and writes in the area of innovation management. and business can make much needed contributions to such a field of study. Similarly, acquiring global

22 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION

A Conversation: Staff Perspective on Layoffs and Difficult Times

By Alice Clark, with Kathy Gros, Paula Saurage-Ruiz, Dianna Whitfield, Angelique Dyer, and Brian Lousteau

Loyola University New Orleans has had its share of retirement is palpable. Everyone in this group spoke struggles. Many people outside of Louisiana think of having to pick up extra work, and of trying to fig - first of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent levee ure out who handles a given task after the person breaches, but the more recent threat was a 2013 en - who used to do it was laid off. Many things are rollment shortfall that continues to affect our budget. harder—“everything takes twice as long”—but Since then, we have endured multiple rounds of everyone emphasized that people pull together and buyouts, layoffs, hiring freezes, and cuts to operating get the job done. In the process, at least one person budgets. I sat down with several members of the observed that cutbacks have allowed, or even forced, staff from across campus to get their perspective on some creative thinking as people have questioned where we’ve been and where we are now. The dis - the way we’ve always done things and tried some - cussion was occasionally painful, but also full of thing new. laughter. I planned on an hour, but we took nearly The recent arrival of the new president, Tania two and, even then, it was clear people didn’t want Tetlow, was a boost to morale for all, and there was to leave, even as they had to. general agreement that she’s moving in the right di - This group included some who arrived at the uni - rection. But recovery takes time. In the meantime, versity within the last five years and some who’d been everyone’s been years without a raise (and longer here 30 years or more. Most said they did not initially without a meaningful raise), and the retirement con - plan to stay at Loyola for the long haul, but found tribution match (once 8%, more recently cut to 7%) themselves unable to leave. The tuition benefit for staff has been eliminated. After our conversation, a mes - and dependents was a strong reason to stay, but those sage from the president said a 3% match would re - who had used it made clear that they had no plans to sume in January 2020, with no indication of when or leave when they could no longer use it. All spoke of if the original match would be returned. Loyola in terms of family, and they told stories of Thinking of the layoffs themselves, a good deal achieving dreams they hadn’t known they had. of frustration was expressed—not so much that they There are limits, however: more recent hires in happened, but how they did, which was character - particular expressed concern about opportunities for ized several times as fundamentally at odds with advancement, as potential next steps are eliminated who we are as a Jesuit institution. Nearly everyone to reduce staff numbers. Several in the group built told painful stories of friends who had been escorted good careers over time, and those who came more off campus immediately after being laid off. Also dif - recently want to do likewise, but uncertainty about ficult for those who were left was that no one knew the future is a factor. In the meantime, good people who had been laid off—this was not only a source of are leaving, and some even in this group are asking sadness, but an obstacle to the job, as more than one themselves why they stay. person had left a voice mail message to someone The continual strain of losses through layoff and who was no longer there to answer it.

31 Loyola University New Orleans We sought concrete suggestions for any institution needing to take such a difficult step and agreed to these: Resources on • Above all be transparent. From making the Uni - versity’s financial situation clear well in advance Management Research of trouble to communicating the vision for the fu - ture once the bad times are done, this goes well Research in management has examined the im - beyond the logistics of the layoffs themselves. pact of downsizing and layoffs on those who sur - • Plan and communicate. While legal requirements vive and remain with the organization. prevent publishing the names of individuals laid Loss of valued colleagues, fear of own job in - off, better planning and communication would security, and increased workloads can lead to sur - allow the work of the University to continue more vivors experiencing less attachment to the smoothly. And those e-mail and voice mail ac - organization, lower commitment to the work, counts need to be closed—or assigned to someone higher stress and burnout, negative mental and to prevent lost requests. physical health outcomes, higher intention to quit • Treat everyone with respect. This group acknowl - edged that those who implemented the layoffs the organization, increased absenteeism and late - here often did their best, but it didn’t always ap - ness, and increased anger and depression. pear that way. The image of the campus police of - How can organizations help survivors? Again, ficer escorting staff members out of the office management research has examined this question. should be avoided at all costs, because it goes A model developed across several studies suggest against the values we believe in. Higher education that managers pay attention to all aspects of jus - is becoming ever more corporate, but we should tice when handling layoffs. These include: be different. • Distributive justice: Survivors will have percep - A final concern had to do with the wellbeing of tions about the fairness of the outcomes of the current staff. Everyone is under pressure, and the layoffs. How fair was the severance package for question is when we all will hit our limit. More than those who were laid off? How fairly has the one person spoke of specific situations where a super - work been redistributed to remaining workers? visor or co-worker checked on others—as someone • Procedural Justice: Survivors will have percep - put it, that brings the family back. tions about the fairness of the implementation process of the layoffs. Were layoff targets given Alice Clark, Ph. D., is professor of Music History at advance notice? Was the procedure for select - Loyola University New Orleans and a member of the National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education. Kathy Gros ing layoff targets fair? Has the process for re-as - is director of Registration Services in the Office of Student signing work to survivors been done fairly? Records and chair of the Staff Senate. Paula Saurage-Ruiz • Interactional justice: Survivors will have percep - is director of Client Services in the Office of Information tions about the fairness of management inter - Technology and vice chair of the Staff Senate. Dianna actions during the layoffs. Did management Whitfield is assistant to the Department of Counseling treat everyone with respect? Were the reasons and secretary of the Staff Senate. Angelique Dyer is for the layoffs clearly and kindly communi - digital marketing manager in the Department of Market - cated? Were the benefits of the layoffs for all ing and Communications and an at-large member of the stakeholders described? Were targets and sur - Staff Senate Executive Committee. Brian Lousteau is head vivors treated with dignity? cashier in the Bursar’s Office and an at-large member of the Staff Senate Executive Committee. Contributed by Molly Pepper

33 Higher Education unde r Financial Pressure

‘Without a Vision, the People Perish’ Lessons from Wheeling

By Jessica Wrobleski

When I last wrote for Conversations (September filiate, Wheeling Hospital. But while the 2017 re - 2016), I offered a hopeful spin on the purchase of structuring of WJU may have signaled the end of the Wheeling Jesuit University by the Diocese of Wheel - Jesuits’ educational mission in West Virginia, such ing Charleston (DWC). As I write today, it is evident an arrangement would not have been necessary how tragically misplaced such hopes were. In April were it not for many years of mismanagement. In my of 2019, the Maryland Province of the Society of view, however, the most serious problem for WJU Jesus announced it would end its affiliation with the was the lack of a consistent vision for the school. university after the administration eliminated nu - Following the 2017 buyout, which made the merous departments and its service programs fol - bishop the “sole member of the corporation,” it be - lowing a declaration of financial exigency. The came even less clear what vision was guiding the school will operate as Wheeling University in 2019- school. Although a Declaration of Shared Purpose 20 thanks to a $2-million gift from the DWC. was signed by representatives of the Society of Jesus So, what happened? And are there lessons that and the Diocese, the Jesuits had effectively lost con - other Jesuit institutions might carry forward from trol of the school by the end of 2016. The board hired Wheeling—particularly as a way of deepening the Dr. Debra Townsley to facilitate a financial turn - conversation around cura apostolica as the last issue around in 2017. In addition to cuts to programs and of this magazine invited us to do? personnel, handbooks were revised to effectively The first question is difficult to answer because eliminate shared governance, and the board itself of the complexity of the story and the lack of trans - was restructured to approximately half its former parency that marks the school’s history. Some of the size. In July 2018, Townsley resigned unexpectedly obscurity is due to the way in which WJU was bound and Dr. Michael P. Mihalyo was selected as the uni - up in the unfolding scandals in the DWC and its af - versity’s new president within a month—with al -

34 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION most no involvement from the WJU community. In solute submission—and perhaps institutional sur - a strange inaugural address, Mihalyo stated omi - vival is not an end in itself. nously that because of the changes in the higher ed - This brings me to my final point: “without a vi - ucation world “there are some institutions that will sion, the people perish.” Jesuit schools have a gift in fail.” He continued to say, “I don’t feel particularly the recently adopted Universal Apostolic Preferences comfortable proclaiming my vision for the future” of of the Society of Jesus, which can serve to orient and Wheeling Jesuit University, but “we have a great guide a vision that is rooted in Ignatian spirituality deal to do in a short amount of time” to allow the and committed to walking with the poor and mar - school to make the changes that would be necessary ginalized, accompanying young people on a journey for it to move forward. As I left the ceremony, I of hope, and caring for creation. I am acutely aware couldn’t help but think of the biblical proverb “with - of how the challenges of higher education will tempt out a vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). It many smaller, tuition-dependent schools to abandon had long seemed to many faculty and staff that as an a distinctive mission in order to be more “mar - institution, WJU simply did not have a strong sense ketable,” while more prestigious institutions can of what it was supposed to be. treat these apostolic preferences as icing on a per - While I haven’t even scratched the surface of this fectly good cake rather than the core of their identity. story, I’d like to turn to the matter of what any of this But I am convinced that the future is in leaning into might have to say to other Jesuit schools. Whether they our distinctive—and sometimes countercultural— are those, like WJU, who struggle along with the strug - identity, not in diluting it. gling places they are located, or those more affluent in - One of the most tragic things about the loss of stitutions that may find it difficult to pursue excellence Wheeling Jesuit is how students, faculty and staff without elitism, I believe that all would be well-ad - truly embraced the work of seeking justice and find - vised to give thought to the following. ing God in Appalachia, and how much good was First, transparency and shared governance are done there—often in spite of the institution. Visitors crucial to long-term success. Sharing information and from the Maryland Province, Jesuit novices, and oth - seeking input from stakeholders regarding important ers from across the AJCU would regularly observe decisions are not simply nice ideals, they are best prac - that WJU’s ongoing work in Appalachia as “what tices. Boards and administrators should keep the lines the Society ought to be doing”—and yet Jesuits on of communication open, to share information forth - campus would often note with frustration that many rightly, and respond meaningfully to the questions of their brothers did not want to be assigned to WJU and concerns of those within a university community. because of its lack of prestige and its reputation as Second, I think the WJU story calls for attention an unsophisticated backwater that was incidental to to the costs and benefits of partnerships. I am aware the vision of Jesuit education in America. I hope that that this is not simple when the acceptance of a large moving forward, the Society and the AJCU will at - monetary gift may seem to be necessary to a school’s tend to its own poor and marginalized, and not only survival, or attractive in terms of building prestige. its “flagship” institutions, as a way of envisioning a But perhaps this is an opportunity to think seriously more hopeful future for all. about building partnerships among Jesuit institu - tions as an expression of cura apostolica, so there is Jessica Wrobleski taught theology at Wheeling Jesuit less temptation to turn to partners who may not University for eight years and served as faculty council share the same values. We were told on many occa - chair in 2018-19. She was a member of the National sions that WJU would have closed without the Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education from 2014-17, and money from the DWC, and so we should be grateful is currently serving as vice president of Mission for and accept whatever changes or cuts were required. Saint Joseph Academy in Cleveland, Ohio. She is also I am not trying to deny the truth of that claim, but one of eight plaintiffs suing Wheeling University rather to suggest that gratitude needn’t mean ab - claiming they were wrongly terminated.

35 Global Reach of Jesuit Higher Education

A Dream for Greater International Cooperation Fulfilled

By Michael Garanzini, S.J.

Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, Jesuit Superior General, 2008- 16, often mused aloud that there is so much po - tential in the array of Jesuit higher learning institutions. “If we could only find a way to har - ness and direct that potential,” he would say, “we would be truly impactful and make a great con - tribution.” So in Mexico City, in 2010, at a gather - ing of presidents of the 200 Jesuit universities, he suggested that an international organization could be such a vehicle. Eight years later, the president of each of the six regional associations

36 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION Malawi Jesuit Worldwide Learning graduates process through the Dzaleka refugee camp. Photo by Don Doll, S.J.

37 Global Reach of Jesuit Higher Education

of Jesuit universities signed a charter creating the In - A New Organization for ternational Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU). Advancing Collaboration The charter and the organization’s six-point strategic plan were approved in a ceremony presided over by The IAJU board, composed of two representatives Nicolás’ successor, Fr. Arturo Sosa, who charged the from each of the six regional associations (North representatives gathered in Azpetia, Spain, to make of America, Europe, Africa-Madagascar, S. Asia, Asia their institutions “places that are wellsprings of life, Pacific and Latin America), has already approved deeply committed to reconciliation.” several joint projects and will take up a number of An international network, closely linked by our newly planned initiatives for approval at its March common mission and identity, was not difficult for 2020 winter meeting in Rome. the academic leaders of Jesuit institutions to grasp. The IAJU priority issues have inspired study Knowledge creation, in addition to being a collabo - groups and conferences, as well as led to interest in rative endeavor, is a global activity. Joint initiatives creating affinity groups of scholars among colleagues enhance the academic experience of students as well in other Jesuit institutions. The AJCU is sponsoring as faculty. And cultures, like academic disciplines one such affinity group of researchers interested in mi - and political or social systems, are continuously im - gration studies. The IAJU website (https://iaju.org/) pacted by developments around the globe. Thus, in hosts these planning and affinity groups. the association’s inaugural year, a number of Jesuit One such collaborative endeavor involves a group institutions and faculty have advanced the agenda of 10 business school deans representing each of the of the new IAJU and U.S. Jesuit institutions are al - regions and led by Fordham’s Dean Donna Rappaci - ready taking a leadership position in new collabora - oli, to create a “new paradigm for business education.” tive projects. The deans envision a model based squarely on the

Representatives from nearly 200 Jesuit Institutions of higher education across the world gathered in Bilbao, Spain for the launch of IAJU in 2018. Photo courtesy of Ignacio Garrido Cruz.

38 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION Laudato Si encyclical and its call for a new economic grams reaching several thousand. IAJU is helping to reality to replace an “economy of exclusion.” expand JWL’s online and tutoring programs. The rectors (presidents) of the Comillas in Finally, in August of 2021, delegates from all the Madrid and the Universidad de Javierana in Bogota’ Jesuit universities will assemble at Boston College to are planning an international symposium for July, review and advance these priority issues. 2020, to showcase best practices in fostering recon - ciliation with God, with our fellow human beings, The New Apostolic Preferences and with creation through multiple disciplines. and the Role of Universities Georgetown and Arrupe College, Zimbabwe, have formed a study group to look at the challenge raised by Fr. General Sosa concerning the prepara - This past spring, the Society of Jesus announced four tion of future civic and political leaders. This work - new Universal Apostolic Preferences, which will ing group on global citizenship will examine ways guide the Society’s future deliberations and initia - Jesuit education can re-commit itself to forming civic tives, as well as AJCU priority agenda. and political leaders equipped to deal with environ - For the first preference, the Society asks that all mental and economic injustice and the challenges to its institutions be more deliberate in applying the liberal democracy. tools of Ignatian discernment, namely the Spiritual Nearly a dozen institutional directors of interna - Exercises and Rules of Discernment, to its review tional programs are preparing a proposal for student and selection of important activities. exchanges that would offer an opportunity to apply The second of these, “journeying with youth,” for internships and study abroad at another Jesuit in - asks how we might invite young people to share stitution to learn more about mission-focused pro - their hopes and concerns with us. How do we assist grams at the host institution. The program, called them in finding their calling today? MAGIS-Exchange, will be open to any institution The third is “care for our common home.” Jesuit willing to host and to send two students to another institutions all over the world have taken up this call Jesuit university located on another continent. Repre - to grapple with the issues of the environment in its sentatives from Creighton, Loyola Andalucia, Sophia, many manifestations. Cote d’Ivoire, University of San Francisco, ITESO in And, the fourth asks us to more intently accom - Puebla, Mexico, and others have led this project. pany the excluded, the marginalized, and the poor The call by Pope Francis to integral human de - through direct service and study of the conditions velopment has attracted considerable attention at Je - that contribute to their marginalization. Although all suit institutions. Consequently, a group of faculty of IAJU’s priority initiatives contribute to the ad - who focus on the local implications of climate vancement of these four preferences, we’ll be look - change and environmental degradation and are led ing for more opportunity to advance and deepen our by scientists and ethicists from Santa Clara and Loy - commitment to these universal themes. ola University Chicago, is planning a Climate Con - ference for March 2020 for an in-depth look at Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., former president of Loyola community-based research involving students. University Chicago, is secretary for Higher Education, Hoping to assist efforts begun in 2005 to bring ed - Society of Jesus. ucational opportunities to refugees, migrants and You can find more information on the Universal Apos - those in isolated and poor communities, IAJU has cho - tolic Preferences at jesuits.global/en/about-us/universal- sen to support Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL) and apostolic-preferences. its expansion efforts. JWL is now in more than 16 com - munities in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The pi - For a list of international Jesuit partnerships, go to oneering work done by Gonzaga, Regis and Creighton conversationsmagazine.org. has created a series of diploma and certificate pro -

39 Students run to their classes after hearing the early morning school bell at Saint Bakhita Primary School, Nimule, Uganda. Photo by Don Doll, S.J. Jesuit Education: From the River Cardoner Across the Globe

By Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, S.J.

This piece is excerpted from a talk of illumination and enlighten - African Traditional Religion. It is a given at Marquette University’s ment, revelation and understand - religion that has left its deep im - Faber Center for Ignatian Spirituality ing, reflection and inspiration on print on me. I lived and breathed in February, 2019. the banks of the Cardoner marked this religion from birth to age 16. To a decisive and pivotal moment in borrow a line from the biblical Paul One day, out of devotion, Iñigo the life and ministry of Ignatius. It of Tarsus, in African Religion I was going to a church situated a created a disposition that would lived, moved and had my being. little more than a mile from Man - influence his behavior for the rest There are many dimensions to this resa. I believe it is called St. Paul’s of his life (Gill K. Goulding, “The religion, but I would like to dwell and the road to it goes by the Cardoner Imperative,” in The only on one. River Cardoner. Occupied with Way , 245). Yet, Ignatius neither African Religion accords par - his devotions, Iñigo sat down embellishes his narrative nor ex - ticular significance to water as an with his face toward the river run - aggerates the content and sub - ordinary but essential element of ning deep below. While there, the stance of his experience–saying everyday living and existence, eyes of his understanding began “only that he experienced a great and also to water as a place of to be opened. Not that he saw any clarity in his understanding.” mystical encounter between the vision, but he understood and Nothing more, nothing less. material world and the immate - learned many things, both spiri - Successive generations of com - rial world, between the world of tual matters and matters of faith mentators agree that Ignatius’ ex - human beings and the world of and of scholarship, and with so perience in Manresa on the banks spiritual beings, between the visi - great an enlightenment that of the Cardoner forms the cradle ble world and the invisible world. everything seemed new to him. of Ignatian spirituality. However, Wherever there is a body of water, According to his Autobiography , to my mind, there is no obvious people would congregate to com - this experience left Inigo’s under - connection between the Cardoner mune with the realms of spirits, standing so very enlightened that and the educational tradition of because they believe such water he felt as if he were a new man the Jesuits. This article looks at bodies function as canals and with a new intellect. that in three contexts. channels of communication be - The year was 1522. Ignatius of First, I am a convert to Christi - tween two distinct but intercon - Loyola–or Inĩ go, as he was known anity. My childhood and adoles - nected worlds. To this day, all then–was 31, and although the So - cent years were set and spent in a over Africa south of the Sahara, ciety of Jesus would not come into context of a faith tradition com - river banks and beaches are pop - existence formally for another 18 monly referred to as African Reli - ular spaces for ritual gathering years, that singular combination gion–some would say, erroneously, and worship for African-insti -

41 Global Reach of Jesuit Higher Education

tuted churches and indigenous this day, looking into puddles of yond the slender means of my Christian movements. A body of water in search of that view is an polygamous father for me and my water is believed to be a place of instinctive act. When Ignatius of 24 brothers and sisters. Public enlightenment where devotees of Loyola speaks of awe and wonder school was the norm for those in a particular spirit, god, or goddess from looking into a deep, running my family fortunate enough to re - could be the privileged benefici - stream, I believe him. As the Jesuit ceive an education. When Ig - ary of a mystical encounter that paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de natius had his vision at the imparts special knowledge or ex - Chardin said, “nothing here Cardoner, establishing a school traordinary skill. below is profane for those who was the farthest thought from his The second context is this: In know how to see.” Ignatius knew mind. That singular and profound Benin City, Nigeria, where I grew how to see. experience enkindled a burning up, I was always fascinated by the And finally, I am not a prod - passion in him to set the world on simple act of looking into a pud - uct of Jesuit education. There was - fire and education was a particu - dle of water after a heavy tropical n’t a Jesuit school in Benin City larly effective means for achieving downpour. The vast and bound - and, frankly, had one existed, it this objective. less sky reflected on the surface of would have been impossible for Yet, looking at it from the water filled my innocent mind me to cross its doorsteps. Jesuit perspective of one who wasn’t with wonder and amazement. To education would have been be - privileged to experience Jesuit

Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator spoke to members of the Marquette community about Jesuit education. Photo by Jordan Johnson.

42 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION education, I would like to propose cent mind. Cardoner was an expe - margins, others prefer designat - for your consideration four ele - rience of conversion; at the heart of ing it a movement to the frontiers. ments I believe speak more pow - my first encounter with Jesuits was Either way, Jesuit education is an erfully of Jesuit education in a style of life and a practice of min - invitation to venture into the in - contemporary times. istry that moved me to begin to see terstices of questions, issues, and the world in a new way. Such, I be - situations that shape and define Conversion lieve, is the power and promise of life in its concrete manifestations, Jesuit education that draws inspi - locally and globally. Conversion can mean different ration from the life and narrative of things in different contexts and to Ignatius of Loyola that it does not Difference different people. But however we leave us the same . choose to render it, conversion, Let me introduce the third consti - for me, entails a transforming and Transformation tutive dimension of the tradition enlightening movement of heart of Jesuit education, as I see it, by and mind. To be a practitioner of The transformation I characterize pointing to my name. My name, Jesuit education is to accept the as conversion is not only personal, Agbonkhianmeghe, is a 15-letter privilege of patiently midwifing it is an eminently social transfor - statement that roughly translates learning and understanding, pas - mation. For me, this represents a as “I have seen many sides of the sion and compassion, imagination second constitutive dimension of world; the world has revealed and creativity, thought and action, Jesuit education, particularly in many lessons to me.” It is a name not as ideological enthusiasts, but the context of a university. that not only rejoices in learning as authentic witnesses to the finest Last summer, at a world the lessons of life, but also an - manifestations and capabilities of meeting of universities entrusted nounces the concomitant commit - the human spirit. And in this vo - to the Society of Jesus in Bilbao, ment to constantly explore, cation as midwives of conversion, Spain, Fr. Arturo Sosa S.J., the Su - discover, create and shape lessons personal witness and testimony of perior General of the Jesuits, envi - of life in a manner that honors the life are vital components. sioned the university as a “ project “joys and the hopes, the griefs and On April 2, 1983, when I was of social transformation. ” As such, the anxieties of the people of this baptized in the Parish Church of he stated, a Jesuit university, age, especially those who are poor St. Joseph, and on Sept. 8, 1986, “moves towards the margins of or in any way afflicted,” to quote when I entered the novitiate of the human history, where it finds Vatican II ( Gaudium et Spes, 1 ). I Jesuits in Benin City, what initi - those who are discarded by the am amazed at how my Jesuit ex - ated my conversion were not the dominant structures and powers. perience has borne out the mean - fiery declamations of a charis - It is a university that opens its ing of my name. Jesuit education matic preacher. It was above all doors and windows to the mar - rarely leaves us unchanged and else the witness and example of gins of society. Alongside them untouched by the issues of our life of the first Jesuits. Like the comes a new breath of life that times, be they joyful or jarring. As band of founding Jesuits in 16th- makes the efforts of social trans - I have come to know it, learning Century Europe, they were formation a source of life and ful - the lessons of the world does not learned men, but humble and filment.” ( The University as a exhaust the ideal of the tradition close to the poor. It was their com - Source of Reconciled Life, July 2018.) of Jesuit education; this tradition mitment of service to the poor and I believe that part of the defin - invites us to reach into the heart of to people with disabilities, as well ing characteristics of the tradition the world with passion and com - as their ministry to a leper colony of Jesuit education is this world- passion. Reaching into the heart of of untouchables that made the oriented movement. While some the world requires making a greatest impression on my adoles - would call this a movement to the difference in the world.

43 Global Reach of Jesuit Higher Education

Depth peering into puddles of water was with both professional compe - my earliest way of reveling with tence and the experience of hav - We have no clarity about what Ig - profound wonder and awe at the ing, in some way during their natius actually saw on the Car - vastness of the sky. Jesuit educa - time with us, a depth of engage - doner for Ignatius is at a loss tion prizes depth. The word depth ment with reality that transforms about how best to describe his ex - may seem ill-advised in a world them at their deepest core? perience. He merely contents him - whe re instant, fleeting and com - And so, Jesuit education calls self to maintaining “that this pulsive digital gratification in all us to journey into the heart of the single experience had taught him forms serves as the norm. Adolfo matter. That is why, in the face of more than all the other experi - Nicolás, the former Jesuit Supe - complex challenges and opportu - ences of his life put together” rior General, once decried a nities, the Jesuit educational enter - (Goulding, 246). The account sug - world where the “globalization of prise functions best as a “ministry gests that Ignatius looked at a superficiality” – of thought, vi - of depth” that combines learning, deep and fast flowing water. You sion, dreams, relationships and intelligence, spirituality, dialogue, know, there is a lot you can see convictions – short-circuits the research, imagination, and creativ - when you look into deep water hard work of serious, critical ity (Adolfo Nicolás S.J., “ De Statu ,” with attention, purpose, and thinking and “of forming com - 2012). I agree with Nicolás that focus. As I mentioned earlier, munities of dialogue in the search depth of thought and imagination of truth and under - are distinguishing marks of the Ig - standing.” (“Depth, natian tradition of education. Universality, and For Ignatius, the Cardoner Learned Min istry.”) event was both spiritual and ped - I remain con - agogical; it was “the acme of Ig - vinced that Jesuit ed - natius’ experience of being taught ucation invites its by the [God], unifying heart and practitioners to mind in a single orientation. … depth, to go against The important thing was that God the grain of superfi - had been instructing [Ignatius],” ciality. Here, the an - (Goulding, 246). Yet the experience tithesis of depth is at the Cardoner does not mean Ig - not shallowness, but natius knew and understood all mediocrity. At its things, “but rather that the many best, Jesuit education things he already understood were brooks no mediocrity. so transformed that they all ap - Rather, it pushes peared new to him.” boundaries and ex - Conversion, transformation, pands horizons. So, difference and depth. These are now, picture in your hallmarks of the tradition of Jesuit mind the thousands education, the practice of which of graduates we send makes all things new. forth from our Jesuit universities every Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, S.J. year. How many of is a theologian and president of those who leave our Jesuit Superiors of Africa and institutions do so Madagascar.

44 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION Student are immersed in the local culture, Yi village.

The Beijing Center Carries on Jesuit Traditions of Friendship and Scholarship

By John Sember

Founded in 1998 by Ron Anton, S.J., The Beijing TBC offers short-term, tailored education tours Center (TBC) is the only Jesuit center of higher through ChinaContact programs in order to meet education in Mainland China continuing the tradition the needs of university partners. Faculty work with of Jesuits such as Matteo Ricci, in fostering mutual ChinaContact to create programs ranging from two understanding between China and other cultures weeks to two months, specifically designed for through cultural exchange, education, and research. their classes. Starting as a collaborative program among 26 Students spending a semester abroad at TBC have AJCU schools, TBC offers semester and summer the option of boarding with a local undergraduate education and intern abroad programs, provides Chinese student who also shares an interest in cultural comprehensive support for faculty-led programming, exchange and friendship. Roommate pairs often end and houses a renowned research library. up sharing more than a living space: They spend As opportunities to study in neighboring Asian weekends and holidays together, traveling in China, countries and other locations throughout China open and meeting each other’s families. They share long up, The Beijing Center has worked to create programs nights in the library, prepping for exams and doing that fulfill the values integral to Jesuit universities. homework. They dine, celebrate, and navigate the

45 Global Reach of Jesuit Higher Education

tribulations of a demanding semester of study and Approximately 80 percent of TBC students are exploration together. visiting China for the first time. The excursions are Semester-long coursework is rigorous and all intended to immerse students in parts of China they credits are transferable, ensuring that students are might not otherwise seek out. They are exposed to able to graduate on time. Semester students are not key historical sites, the country’s diverse linguistic required to have studied Chinese before. However, dialects and aspects of life outside of China’s they are required to enroll in Mandarin classes to metropolitan cities. Before and during the trips, help them accomplish basic tasks like shopping or students must do research on excursion sites and ordering meals, as well as to help them to engage present their findings. with the community around them. Back in Beijing, students are expected to Additionally, TBC offers semester and summer participate in service-learning activities. As men and internship opportunities for students to work at women for others, they’ve volunteered with embassies, start-ups, media agencies and other disadvantaged youth, worked as English tutors, and organizations suited to their interests and career helped renovate classrooms in the Beijing suburbs. goals. Interns are required to partake in career While students spend a significant amount of development workshops and networking events to time learning from experiences outside the boost their professional soft skills. At TBC, China is classroom, they’re aided by the trove of resources the classroom. Students are not just encouraged, but available at The Anton Library, home to more than expected to spend time outside the library. 27,000 books about China in English—a collection After about a week in China, students valuable to scholars advanced in their careers who participating in the semester-long programs are visit TBC to teach or to conduct research. TBC coaxed from any newly found comfort zone in Beijing regularly advises and supports research by Chinese and led on a two-week long academic excursion to and visiting scholars, hosts conferences and serves either Yunnan Province or throughout Northern as a liaison between Western academic institutions China, along a portion of the Silk Road route. and Chinese universities.

Students on a Silk Road excursion.

46 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION The Beijing Center also publishes research. For example, scholars affiliated with TBC recently worked to translate several of Ricci’s letters and published the revised translations in a 2019 compilation, Matteo Ricci: Letters from China. Above left: A panel discussion on Matteo Ricci at the Anton A Revised English Translation Library. Above: A visit to Lama Temple. with Commentary, available through The Beijing Center Press. the Peace Corps or pursue master’s degrees. About The letters offer an intimate view of Ricci’s 12 percent of alumni from TBC went on to live in relationships in China that are not reflected in his Asia, according to a 2017 survey. scholarly works, further amplifying the value he Others have returned to their home universities placed on forging personal bonds with the people to pursue majors and minors in Chinese or Asian around him as he shared Western academic and studies. The same survey showed that about 32 philosophical teachings. percent of alumni went on to use Mandarin at their Ricci came to Beijing in 1601. Like TBC students jobs post-graduation, with over half of them today, he and his companions studied the Chinese speaking above a beginner level. language and culture and used that knowledge to As an intellectual apostolate of the Chinese engage in the academic life of the day. These people Province, The Beijing Center is committed to serving were great adventurers and showed great courage, as a hub of international Jesuit higher education. humility, and respect for what they found in China. Following the example Ricci laid out over 400 years Ricci found a particularly close friendship with Xu ago, students, professionals and advanced scholars Guangqi, who taught him the Chinese way of life. In at TBC carry on that tradition, sharing their turn, Ricci shared his knowledge of the West. intellectual pursuits and extending their friendship Despite barriers presented by the political and to the international community. global environment, experiences at The Beijing Center have prompted alumni to return to China John Sember is an alumnus of The Beijing Center from after graduating from college to join programs like 2011 and is now its associate director of Marketing.

47 Global Reach of Jesuit Higher Education

Transformation through Global Learning

By Diane Ceo-DiFrancesco

Challenges in higher education have made it in - vate students who become well-educated “whole creasingly difficult for institutions to focus strategi - persons of solidarity” (Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., cally on internationalization. Studies point to the talk at Santa Clara University, Oct. 2000) limitations of global student mobility, and a two-tier system consisting of a privileged minority of stu - Global Learning Abroad dents studying abroad (Open Doors Report, 2018). Yet, at a time when stereotypes and negative atti - Many colleges and universities have incorporated tudes toward difference are reinforced in the media learning experiences that involve high impact prac - rather than dispelled, and examples of dehumaniza - tices, including those with an emphasis on diversity tion are portrayed by key government officials, pro - and global learning. Studying abroad is one such moting global learning among our students becomes high impact global learning opportunity which of - ever more critical. Students experience an increase fers numerous benefits to a student’s educational in the promotion of ethnocentric values, a culture of preparation, such as enhancing language profi - fear of difference, and the polarization of our society. ciency, increasing flexibility, adaptability, resource - The existence of the internet has made the world fulness and confidence, and developing smaller and access faster, yet our students tend to in - cross-cultural awareness. Numerous partnerships teract less frequently in a face-to-face context and exist between Jesuit universities in the United States prefer texting to in-person communication. and abroad. A few such partnerships include Loyola As Jesuit universities grapple with these issues of Chicago and Loyola of Andalucía, Loyola of New and explore the best means of educating a new gen - Orleans and Pontificia Universidad Católica de eration of students with tendencies to turn inward, Ecuador, Seattle University and Universidad Cen - we are reminded of Father Adolfo Nicolás’ speech in troamericana in Managua, Nicaragua, and Xavier Mexico City over nine years ago, warning against an University in Cincinnati and Universidad Antonio age of “globalization of superficiality,” when think - Ruiz de Montoya in Lima. These partnerships lever - ing becomes shallow, resulting in an inability to en - age their shared mission to create learning experi - gage deeply in our world (2010). Global learning can ences that are distinctive, deepening student combat globalization of superficiality, encouraging learning by intentionally crafting experiences that students to become responsible world citizens, to de - connect students with local populations and in - velop curiosities beyond their own bubble and to re - crease their awareness of social justice issues. The alize that local decisions can have a much greater intentionality increases the benefits for students global impact than they previously thought possible. across borders and sparks deeper reflection, in - Through intentionally designed, virtual and in-per - creased self-awareness, and a passion to advocate son global learning opportunities, Jesuit universities for justice both locally and internationally. can leverage the Jesuit educational network to culti -

48 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION Virtual Connections English is an economic necessity for their interna - tional peers. A growing trend in education involves virtual ex - Regardless of the format of global learning, be it change, as educators from across the globe facilitate in-person or virtual, an emphasis on shared mission collaborations among their students to complete cur - produces learning experiences of distinction for Je - ricular projects. Within our Jesuit university network, suit university students. Breaking down borders, a grassroots network of university faculty members boundaries and challenges to create such experi - has developed the Virtual Dual Immersion Collabo - ences provides a humanistic model for other higher ration, supported by AUSJAL and AJCU. Since 2006, education institutions. Linking global learning back the collaboration has involved over 200 professors to the local context encourages Jesuit university stu - and 37,000 students at more than 20 Jesuit universi - dents and faculty to step out of their too-often un - ties, primarily in the United States, Latin America, and questioned reality and to view the world through the Spain, in academic synchronous video-conferencing eyes and experiences of others. Exposure to diverse and asynchronous interactions. The collaboration has and often conflicting perspectives across multiple focused on linguistic and cross-cultural exchange, as contexts promotes critical self-reflection, a reevalua - well as Collaborative Online International Learning tion of assumptions and a renewed self-awareness (COIL) interdisciplinary projects related to areas such that has the potential of deepening collaborations. as physics and management, philosophy and Spanish, Jesuit universities possess natural linkages that can theology and English, education and journalism, Eng - transform global learning into powerful and trans - lish composition and business, and health adminis - formative learning experiences that lead us to in - tration and business. habit our world in a different way. At Fordham University, the Specs Nova Initia - tive offers a model of collaboration that began as a Diane Ceo-DiFrancesco is interim associate provost for student club and now offers academic courses in - Academic Affairs and faculty director of the Eigel volving engagement with Jesuit university students Center for Community-Engaged Learning and an across borders on virtual collaborative projects to associate professor of classics and modern languages at benefit nonprofit organizations abroad. Students and Xavier University. faculty report the transformative learning that they experience through these virtual collaborations. Stu - dents are encouraged to explore cultures, life expe - riences, and worldviews both similar and distinct from their own. In addition, these virtual connections promote self-awareness related to power and privilege and growth in cultural humility and intercultural com - petence, and encourage the examination of social justice issues, such as diversity, human rights, racial, ethnic, and gender inequality. These virtual peda - gogical global learning innovations are low cost, yet offer many benefits that are within the reach of stu - dents who cannot afford more traditional options of Xavier University has partnered with Universidad Antonio global learning mobility. They break down barriers, Ruiz de Montoya in Lima. boundaries and stereotypes, humanize the ‘other,’ and encourage U.S. students to check their privilege when they realize that developing proficiency in

49 Ten Questions for Continuing the Conversation

In the The Ignatian tradition privileges the role of discernment—the examining of our inner desires for trends that lead us to joy, sorrow, consolation, and desolation. spirit of Ignatius believed that if we prayed with and tracked our desires each day, we reflection, might find the voice of God instructing us on how we ought to live and where we might find the most joy. we pose these The same can be said of the work we all do at our Jesuit institutions: We are called to address real and pressing issues that may seem in conflict with our Jesuit questions as mission. We must also discern the role Jesuit institutions play in the Catholic Church as a whole. These questions are meant to start the process; you may have an opportunity others that are worth discussing at your institutions. to extend the 1. In what ways do we at our institu - with my own institution’s relation - tions perpetuate an academic sort ship with the bishop of the diocese conversation. of “clericalism,” in which we per - we serve? What kind of working re - mit and enact “uncritical deference” lationship does my institution have We hope that and support academic “hierarchical with our local bishop? What other superiority?” Can we name signs of models of interaction or collegiality by offering a “doctorate-ism” or a belief that might there be? faculty deserve greater respect and 5. Has there been a productive these ideas, privileges simply because they are creative followup to the MPE members of the faculty or have process? How is your institution the discussion more advanced degrees? To what planning on implementing the degree does that affect relationships fruits of the process? continues on between faculty and staff? 6. What can we learn from interna - 2. The relationship between a dioce - tional practices as we expand our your campus — san bishop and a Jesuit college in partnerships around the world. his diocese can raise murky ques - 7. In what ways can we encourage with colleagues, tions of identity. As a Catholic col - each other, as AJCU colleagues, to lege, the institution would live and work in the spirit of our with students, reasonably expect to interact with shared values? Do we do every - the ordinary in particular ways. But thing we can to boost each other up, and with your as a Jesuit college, the college’s as peer institutions that make up Catholicity comes through a differ - the AJCU? community. ent vein than the diocesan. So how 8. Are Jesuit institutions competing should a bishop and a Jesuit college too much for the shrinking pool of view one another? What sorts of students? help or expectations between them 9. Is there a continuing value to being would be reasonable and mutually all things to all students, or would beneficial? What sorts of expecta - all Jesuit schools benefit from focus - tions or relationship models would ing on two or three fields? What be inappropriate? would your institution’s fields be? 3. What positive steps can the 10. How is your institution adapting and university play in ways to address advancing the mission in these chal - the sexual abuse crisis in the lenging times? In what ways do the Catholic church? current difficulties offer opportunities 4. What about these stories resonates for my department or institution?

50 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENT VOICE

Building a Bridge of Solidarity

By Michael Tanaka

The Gonzaga University mission calls its commu - cerated in Manzanar, a remote area of California, nity toward a purpose; something greater than grad - simply and solely because of their ethnicity. While uation or showing up to class and being nice. they looked Japanese, they did not speak Japanese, The Gonzaga mission is centered on the Jesuit ideol - but it was the way they looked that ensured the way ogy of “magis,” doing more for the greater glory of they were treated. And it was the way they were God, the transcendent, Yaweh, he-she-it, whichever treated that caused an intergenerational trauma that name you call it, it is not about doing the best, the lasts with my family today. most, or the greatest. It’s about doing more than There is an ever greater need to embrace and to what you’re already doing, being more than you al - love our neighbor, “the other,” as ourselves. Dr. Mar - ready are. tin Luther King Jr. preached an idea of equality that The Gonzaga mission is ultimately a call to ac - was founded on integration, where we should look tion, a promise to educate students to live out lives to our neighbors for brother and sisterhood. To truly of leadership and service for the common good. In call someone our brother and sister, there has to be a November of 2017, after DACA was rescinded, Gon - zaga President Thayne McCulloh released a state - ment on behalf of our university and the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities prompting us all to labor for solidarity for and with the poor and mar - ginalized of our society, guided by the commitment to uphold the dignity of every person, to work for the common good of our nation, and to promote a living faith that works for justice. Gonzaga’s Student Body president at that time, Carlo Juntilla, also released a statement to the entire university calling us to advocate for and with our Dreamers in our own GU community and commu - nities abroad, to hold steadfast and remain civically engaged during that turbulent time in our nation’s history. While we may have forgotten these senti - ments provided by past and present leaders of our community, their calls to action are not any less im - portant now, because this turbulence has yet to end. The separation of families is nothing new to the history that I come from. I am a fourth-generation Japanese-American whose grandparents were incar -

51 deeply spiritual, humanized, and transcendent un - in the face of injustice, how we speak truth to the face derstanding of the other; that understands we are of power, but most importantly, how we can em - different but can, in many ways, relate through our brace the “other” and recognize the dignity of the feelings and experiences of being equitably a part of human person. the “human family.” He famously said, “The end is Many of these aspects are embedded within our reconciliation, the end is redemption, the end is the Jesuit mission statement to uphold these values for creation of the Beloved Community. It is this type of a lifetime. My only hope is to pass this on, to put this spirit and this type of love that can transform oppo - promise into practice and again pose a call to action nents into friends. It is this type of understanding for us all to come together. As Father Greg Boyle, S.J., goodwill that will transform the deep gloom of the the founder of Home Boys, famously said, “And so old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. the voices at the margins get heard and the circle of It is this love which will bring about miracles in the compassion widens. Souls feeling their worth, refus - hearts of men.” ing to forget that we belong to each other.” Needless to say, there is work to be done. This kind of community is not created on the basis of Michael Tanaka, a political science and international complacency. This kind of community is created by studies major, is student body president of Gonzaga action, measured by how it serves those in need— University. how we define advocacy and ally-ship, how we act

Students attend a candlelight ceremony on the Don Kardong bridge to symbolize their solidarity in supporting undoc - umented people. (Photo by Amanda Ford) Building a Bridge of Solidarity event hosted by Mission and Ministry on the Centennial trail, August 28, 2019.

52 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION TEACHING THE MISSION

From Desperation to Engaging Discussions

By Ellen M. Maccarone

Imagine your classroom full of stu - set to discuss speeches of Arrupe, Kol - though, are informed by what we have dents. What do you see first? The desks venbach, and Nicolás. I knew I had to already done in our Composition of askew? The white board not erased? try something different. These Place and are thus richer, more contex - Who do you see first? The “A” student? speeches were too important to their tual, and do a better job of bringing the The empty desk where the struggling understanding of their own Jesuit ed - ideals of solidarity to the theories of so - student will sit if he comes at all? With ucation; I could not just lecture. Taking cial justice we are reading. an intentional disposition, these imagin - seriously the idea of experience in the Finally, the students themselves are ings comprise a Composition of Place. Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, I de - more engaged with the material, with Compositions of Place are an im - cided I wanted them to enter into the me, and with each other. They are report - portant device in St. Ignatius’ Spiritual class by experiencing something of the ing in their written reflections that they Exercises . In these, those making the re - Jesuit spirituality that animated the Fa - feel they can trust one another and are treat are asked to employ the imagina - thers General we were to cover. A more comfortable with each other. They tion in prayer, to imagine the scene and Composition of Place seemed a way to are making better use of class concepts, through so doing, to learn, with both proceed. I explained the device in its understanding more difficult material, head and heart, about something oth - original context and our secular adap - and offering better criticisms. erwise difficult to contemplate that will tation of it to class. I asked them to When I imagine my classroom be useful in their prayer and relation - imagine what lies beneath injustice in now, I imagine a community of learn - ship with Jesus. the current century and what permits ers in a very different way than I did at I would like to tell you that it was it to persist, and to re-imagine our in - the start of the semester. Out of my some divine inspiration that brought stitutions for overcoming injustice in desperation has come an adaptation of me to this as a method to encourage our current time and place. Class has Ignatius’ method with great results. As deep learning and class discussion. It never been the same. I move from the imagination of a Com - was, however, an act of desperation. In Now we begin every class with a position of Place to the contemplation an interdisciplinary core capstone Composition of Place. Without worry - of my teaching, my students as per - class, their final core curriculum ing about finding the right passage in sons, and solidarity and social justice course, my seniors were not talking! A the text to bring up or whether they that is the subject of the seminar, I am few weeks into the semester we were agree, disagree, or fully understand all grounded in Ignatian pedagogy in a the arguments, students are in - new and profound way and so are my tegrating the knowledge and students, as they prepare for gradua - understanding of their hearts tion and to go out into the world ready and minds, using class con - to set it on fire. cepts, even before they realize they are. I talk with them, shar - Ellen M. Maccarone, associate professor ing my own imaginings on of Philosophy and faculty advisor to the what place we are composing. president at Gonzaga University, special - Once we exhaust the composi - izes in applied ethics and is the president tion, we move to a more tradi - of the Board of Directors of SEEL- tional discussion about the Spokane, which offers the Spiritual dense, mostly philosophical, Exercises retreat in Spokane, Washington. The grotto at night, Gonzaga University. texts. Those discussions, Students carry their blackboards to storage when classes end. Goz Amir, Eastern Chad. Photo by Don Doll, S.J.

Georgetown University Santa Clara University University of Detroit Mercy Seattle University Washington, DC, 1789 Santa Clara, 1851 Detroit, 1877 Seattle, 1891 Saint Louis University Loyola University Maryland Regis University Rockhurst University Saint Louis, 1818 Baltimore, 1852 Denver, 1877 Kansas City, 1910 Spring Hill College University of San Francisco Creighton University Loyola Marymount University Mobile, 1830 San Francisco, 1855 Omaha, 1878 Los Angeles, 1911 Xavier University Boston College Marquette University Loyola University New Orleans Cincinnati, 1831 Boston, 1863 Milwaukee, 1881 New Orleans, 1912 Fordham University Canisius College John Carroll University Fairfield University New York, 1841 Buffalo, 1870 Cleveland, 1886 Fairfield, 1942 College of the Holy Cross Loyola University Chicago Gonzaga University Le Moyne College Worcester, 1843 Chicago, 1870 Spokane, 1887 Syracuse, 1946 Saint Joseph’s University Saint Peter’s University University of Scranton Philadelphia, 1851 Jersey City, 1872 Scranton, 1888

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