AJCU Welcomes New Conference on
Student Success & Retention
We are excited to welcome our newest Conference to the AJCU network! In December 2021, a group of 17 student success and retention colleagues from 15 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States gathered via Zoom to meet and discuss ways to support each other across institutions.
After just one year, the network now meets quarterly and has doubled its size in membership. As a result of this collaboration between its members, the Student Success and Retention network is now the newest Conference of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). Click here to learn more. Many thanks to Mary Ann Tietjen, Senior Director of the Success Center at Creighton University, for serving as the inaugural convener of this Conference!
New Catholic Higher Education Speech Issued by
Prefect of the Dicastery of Culture and Education
Earlier this week, the new Prefect of the Dicastery of Culture and Education at the Holy See, H.E. Cardinal José Tolentino Mendonça, delivered an address on "What the Church Expects from Catholic Universities" during the opening of the new office of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU). Click here to read the text online.
Registration Open for AJCU Facilities, Public Safety & Sustainability Conference
Are you involved with facilities, public safety and/or sustainability on your campus? If so, you won't want to miss this year's meeting of the AJCU Facilities, Public Safety & Sustainability Conference! Click here to register online for the meeting, which will be held at Gonzaga University from April 2-5, 2023.
News from Jesuit Colleges & Universities
It was a big week for Saint Joseph's University, which announced a definitive agreement to merge with the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences. The merger will provide Saint Joseph's with the opportunity to expand its academic programs in the health sciences; click here to learn more.
In Milwaukee, Marquette University opened Dr. E. J. and Margaret O’Brien Hall: a fully donor-funded building to house Marquette's College of Business Administration, Graduate School of Management, and other programs in innovation leadership. Click here to learn more.
On the West Coast, Loyola Marymount University received a $1.5M grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support the expansion of open educational resources at LMU, Santa Clara University, University of San Francisco and Saint Mary's College of California. Click here to learn more.
Over the next few weeks, our campuses will be host to several prominent theologians and lecturers on faith. On Monday, January 30, Loyola Marymount University will host Gloria Purvis of America for a lecture on "Rethinking Racism Through The Lens of Catholic Social Teaching"; on Tuesday, January 31, Fairfield University will host Fordham University professor Rev. Bryan Massingale, S.T.D. (pictured left) to discuss “Spirituality for Racial Justice”; and on Thursday, February 9, Canisius College will host Catholic priest and molecular biologist Rev. Nicanor Robles Austriaco Jr., OP, to discuss “Defending a Historical Adam after Darwin."
And save the date! On Thursday, March 9, Gonzaga University will host Cardinal Michael Czerny S.J., Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Human Development, to discuss "care for our common home." Cardinal Czerny is an alumnus of Gonzaga; click here to learn more.
Finally, we're in the midst of another exciting Jesuit basketball season! Eighty people attended the Jesuit Friends and Alumni Network of Kansas City's recent game watch in Kansas City; many thanks to Michael Grimaldi for sharing this great photo with us!
And congratulations to men's basketball star Antoine Davis of the University of Detroit Mercy, who recently set a career record for the most 3-pointers in NCAA D-I history. Go Titans!
Upcoming Alumni Events
Here's what's happening over the next few weeks across the country for Jesuit-educated alumni and friends:
Tuesday, January 24: How to Remake the World (online event sponsored by Ignatian Volunteer Corps featuring author Tim Muldoon and Community Renewal International founder Mack McCarter)
We conclude today's issue of AJCU Higher Ed News with an invitation from our friends at Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest! All members of the AJCU network are invited to join its book club, “Ruined Readers.” The January-March 2023 book has just been announced: Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey, founder of The Nap Ministry. To learn more, please click here.
AJCU Higher Ed News is a weekly e-newsletter that features the latest news and information from Jesuit colleges and universities. To submit a story or subscribe, please send an e-mail to Deanna Howes Spiro (dhowes@ajcunet.edu).
