On Saturday, February 4, Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J. was honored with the 2023 Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC, Award from the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) in Washington, D.C. Fr. Garanzini was honored for his lifelong contributions to Catholic higher education, including service as president of AJCU and Loyola University Chicago; Secretary of Higher Education for the Society of Jesus; and founder of the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU). Click on the following video to learn more about Fr. Garanzini from colleagues across the Catholic higher education network (including a very special greeting from Sister Jean Schmidt, BVM!).
In his remarks during the award ceremony, Fr. Garanzini said, "I am optimistic that those who have joined the leadership ranks of Catholic higher education in this country, the many lay men and women who now lead our institutions, will be capable of assessing the risks we need to take in order to be—in the words of one of my heroes, Archbishop Hélder Pessoa Câmara, OFS of Brazil—'worthy instruments for the miracle of becoming as bold as the prophets, revolutionary as the Gospel and true as the Christ, without wounding love.'”
Click here to read the full text from Fr. Garanzini's speech. All of us at AJCU congratulate him on his 2023 Hesburgh Award!
The ACCU award ceremony followed the AJCU board meeting, which had a significant in-person attendance by presidents of our schools! Among several sessions, the board meeting featured a dialogue with Jonathan Fansmith, recently named Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the American Council on Education (ACE, pictured above left). And on Tuesday morning, the presidents of Fordham University, Gonzaga University and Loyola University Maryland joined Fr. Garanzini, AJCU's Vice President of Government Relations Jenny Smulson, and members of the AJCU Government Relations Network for a working breakfast to discuss higher education in the 118th U.S. Congress.
Though our schools were top of mind last weekend, the upcoming Super Bowl was a close second! During the AJCU board meeting, Rockhurst University President Sandra Cassady and Loyola University Chicago President Mark Reed donned Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles jerseys for a fun photo op with Saint Joseph's University's Interim President, Cheryl McConnell, formerly of Rockhurst and a loyal Chiefs fan (all pictured left).
While President Reed is now in Chicago Bears territory, his Eagles ties run deep as a lifelong hometown fan and the former president of Saint Joseph's.
Speaking of the Super Bowl, you'll be excited to learn that John Carroll University's seven-year streak of NFL connections continues in 2023! Click here to learn about the John Carroll alumni working behind-the-scenes for the Eagles and the Chiefs.
No matter who you're rooting for during the Super Bowl this Sunday, we can all agree that #JesuitEducated friends and fans are the best!
The past few weeks have seen several AJCU schools receive significant gifts and grants. Here are some highlights: Canisius College received $300K from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to support its Physician Assistant Studies program; Creighton University was awarded $11.9 million from the Arizona Department of Health Services to support programs at the University's new Health Sciences campus in Phoenix; a Fordham University professor received a $3.5M grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help train school-based mental health professionals; Gonzaga University received $858K from the National Science Foundation to fund a 5-year research partnership with Washington schools on climate change in the Pacific Northwest; a John Carroll University professor received a Human Cognitive and Behavioral Science Grant from the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative; Loyola University Chicago's School of Education received nearly $4.5M from the U.S. Department of Education to support training for school psychologists in Chicago; and Seattle University received $495K from the Mellon Foundation to fund a new project on "Race, Racialization and Resistance in the United States."
More highlights! On the West Coast, Santa Clara University celebrated the 20th anniversary of its LEAD Scholars program for first-generation students (pictured right); a University of San Francisco professor received local news coverage for attending the State of the Union in Washington, D.C.; and the Go Move Challenge (administered by USF) shared results from Week 1 and Week 2 of competition.
On the East Coast, the College of the Holy Cross announced its next strategic plan and Loyola University Maryland's recent enrollment success was featured in the Washington Post, while in the Midwest, Rockhurst University announced the first "stackable MBA" in the Kansas City, MO region, while a University of Detroit Mercy professor was featured on the cover of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Magazine.
And finally, Jesuit schools go Southwest! Fairfield University received approval from the Texas Board of Nursing to expand its nursing program to Austin; click here to learn more.
Upcoming Conferences, Lectures & Alumni Events
New! The video recordings from the 2022-2023 Catholic Nonviolence Initiative Lecture Series featuring from faculty from Georgetown University and other Catholic institutions are now available as a study guide; click here to learn more.
Here's what's happening over the next few weeks both on-campus and online:
Saturday, February 11: Gonzaga Day (in-person events across the country sponsored by Gonzaga University)
Monday, February 13: Ignatian Pedagogy for Sustainability Happy Hour (online event at 5:00PM ET for faculty and staff at AJCU Schools; Zoom link may be obtained by writing to Kathleen Smythe of Xavier University at smythe@xavier.edu)
Wednesday, February 15: Heroic Leadership for All (virtual event with author Chris Lowney sponsored by the Jesuit Friends and Alumni Network, USA)
Thursday, February 16: U.S. Catholics and Challenges to Democracy (webinar sponsored by the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University)
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA Responds to Turkey & Syria
We conclude today's issue of AJCU Higher Ed News with a link to the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA website to offer support for ongoing recovery efforts after this week's earthquake in Turkey and Syria; click here to learn more.
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).
