Secretary for Secondary Education and Partnership Formation

Edward S. Fassett, S.J.
Secretary for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education and Partnership Formation

“With his background as an educator, administrator and campus minister, Ed understands Jesuit ministries from a variety of perspectives,” said Fr. Thomas Smolich, S.J., President of the Jesuit Conference. “We look forward to tapping into Ed’s energy and passion for secondary education and lay-Jesuit colleagueship.”

Fassett’s new responsibilities will include work with the Provincial Assistants for Pre-Secondary and Secondary Education of the ten U.S. Jesuit Provinces, as well as supporting and coordinating  various partnership formation programs throughout those Provinces. He will serve as a liaison between the Jesuit Conference and the Jesuit Secondary Education Association (JSEA), as well as represent the provincials of the Society of Jesus on pre-secondary and secondary education.

“I am honored to be considered for this appointment and excited about the opportunity to continue my work in secondary education while expanding my role in partnership formation,” said Fassett.  “Considering the work to be done in strategic discernment implementation over the next several years, I see this as an important moment in the history of the Jesuits in the U.S and I look forward to being a part of that history.”

Fassett has been the principal of Jesuit High School in Sacramento for the past four years while also serving as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Education at the University of San Francisco since January 2008.  Prior to his move to Sacramento in 2003, he served as assistant to the principal and taught at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco for eight years.  He served in campus ministry at Santa Clara University from 1988 to 1990 and as a member of the staff of the California Province Novitiate from 1990 to 1994.

A native of Sunnyvale, Calif. and a graduate of Santa Clara University, Fassett entered the Society of Jesus in 1978. He holds a Doctor of Education degree in Private School Administration from the University of San Francisco along with a Master of Divinity from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and a Master of Arts degree in Catechetics from Santa Clara University.