Archive for the ‘Colleges and Universities’ Category

When Jesuit Father Pedro Arrupe was the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, he witnessed the frantic flight of the South Vietnamese out of their homeland in the seventies. The perilous plight of the “boat people” out of Vietnam so moved Fr. Arrupe, he was inspired to found the Jesuit Refugee Service in order to assist migrants and forcibly displaced people.

Jesuit Father Tri Dinh was among the thousands fleeing Vietnam at that time. Fearing religious persecution for their Catholic beliefs, Fr. Dinh and his family left Vietnam and resettled in Kansas.

Today, Fr. Dinh is an ecclesial assistant for the Christian Life Community (CLC) at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Christian Life Communities are rooted in Ignatian Spirituality, the guiding principles the Society of Jesus was founded upon, and help students deepen and enrich their faith life. The CLC young adults know Fr. Dinh as “Cha,” which means “Father” in Vietnamese.

In this Ignatian News Network video, Fr. Dinh discusses his work with young adults and how he’s learned to embrace social media and other tools to reach his flock. Showing that he’s conversant with the Millennial generation’s “digital natives” with whom he works, Fr. Dinh can also be found on Twitter at his handle @tdinhsj.

One of Fr. Boroughs, S.J.’s first official events at the College of the Holy Cross was its academic convocation in late January, where he welcomed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, ‘71 Holy Cross graduate, as he received an honorary degree.

With a tradition of academic excellence that dates to its founding in 1843, the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. is the oldest Catholic college in New England. This year, students and faculty welcomed Jesuit Father Philip Boroughs to the hillside campus as the college’s 32^nd president.

This piece below about Fr. Borough’s arrival to Holy Cross originally appeared in the Spring issue of their magazine. You can find out more about Holy Cross and its academics grounded in the Jesuit tradition via this link.

Jesuit Father Philip L. Boroughs moved into the president’s office at the College of the Holy Cross at the start of 2012 and began meeting as many members of the community as possible in his first few weeks. Making visits to various faculty meetings, introducing himself to staff through town hall-style gatherings, participating in student events and simply greeting people on campus have helped the former Georgetown vice president become acquainted with his new extended family.

“Holy Cross has the reputation of being a warm and engaged educational community, and I have discovered how true that is,” Fr. Boroughs commented after his first week. “I have been very moved by the kindness, generosity and genuine care that I have received from many individuals and groups on campus who have helped me to move in and get established. People are extremely friendly and welcoming and have gone out of their way to introduce themselves and offer assistance.”

The college’s new leader, who lists Dr. Nathan Hatch, president of Wake Forest University; Dr. Jack DeGioia, president of Georgetown University; and Jesuit Father Stephen Privett, president of the University of San Francisco; among the academic leaders he most admires, says that, though the learning curve for his new role is intense, the work is “exciting and energizing.”

Fr. Boroughs was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and raised in Seattle. He earned his bachelor of arts degree from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., in 1973, and received a master of divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology (Chicago) in 1978. He later received a licentiate in sacred theology from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley in 1987 and his Ph.D. in Christian spirituality from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif. in 1989.

Fr. Boroughs entered the Society of Jesus in 1967, was ordained a priest in 1978 and made his final vows as a Jesuit in 1986.

Students have had the chance to talk with their new president at several events. During the Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership luncheon in January, Fr. Boroughs told students, “It is important to know that leadership is not simply the consequence of your education, your talents or your desire. True leadership most typically happens when others call you to leadership in light of the gifts you have that match the needs of a particular time, place and circumstance.”

Asked how he prepared himself to take on the weighty mantle of becoming the 32nd president of the Holy Cross, Fr. Boroughs mentioned his sabbatical, during which he visited family in Seattle, British Columbia, London and Scotland; and friends in Portland, Ore., Ireland, Louisville, Palm Beach and St. Croix. “Having time to enjoy the beauty of the Northwest, time for a retreat and time to read and think was wonderfully rejuvenating,” he says. “Now, I look forward to living in a smaller city where one can really feel part of the life of the civic community, and I look forward to becoming part of this remarkable college.”

In September 2012, the college will celebrate the inauguration of Fr. Boroughs with several events, including a Mass and installation ceremony on Sept. 14.

In 1995, Jesuit Father Don MacMillan, a newly minted campus minister at Boston College (B.C.), was approached by a student interested in honoring the memory of the six Jesuits and two lay partners who had been massacred in 1989 in El Salvador.  That chance encounter led Fr. MacMillan on the path to a long and fulfilling new role as a social justice activist, a commitment that will be honored tonight as the Ignatian Solidarity Network presents its “Robert M. Holstein: Faith that Does Justice Award” to Fr. MacMillan.

The Holstein award honors one individual annually who has demonstrated a significant commitment to leadership for social justice grounded in the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. The award’s namesake, the late Robert (Bob) M. Holstein, was a former California Province Jesuit, labor lawyer, fierce advocate for social justice and one of the founders of the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice (IFTJ) – the precursor to the Ignatian Solidarity Network.

The first memorial service commemorating the El Salvadoran victims was organized by Fr. MacMillan and the Boston College students on the B.C. campus, but by the next year, the group had taken their commemoration to Fort Benning, Ga.  Here, they held a prayer vigil at the gate of the U.S. Army School of the Americas in order to call attention to the school that, according to a U.S. Congressional Task Force, had trained those responsible for the executions in El Salvador.

Over the years, thousands of students have been empowered by Fr. MacMillan’s teaching and ministry. At Boston College, Fr. MacMillan coordinates the Urban Immersion Program, a weeklong experience of prayer and service for undergraduates to learn about the lives of those in Boston suffering from poverty and homelessness. He also organizes an annual trip to Cuernavaca, Mexico, where B.C. students have direct experience with Latin American refugees and the poor of Mexico.

Fr. MacMillan earned two Boston College degrees: a bachelor’s degree in 1966 and a master of divinity degree in 1972. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1960 and was ordained in 1972.  He previously served as both a teacher and administrator at Boston College High School and Bishop Connolly High School.

The Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) promotes leadership and advocacy among students, alumni, and other emerging leaders from Jesuit schools, parishes and ministries by educating its members on social justice issues; by mobilizing a national network to address those issues; and by encouraging a life-long commitment to social justice grounded in the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Since the Ignatian Solidarity Network’s inception in 2004, Fr. MacMillan has been an integral part of ISN’s effort to mobilize a national network of leaders committed to justice grounded in Gospel teachings.

The previous “Robert M. Holstein: Faith that Does Justice Award” honorees include Jesuit Father Charlie Currie, former president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities; and Jesuit Father Steven Privett, president of the University of San Francisco.

Learn more about the “Robert M. Holstein: Faith that Does Justice Award” at: www.ignatiansolidarity.net/holstein.

The President of Cincinnati’s Xavier University, Jesuit Father Michael J. Graham was recently honored with the American Jewish Committee Cincinnati Regional Office’s 2012 National Human Relations Award. The award recognizes Fr. Graham’s professional achievements, generosity of spirit and vision of excellence. At the same time, the event raises funds for the global advocacy and human rights work of the American Jewish Committee, which advances freedom, liberty, tolerance and mutual respect worldwide.

As president of Xavier, Fr. Graham has earned a sterling reputation by focusing on academic excellence and on partnering with the community. Xavier attracts students from across the nation and abroad, while still reaching out to its surrounding neighborhoods and to diverse friends across the city.

After civil disturbances in 2001, Fr. Graham was asked to co-chair the task force on Police and Community Relations of CincinnatiCAN. This collaboration left a legacy of improved police-community relations.

Fr. Graham continues to work toward improving Cincinnati by serving on the boards of St. Xavier High School, the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education, United Way of Greater Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Community Police Partnering Center. He also is a board member of Loyola University Chicago and Gonzaga University, and he heads the Atlantic 10 Council of Presidents.

A new study conducted by Fairfield University’s Center for Faith and Public Life has dug deeper into India’s gender ratio imbalance crisis to find that it is being fueled by complex family pressures, including the belief that boys will be better wage earners, and that men will more likely take better care of their aging parents. The study also indicates that elders in the family and often husbands prefer a male child, while many wives pointed out that their voices were not being heard and had little choice in the matter.

Fairfield University’s innovative survey examined how gender dynamics and family pressures in India lead to the birth of a significantly greater number of boys than girls. The study suggests that male child preference is quite prevalent and the gender ratio imbalance – which is on the increase and was evident in the 2011 Indian National Census – is likely to be a major impediment to the future development of India.

Jesuit Father Richard Ryscavage, professor of sociology and director of The Center for Faith and Public Life, conducted the study and recently sat down for an interview with National Jesuit News.

According to the 2011 National Census of India, there were 914 girls born for every 1,000 boys; in some regions reaching as low as 824 girls. These figures are alarming in comparison to the United Nation’s 2010 Population Sex Ratio norm of 101.7 males to 100 females. The Indian census numbers therefore show a severe gender ratio imbalance in the nation. The Indian government, numerous global agencies, NGOs and researchers contend that as women become a minority in the population, there is bound to be a detrimental effect on both India’s economic development and social stability.

Undertaken in partnership with two Jesuit schools in India – St. Xavier College in Mumbai and Loyola College in Chennai – the research also found that girls are being systematically devalued in society. Yet, the findings also revealed many wives responding that daughters would be better caregivers than sons.

Fairfield’s researchers surveyed the upper layer of the lower class and the lower layer of the middle class. The assumption was that those families could be the part of the population that can make changes in their attitudes towards the son preference practice, a change that could be discernible by the next census, in 2021.

For more information on the “Impact India” study, visit http://www.fairfield.edu/cfpl/cfpl_gsri.html.