President
Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J. began his tenure as president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) on July 1, 2020. Immediately prior to his role at AJCU, Fr. Garanzini served as Secretary for Higher Education of the Society of Jesus, and Chair of the Board of Directors for the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU).
Fr. Garanzini served as president of Loyola University Chicago from 2001 to 2015. During his fourteen years at Loyola, he served on the AJCU Board of Directors, including a term as Chair. Under his leadership, Loyola grew in national recognition as an innovator in higher education, thanks to the establishment of Arrupe College, the first Jesuit community college in the United States.
While serving as Secretary for Higher Education, Fr. Garanzini led several initiatives to facilitate national and international collaboration among Jesuit institutions. In 2013, he hosted the first-ever meeting of Jesuit provincials, presidents and board chairs of U.S. Jesuit colleges and universities with Rev. Adolfo Nicolás, S.J., the former Superior General of the Society of Jesus, at Loyola Chicago. It was during this meeting that Fr. Nicolás delivered an address in which he called for “spiritual and heroic leadership” among all caretakers of Jesuit institutions.
In 2016, Fr. Garanzini served as a delegate for General Congregation 36: a convening of Jesuits from across the world to elect a new Superior General and issue a new set of decrees for the Society of Jesus. In response to a call for increased networking during GC36, Fr. Garanzini organized a meeting at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain in 2018, to launch the International Association of Jesuit Universities.
Fr. Garanzini holds a B.A. in Psychology from Saint Louis University and a Doctorate in Psychology and Religion from the Graduate Theological Union / University of California, Berkeley. He has taught at the University of San Francisco, the Gregorian University in Rome, Rockhurst University and Fordham University. Additional academic appointments include four years as academic vice president at Saint Louis University, and two years as special assistant to the president at Georgetown University.
Fr. Garanzini entered the Society of Jesus in 1971 and was ordained as a priest in 1980.