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June 2023 Connections

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Editor

Last month, we began a two-part “town and gown” issue of Connections to highlight AJCU schools’ partnerships with local community and civic organizations. This month’s issue features more great examples […]

All Roads in Omaha Lead to Creighton and the College World Series

All Roads in Omaha Lead to Creighton and the College World Series

More than a decade before he became head coach of Creighton University’s baseball team, Ed Servais was visiting Omaha, NE to catch his first NCAA Men’s College World Series (CWS). […]

Providing a Lifeline: Regis Safe Outdoor Space Answers Call to Help People Experiencing Homelessness

Providing a Lifeline: Regis Safe Outdoor Space Answers Call to Help People Experiencing Homelessness

Joe Giles was used to the stress of not having a home. Living on the streets meant that he couldn’t walk around without packing up everything he owned and carrying […]

Rockhurst’s ‘Home for All’ Invites Community and Campus to Learn Together

Rockhurst’s ‘Home for All’ Invites Community and Campus to Learn Together

More than a year ago, Rockhurst University received a grant from the Hall Family Foundation, to support, in part, an educational experiment. The premise — create a cohort of five […]

The University of Scranton Helps to Tell “Scranton’s Story, Our Nation’s Story”

The University of Scranton Helps to Tell “Scranton’s Story, Our Nation’s Story”

The concept of “town-gown” relations often evokes an “us vs. them” mentality. And yet, our Ignatian heritage calls us to something different, rooted in the maxim that “St. Ignatius loved […]

Working with a Global Brand in the University’s Backyard: Saint Peter’s Partners with Goya Foods for an Experiential Learning Collaboration

Working with a Global Brand in the University’s Backyard: Saint Peter’s Partners with Goya Foods for an Experiential Learning Collaboration

When a corporate partner joins forces with a higher education institution like Saint Peter’s University, the potential positive outcomes are limitless. Students of the University’s Frank J. Guarini School of […]

Habitat for Neighborhood Business at SLU Helps St. Louis Grow Through Small Businesses

Habitat for Neighborhood Business at SLU Helps St. Louis Grow Through Small Businesses

By Maggie Rotermund, Senior Media Relations Specialist, Saint Louis University Putting entrepreneurs in the room where it happens. Without Saint Louis University’s (SLU) Habitat for Neighborhood Business program (HNB), Travious […]

Holy Cross Partnerships Prepare Students for Life-Changing Internships

Holy Cross Partnerships Prepare Students for Life-Changing Internships

The College of the Holy Cross is an institution where students can immerse themselves in a liberal arts, Christian humanistic education that promotes justice and faith, which allows them to […]

Government Relations

Government Relations

Last month, the U.S. Department of Education issued a 200+-page package of proposed regulations intend to increase transparency and accountability of post-secondary education programs at institutions of higher education. These […]

April 2023 Connections

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Editor

This month’s issue of Connections is the first of two that highlight our schools’ partnerships with local community and civic organizations, or “town and gown.” It was wonderful to see […]

Gonzaga Family Haven Provides New Strategies for Houseless Families

Gonzaga Family Haven Provides New Strategies for Houseless Families

When U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) visited the Gonzaga Family Haven in Spokane, WA last November, she remarked on what she felt distinguished the new housing project: “You’re integrating the […]

Aging with Grace: Fairfield Program Helps Local Retirees Deepen Their Spiritual Lives

Aging with Grace: Fairfield Program Helps Local Retirees Deepen Their Spiritual Lives

Morning sunlight streamed through the office window of Rev. John Murray, S.J.,’76, assistant director of the Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Fairfield University, as he welcomed his “Aging With […]

Engage San Francisco Connects USF with San Francisco’s Black Community

Engage San Francisco Connects USF with San Francisco’s Black Community

Though San Francisco has long been seen as a place of great diversity and a mecca for equity, that hasn’t always been the case for the Black community, particularly in […]

Justice in Action: Loyola Maryland’s Center for Community, Service, and Justice Marks 30th Anniversary

Justice in Action: Loyola Maryland’s Center for Community, Service, and Justice Marks 30th Anniversary

When Rev. Timothy Brown, S.J. came to Loyola University Maryland to teach law and social responsibility in 1987, Loyola was establishing an annual trip to do service in Mexico through […]

Creating Community and Unlocking Potential at Le Moyne

Creating Community and Unlocking Potential at Le Moyne

If you ask Le Moyne College President Linda LeMura, Ph.D. what it takes to solve complex problems, she is sure to cite faith, hope and imagination. But that is not […]

Gluck Foundation Propels LMU Dance’s Community Engagement

Gluck Foundation Propels LMU Dance’s Community Engagement

Loyola Marymount University’s (LMU) successful initiative to bring virtual dance instruction to local middle schools during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic provided a creative lifeline for many students. […]

The Power of Partnership: Marquette Leads Economic Development in Milwaukee

The Power of Partnership: Marquette Leads Economic Development in Milwaukee

In Summer 2014, Dr. Michael R. Lovell was taking the helm as president of Marquette University. At the time, area residents and longtime anchor businesses were experiencing — and independently […]

Holy Cross Collaborations Benefit Community Partners in Worcester, MA

Holy Cross Collaborations Benefit Community Partners in Worcester, MA

As director of the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning at the College of the Holy Cross, Isabelle Jenkins ’10 likes to refer to herself as a matchmaker. “I like to […]

Government Relations

Government Relations

At the beginning of each new Congress, the House and Senate lay out ambitious agendas that will guide their work throughout the two year session. Each Committee Chair defines his […]

February 2023 Connections

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Editor

This issue of Connections highlights the increasing number of programs offered by Jesuit colleges and universities for incarcerated individuals. It’s timely that as our schools increase their programs for this […]

Regis University Prison Education Program Benefits Students Inside and Out

Regis University Prison Education Program Benefits Students Inside and Out

“Due to a multitude of poor life choices, at the age of twenty-five, I was arrested and incarcerated … Taking full responsibility for my life and holding myself accountable to […]

Georgetown Creates New Bachelor’s Degree Program for Incarcerated Students

Georgetown Creates New Bachelor’s Degree Program for Incarcerated Students

Growing up, Dorain Grogan never pictured himself as a college student. Now, he’s in the classroom four days a week, reading Plato and Frederick Douglass and working toward a bachelor’s […]

Seeding Fertile Ground Through Scranton’s Prison Education Program

Seeding Fertile Ground Through Scranton’s Prison Education Program

I often call to mind Jesus’ “Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed” when I think about teaching theology as a professor at The University of Scranton. To me, the story […]

An Education Experience Like No Other

An Education Experience Like No Other

While Matt DelSesto ’12 was studying human development and philosophy at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education and Human Development, he participated in the University’s popular PULSE program, which combines […]

Through Companions at Chillicothe Program, Rockhurst Heeds Call to the Margins

Through Companions at Chillicothe Program, Rockhurst Heeds Call to the Margins

In 2017, Craig Watz, J.D., was an adjunct faculty member in criminal justice when he heard the initial presentation about a plan to provide college courses to staff and incarcerated […]

Saint Louis University Prison Education Program Creates New Paths Forward

Saint Louis University Prison Education Program Creates New Paths Forward

For nearly 15 years, the Saint Louis University (SLU) Prison Education Program has contributed to creating a world where everyone has access to quality and sustainable higher educational opportunities regardless […]

Loyola Maryland Faculty Help Reduce Recidivism and Give Hope to Inmates

Loyola Maryland Faculty Help Reduce Recidivism and Give Hope to Inmates

In one of the great ironies of his life, Arlando “Tray” Jones, III experienced a kind of liberation while living behind bars and barbed wire. Confined to the Maryland State […]

Government Relations

Government Relations

This issue of Connections elevates several meaningful programs at Jesuit colleges and universities that educate incarcerated students. AJCU institutions pursue these programs in the context of our mission and the […]

December 2022 Connections

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Editor

In 2022, the higher education community celebrated several milestone anniversaries: fifty years since the establishment of Pell grants and Title IX, and ten years since the creation of DACA (Deferred […]

Brandi Chastain: Title IX is the Foundation of Success in Women’s Sports

Brandi Chastain: Title IX is the Foundation of Success in Women’s Sports

Professional athlete, activist, and 1991 Santa Clara University alumna Brandi Chastain grew up at a time when the educational and sports anti-discrimination law Title IX was in force— but not […]

Saint Peter’s Community Reflects on the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice

Saint Peter’s Community Reflects on the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice

Every year, faculty, staff and students from Jesuit institutions across the country gather together at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington, D.C. Attendees are invited to come together […]

Title IX and Advances in Women’s Athletics at Creighton University

Title IX and Advances in Women’s Athletics at Creighton University

The women are forever young as they smile cheerfully from a mid-20th century black-and-white photograph. It was their moment in time and, like the women pioneers who preceded them on […]

Expanding Access to Education at Loyola Chicago

Expanding Access to Education at Loyola Chicago

As the higher education community reflects on milestone anniversaries of progress in the path toward equity and access in higher education–fifty years since the founding of Pell Grants and ten […]

‘We Are a Home for Dreamers’: How Georgetown Created a Support System for DACA Students

‘We Are a Home for Dreamers’: How Georgetown Created a Support System for DACA Students

Editor’s note: Pseudonyms were used in this article to protect students’ privacy. Lucy is a first-generation medical student in Georgetown University’s School of Medicine who immigrated to the United States […]

Standing in Solidarity with Undocumented Students at USF

Standing in Solidarity with Undocumented Students at USF

Defending the rights of migrants is one of the most pressing social issues of our times and one that Pope Francis has made clear should be at the center of […]

ISN Marks 25 Years of Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice

ISN Marks 25 Years of Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice

To be rooted is to be radical…We are called together to radically renew the world by the witness of the Martyrs, one another, and the Ignatian family. Rooted in truth […]

Government Relations

Government Relations

An anniversary is always important to mark. Sometimes, our observances are celebratory; sometimes, they are low-key or even somber. As we mark significant milestones for several federal programs highlighted in […]

October 2022 Connections

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Editor

In recent years, the Catholic Church has made a concerted effort to apologize to Indigenous communities for decades of abuse and neglect, most notably in residential school settings. Jesuit colleges […]

A Papal Visit for Reconciliation: Reflections from Campion College

A Papal Visit for Reconciliation: Reflections from Campion College

On April 1, 2022, Pope Francis offered an apology to a group of Canadian residential school survivors who were visiting the Vatican. Three months later, from July 24 to 29, […]

Honoring Ancestral Land: Santa Clara Reconciles the Past to Support Native Students Today

Honoring Ancestral Land: Santa Clara Reconciles the Past to Support Native Students Today

When Claire Alford ‘25 looked around the St. Ignatius Lawn during Santa Clara University’s second annual powwow last April, she was overcome with immense joy. There, on the ancestral land […]

Holy Cross Spotlights Indigenous Living History Through New Documentary

Holy Cross Spotlights Indigenous Living History Through New Documentary

Sarah Luria’s students often tell her that fourth grade is the final time they hear about Indigenous communities in a classroom. While the sentiment likely carries a bit of exaggeration, […]

The Power of Place

The Power of Place

Located in the Inland Northwest, Gonzaga University resides on the unceded homelands of the Spokane Tribe and is within an hour’s drive of three reservations. But Native students at Gonzaga […]

New Bequest Supports Indigenous Students & Research at Loyola Marymount

New Bequest Supports Indigenous Students & Research at Loyola Marymount

The process of deciding how to leave a legacy can take months, even years, of soul-searching. But for Michael O’Sullivan, Ph.D., the decision to commit a $3 million bequest to […]

New Marquette Lab Connects Milwaukee to Indigenous History

New Marquette Lab Connects Milwaukee to Indigenous History

Like its fellow Jesuit, Catholic colleges and universities, Marquette University cherishes the dignity of all people: fittingly, its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion transcends a single office on campus. […]

Government Relations

Government Relations

Last month, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) welcomed representatives from ten member institutions to Washington, D.C. for the 23rd AJCU Government Relations Network and Financial Aid Directors […]

June 2022 Connections

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Editor

In May 2021, Jesuit institutions, parishes and organizations across the world began a 14-month celebration of the Ignatian Year: the 500th anniversary of St. Ignatius Loyola’s conversion. In this month’s […]

Xavier Inauguration & Community Events Inspired by Ignatian Year

Xavier Inauguration & Community Events Inspired by Ignatian Year

When Iñigo Lopez de Oñaz y Loyola was struck by a cannonball on May 20, 1521, it set into motion a transformation from a life of vanity to a life […]

Ignatian Year Podcast Listeners Heal and Reflect with St. Ignatius

Ignatian Year Podcast Listeners Heal and Reflect with St. Ignatius

As the Ignatian Year was beginning last summer, Paola Pascual-Ferrá, Ph.D. knew that she wanted to mark this special celebration in some way. She had participated in the Spiritual Exercises […]

St. Ignatius’ Journey Reflected in Student’s Faith Experience at Rockhurst

St. Ignatius’ Journey Reflected in Student’s Faith Experience at Rockhurst

The story of St. Ignatius Loyola’s conversion from soldier to saint begins with a moment, and not a particularly quiet one. St. Ignatius was wounded gravely on the battlefield in […]

Ignatian Principles Inform Creighton’s Pursuit of New Leadership Classification

Ignatian Principles Inform Creighton’s Pursuit of New Leadership Classification

Creighton University is capping off the Ignatian Year by undergoing a university-wide self-study of its efforts to develop leaders in the tradition inspired by St. Ignatius Loyola. At its root, […]

Loyola Marymount Celebrates the Ignatian Year

Loyola Marymount Celebrates the Ignatian Year

On May 20, 2021, the Society of Jesus began the celebration of the Ignatian Year. On that date 500 years ago, St. Ignatius Loyola was wounded by a cannonball while […]

New Book Helps Readers Find Cannonball Moments in Everyday Life

New Book Helps Readers Find Cannonball Moments in Everyday Life

My first real introduction to Ignatian spirituality came from the walls I passed by day after day in the second year of my undergraduate career at Fairfield University. That year, […]

Government Relations

Government Relations

Matters of policy might not seem to fit in an issue of Connections dedicated to St. Ignatius Loyola and his (and our) cannonball moments. As we in the Jesuit family […]

April 2022 Connections

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Editor

By Deanna Howes Spiro, Vice President of Communications, AJCU What’s happening in engineering programs at Jesuit colleges and universities these days? From biomedical engineering research on skeletal muscle regeneration, to […]

Engineering a Better World at Boston College

Engineering a Better World at Boston College

By Phil Gloudemans, Associate Director of the Office of University Communications, Boston College Last fall, Boston College (BC) welcomed engineering students among its incoming freshman class for the first time […]

Le Moyne Mentoring Program Empowers Women in STEM

Le Moyne Mentoring Program Empowers Women in STEM

By Molly McCarthy, Office of Communications, Le Moyne College When Jesenya Olivas ’23 arrived at Le Moyne College in Fall 2019, one of the first things she did was to […]

Saint Louis Video Research Series Highlights Biomedical Engineering

Saint Louis Video Research Series Highlights Biomedical Engineering

Last fall, Saint Louis University (SLU) launched ‘Meet the Researcher’: a video series on YouTube featuring interviews with SLU faculty engaged in research. Koyal Garg, Ph.D. is an associate professor […]

Building Toward a Sustainable Future at Seattle University

Building Toward a Sustainable Future at Seattle University

By Henry Louie, Ph.D. and Phillip Thompson, Ph.D., P.E., Seattle University Undergraduate engineering students Reeha Rauf, ’25, ’Adrian Rivera, ’23 and Enrique Rodriguez, ’22, work in the Humanitarian Engineering Applications […]

Detroit Mercy Brings Computer Science Education to Detroit Public Schools

Detroit Mercy Brings Computer Science Education to Detroit Public Schools

By Ricky Lindsay, Senior Communications Officer, University of Detroit Mercy This fall, high school students in the Detroit Public Schools Community District will have improved access to a high-quality computer […]

Government Relations

Government Relations

By Jenny Smulson, Vice President of Government Relations, AJCU If you visit the Capitol this week, you might find that it seems almost sleepy. If you are e-mailing Congressional staff, […]

March 2022 Connections

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Editor

By Deanna Howes Spiro, Vice President of Communications, AJCU As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we dedicate this issue of Connections to all of the women who lead […]

Santa Clara Makes Way for Next President

Santa Clara Makes Way for Next President

By Tracy Seipel, Associate Director of Storytelling, Santa Clara University At Santa Clara University, three significant milestones have occurred in March: March 19, 1851, the day of its founding; March […]

Leading for Mission at Gonzaga University

Leading for Mission at Gonzaga University

By Tom Miller, Interim Manager, Gonzaga University News Service Michelle Wheatley stepped into uncharted territory in 2019 when, with a doctorate in ministry from the San Francisco Theological Seminary in […]

Joy, Purpose and Passion Guide Le Moyne College’s Linda LeMura

Joy, Purpose and Passion Guide Le Moyne College’s Linda LeMura

By Joe Della Posta and Molly McCarthy, Office of Communications, Le Moyne College Not long after being named president of Le Moyne College in Spring 2014, Linda LeMura, Ph.D. was […]

Building A New Future Together at Loyola Chicago

Building A New Future Together at Loyola Chicago

By Adam Doster, Staff Writer, Loyola University Chicago Dominique Jordan Turner thinks of herself as “a builder.” Why follow somebody else’s blueprint when you can design your own from scratch? […]

New Leadership Underway at Regis University

New Leadership Underway at Regis University

By Sara Knuth, News and Marketing Writer/Editor, Regis University When Cody Teets became interim president of Regis University in January, she made history as the first woman to lead the […]

Engineering Change at Marquette University

Engineering Change at Marquette University

By Jill Nuelle, Marquette University Dr. Kristina Ropella has come a long way from sitting as one of the few women in her engineering classes as an undergraduate student at […]

Government Relations

Government Relations

By Jenny Smulson, Vice President of Government Relations, AJCU Five months into the fiscal year, Congress passed, and President Biden signed, the FY22 Consolidated Appropriations Act (HR 2471). This legislation […]

February 2022 Connections

Holy Cross Chemistry Professor Blends Roles as Scientist and Influencer to Inspire Students

Holy Cross Chemistry Professor Blends Roles as Scientist and Influencer to Inspire Students

By Christine Sweeney, Managing Editor for Digital Content, College of the Holy Cross Andre Isaacs’ choreographed dance videos have attracted almost a quarter of a million followers on TikTok, but […]

Meet the Three Scholars Leading Georgetown’s Racial Justice Institute

Meet the Three Scholars Leading Georgetown’s Racial Justice Institute

Contributed by the Georgetown University Office of Strategic Communications A year ago this month, Georgetown established the Racial Justice Institute (RJI), a hub for scholars, activists and thought leaders to […]

Raising Black Voices at Loyola Chicago

Raising Black Voices at Loyola Chicago

By Adam Doster, Staff Writer, Loyola University Chicago There’s a passage in Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia that’s always stuck with Badia Ahad, Ph.D., a professor of […]

Loyola Maryland Professor Leads Institute to Address Race, Peace and Social Justice

Loyola Maryland Professor Leads Institute to Address Race, Peace and Social Justice

By Jessica Goldstein, Content Specialist, Loyola University Maryland Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, Ph.D., associate professor of communication and African American studies at Loyola University Maryland, founded and directs the Karson […]

Marquette University Celebrates Black Scholars

Marquette University Celebrates Black Scholars

By Anna Wallace, communication intern in the Office of Marketing and Communication at Marquette University Marquette University is proud to have more diverse faculty members than ever before. One in […]

Saint Joseph’s Professors Explore the Black Cultural Significance of Music-Battle Series Verzuz

Saint Joseph’s Professors Explore the Black Cultural Significance of Music-Battle Series Verzuz

By Micah Castelo, Web Content Editor, Saint Joseph’s University When COVID-19 struck, live music and entertainment were put on pause. To keep the music going and continue connecting with their […]

Living for the City: Saint Peter’s Explores History of Jersey City’s African American Community

Living for the City: Saint Peter’s Explores History of Jersey City’s African American Community

By Angeline Boyer, Assistant Director of Media Relations, Saint Peter’s University When it comes to Black history, Saint Peter’s University and members of Jersey City’s African American community are partnering […]

Government Relations

Government Relations

By Jenny Smulson, Vice President of Government Relations, AJCU As part of our work at the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), we advocate for a strong investment in […]

January 2022 Connections

First-Gen Students Find Support at Canisius University

First-Gen Students Find Support at Canisius University

By Eileen C. Herbert, Chief Communications Officer, Canisius University Mariama McCoy ’21 has come full circle. She began her undergraduate experience at Canisius as a first-generation student, and now as […]

At Holy Cross, First-Gen College Students Find Support and Community

At Holy Cross, First-Gen College Students Find Support and Community

By Meredith Fidrocki, Writer, College of the Holy Cross Victoria De Leon says that college was “uncharted waters” for her and her family. At the College of the Holy Cross, […]

Georgetown’s ‘Wraparound’ Support for First-Generation College Students

Georgetown’s ‘Wraparound’ Support for First-Generation College Students

Contributed by the Georgetown University Office of Strategic Communications Soon after Andy Marquez was accepted to Georgetown University in 2016, he received a call from the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP), […]

Santa Clara’s LEAD Scholars Program Provides Home Away From Home for First-Gen Students

Santa Clara’s LEAD Scholars Program Provides Home Away From Home for First-Gen Students

By Tatiana Sanchez, Assistant Director for Storytelling, Santa Clara University As the coronavirus pandemic raged on in December 2020, Shirley Naranjo ‘23 faced a crisis of her own. Five years […]

Helping First-Generation College Students Achieve Endless Possibilities

Helping First-Generation College Students Achieve Endless Possibilities

By Shannon Murphy Fennie, Assistant Dean of Students, The University of Scranton Frequently, I ask students why they chose The University of Scranton. Unfailingly, they mention the strong sense of […]

Government Relations

Government Relations

By Jenny Smulson, Vice President of Government Relations, AJCU January 2022 marks the start of a new year and the midpoint of the 117th Congress. The second session of any […]