Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service
Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service

History of the Gathering

The Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education conference series has its foundation in a national gathering of US Jesuit university faculty, staff, administrators and board members at Santa Clara University in October 2000. There, Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus, delivered an address calling Jesuit higher education leaders to integrate the mission of the “service of faith and the promotion of justice” more deeply into the teaching, scholarship, and institutional life of each college and university. Inspired to respond, 60 colleagues met two years later at Loyola University Chicago (2002) and created the National Steering Committee. This group has convened follow-up conferences in association with the AJCU at John Carroll University (2005), Fairfield University (2009), Creighton University (2013), Seattle University (2017), and now at Georgetown University (2020/2021).

2017 at Seattle University

Eboo Patel – Diversity, Faith and Justice: Tensions in American Society, Opportunities for Jesuit Campuses
Rev Bryan Massingale, S.T.D. – The Ignatian Witness to Truth in a Climate of Injustice
Sr. Simone Campbell, S.S.S. – 21st Century Poverty & the Challenge of Healing Our Nation
Rev. Michael Garanzini, SJ – Building the Bridge to Justice

2013 at Creighton University: On Fire at the Frontiers (videos)

Rev. David Hollenbach, SJ, – Accompaniment, Service, and Advocacy
Sr. Margaret Farley, R.S.M. – Higher Education, Justice, and The Church
Rev. Gerry Blaszczak, SJ
Rev. Michael Garanzini, SJ 
Dr. Kristin Heyer, PhD
Rev. Thomas Smolich, SJ

2009 at Fairfield University

British A Robinson, National Director of Social and International Ministries for the Jesuit Conference and the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA
Charles Onyango Oduke, SJ, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Boston College and formerly Le Moyne College – Social Justice Praxis and the Jesuit University
Richard Ryscavage, SJ, Director of the Center for Faith and Public Life, Professor of Sociology/International Studies at Fairfield University – Catholic Social Teaching and the Jesuit Promotion of Justice
Julio Giulietti, SJ, President, Wheeling Jesuit University – In the Eye of the Story:  A Spiritual Safe Ground for Committed Justice Seekers

Voices on Justice From the Developing World: Rev. Luis Calero, S.J., (Colombia) Santa Clara University; Rev. M.K. George, S.J., (India) Holy Cross; José Luis Rocha, (Nicaragua) UCA Managua

Faith/Justice: Two Sides of the Same Coin or Different Currencies?: Joy Gordon, Fairfield University; David McMenamin, Boston College; Kathleen Maas Weigert, Georgetown University

Who Have We Become? Internal Structural Justice Issues: Timothy Austin, Holy Cross; Rev. Charlie Currie, SJ, AJCU President; Jozef Welie, Creighton University 

2005 at John Carroll University

Dean Brackley, SJ, Professor at the Universidad de Centro Americana in El Salvador
Paul Locatelli, SJ, President of Santa Clara University

2000 at Santa Clara University

Reverend Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus)