New Georgetown president
keynotes Ignatian Day

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"Lay Leadership in Jesuit Higher Education:
Its Directions and Challenges"

This was the theme last Friday of Ignatian Day VIII, an annual event at John Carroll at which members of the faculty, staff, administration and student leadership meet to reflect on the university as a Catholic and Jesuit institution. 

Keynoting the theme was a person who embodies it: John. J. "Jack" DeGioia (shown at right), who last July became the first lay president of Georgetown University. "The greatest gift the Jesuits have given me is to share their spiritual heritage," Dr. DeGioia stated, adding, "John Carroll benefits greatly from the presence of Howard Gray." The rector of JCU's Jesuit community and assistant to Father Ed Glynn for mission and identity had, with John Padberg SJ, put on a program in 1986 that DeGioia said gave him "a vocabulary for defining our (Jesuit) tradition in the modern world."

Reflecting on how his observations applied to John Carroll were Communications Chair Mary Anne Flannery VSC and Psychology Chair Nick Santilli. Both picked up on DeGioia's reference to mission. Sister Flannery said she heard a "deeper challenge" in his concept of mission: "Mission is dynamic. It moves beyond the written word. It stirs each listening heart in different ways. It does not brand an institution, although it characterizes it. It must be listened to as well as written, read and spoken." Doctor Santilli was struck by "the deep personal commitment that he (DeGioia) had and that we all need to find within us: to create an opportunity to live the mission (of John Carroll University) ... to create an institution where we are dedicated to 'developing women and men with the knowledge and character to lead and to serve.'"

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