By Joseph G. Ponterotto: This year is the 50th anniversary of the chess world’s Match of the Century, Fischer-Spassky, 1972, Reykjavik, Iceland. To mark this occasion, I wanted to look at the way Jesuit-educated chess champions changed the game. As early as the mid-16th Century, the clergy and the game…

By Michael J. Garanzini, SJ: In 1968, Rev. Paul Reinert, S.J., then president of Saint Louis University and the Jesuit Education Association, proposed to the presidents of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States-all Jesuits-that it was time to embark on a new plan for governance. Until…

By Christopher Brooks, Erin Brigham, Monica Doblado, and Evelyn Rodriguez: In fall 2020, we were invited by University of San Francisco president Fr. Paul Fitzgerald, S.J., to rewrite the University’s mission statement. At first, it seemed like a strange time to consider such a task — we were fully remote…

By Cornell B. LeSane II: Imminent demographic shifts and the steady decline in births, in large part due to the recession which began in 2008, have recently evoked a strong sense of urgency on college campuses across the United States. Colleges and universities greatly benefited from the uptick in high…

By Robin R. Ingalls and Helen W. Boucher: The global impact of COVID-19 is almost unfathomable, with an estimated death toll of over 900,000 in the United States alone, and almost 6 million worldwide. The burden of disease has not been shared equally, as disparities in healthcare, combined with racial…

By Rev. Abby King-Kaiser: “I’m currently discerning a year of service or a communication job at a nonprofit, both of which would position me along a career path of social change. Xavier — and the values and commitments I’ve learned here — has helped me realize this fire in me…

By Patrick Kelly, SJ: When I was younger I played sports for our school teams and then played football in college. Like other young people who play sports, I had good and bad experiences along the way, but it was a significant part of my young life and formed me…

By Aaron Van Dyke: Scientific research is generally seen as emotionally sterile. This view originates in the scientific method which validates the observable and the rational. And yet the act of researching (verb) is animated by scientists (noun) whose lives are inevitably bound up with the affective and emotional dimensions…

By James F. Smith Jr.: In the United States, four Jesuit universities have medical schools. But what makes them Jesuit medical schools? All four promote cura personalis as a defining characteristic of their curricula and of the relationship of the institution to its students. This emphasis makes good sense. As…