Michael Garanzini, SJ

January 2, 2025

A Rooted, Relevant and Adaptable Vision for Jesuit Higher Ed

By Rachel Amiri

Fr. Michael Garanzini, SJ

Father Michael Garanzini, SJ, president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), believes in the enduring purpose of Jesuit higher education as a force for reconciliation and justice in the world.

“What’s the purpose of a university? It’s to help society become more just and to reconcile divergent points of view on how to do that,” he says. “How do we help people reconcile so that society can succeed, not simply with winners and losers, but with a new kind of inclusive society?”

Accomplishing this aspiration requires the foundational, human formation of Men and Women for Others that characterizes Jesuit education. “We’re here to shape students to serve others, their fellow human beings,” says Fr. Garanzini, echoing the saying first coined by former Superior General Pedro Arrupe, SJ.

“The Jesuits are one of the few groups with not only a 450-year history of working in education but also with superiors general who regularly address the purpose of a Jesuit education in each era,” he says.

The former General Secretary for Higher Education of the Society of Jesus and president and chancellor emeritus of Loyola University Chicago, Fr. Garanzini now leads the AJCU to cultivate and support new leadership tasked with carrying on the Jesuit mission in higher education. That mission is “rooted, relevant and adaptable,” he says, and will guide these institutions to remain centers of formation for justice and reconciliation into the future.

“These ideas of what grounds Jesuit education are developing. We are grounded by a rich past and noted for a strong pedagogy. To remain relevant, we need to constantly adapt,” he says.

A native of St. Louis, Fr. Garanzini entered the former Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus in 1971 after graduating from Saint Louis University (SLU). He earned a doctorate in psychology and education and began teaching at SLU in the 1980s, shifting into university administration in 1991.

Then-President and Chancellor Fr. Paul Reinert, SJ, inspired Fr. Garanzini with his “visionary, even-keeled” leadership as he led the school through a transformative time in Catholic higher education. In 1967, SLU was the first Jesuit or Catholic university to add lay members to its board of directors.

Today, Fr. Garanzini carries on that forward-thinking and collaborative approach in his work with the AJCU. He works to equip lay leadership at Jesuit colleges and universities to continue the Catholic and Jesuit missions of their respective schools.

The past five years, he says, have seen a huge shift in the number of presidents and administrators at Jesuit colleges and universities across the United States. These new lay administrators have brought leadership experience and skill sets that Jesuits may not have always had. But they also step into roles leading apostolic institutions that may be new or unfamiliar to them.

“They’re the ones that are going to keep their schools’ missions rooted and relevant and adapted to the local situation. We have to bring them into the project and help form them for that purpose,” Fr. Garanzini says.

“You really need a philosophical and theological grounding to do this kind of work.”

The AJCU offers this formation in several ways, introducing educators to the tradition of Jesuit higher education and experiences of Ignatian spirituality. Most recently, Fr. Garanzini says, he has focused on assisting  lay boards of trustees, “helping them to look at things from the perspective of the Society of Jesus as well as best practices in institutional governance today.”

Fr. Garanzini attends the AJCU Faith, Justice & Reconciliation Assembly at Loyola University Chicago on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. Image courtesy AJCU. Photography by Eddie Quinones.

The AJCU accomplishes this through a variety of mechanisms, including a magazine, In Trust, forums and workshops, and publications on contemporary topics in higher education, such as disability inclusion, college athletics, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as it relates to mission.

When it comes to the recent cohort of new lay presidents, Fr. Garanzini says, “I’m really seeing some of these leaders hitting their stride. They bring richness, and they bring fresh ideas. It’s not just a new jargon that they’re picking up, but a new philosophy. They’re discovering a vocation in their professional life.”

An experienced university administrator, Fr. Garanzini is a credible guide who has led Jesuit universities to remain relevant and adaptable in carrying out the mission.

During his time at Loyola Chicago, Fr. Garanzini demonstrated how Jesuit institutions could address the problems of college access and affordability when he spearheaded the opening of Arrupe College, an innovative two-year degree program designed for marginalized students that provides a bridge to careers or further higher education.

“I got to thinking, we need a Cristo Rey on the college level,” he said, referring to the successful secondary education model that includes a work-study component.

Arrupe College offers wraparound services for students aimed at long-term success and considers the unique needs of working students. Father Garanzini said that enthusiasm for the project opened doors as Loyola Chicago pursued sustainable funding.

“You have to want to do it …and besides, it was the easiest thing to raise money for,” he says.

Arrupe College, now celebrating its tenth anniversary, has been nationally recognized for making higher education accessible for historically underrepresented students, 99% of whom are persons of color and many who are the first in their families to go to college. Similar two-year programs opened at Boston College and Fairfield University in 2024. Several more are being planned.

These efforts to broaden access to Jesuit higher education are what Fr. Garanzini hopes to see more of in the future as lay leaders courageously adapt to an ever-changing world.

“I think we have to think bigger,” he says.

Whether that means expanding access or expanding the Jesuit footprint in American education into areas where it has not historically been present, such as the southern United States, he is optimistic.

“I still think we offer a really great education – I would say, a necessary kind of education for the kind of society that we want.”

Featured image: Fr. Garanzini speaking at a meeting of AJCU presidents, board charis and provincials at Loyola University Chicago in April 2024. Photo by Lukas Keapproth, courtesy of AJCU.

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