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Conversations on Jesuit Higher EducationVolume 45 Article 12April 2014A Historic Encounter: Fr. Adolfo Nicolas MeetsHigher Education Presidents and Board ChairsEditorial BoardFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversationsRecommended CitationEditorial Board (2014) "A Historic Encounter: Fr. Adolfo Nicolas Meets Higher Education Presidents and Board Chairs,"Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education: Vol. 45, Article 12.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol45/iss1/1232 ConversationsIt was a privilege for me,as chair of the board oftrustees of LoyolaMarymount University, toattend the AJCU meeting inChicago with Fr. AdolfoNicolás. I had previously metwith him and others inRome, where I had learnedwhat a humble, holy, andastute man he is … and thathe listens intently! His inter-est in hearing and learningmore from board chairs ledto the Chicago meeting.Two points impressedme about Father Nicolás’svision of how leaders engagein decision-making. First, as most of us haveexperienced, presidents andboards of trustees face toughdecisions on a regular basis.Father Nicolás emphasizedthat their decision makingmust come from shared val-ues within each campuscommunity. His vision forinvolving the community indecision making, rather thanhaving a single persondecide tough issues, is hisfirst prereq-uisite forleaders whomake gooddecisions. If thesedecision makers and theircommunities do not sharethe same values then theycannot achieve the sameobjectives. This is whereuniversities sometimes havedifficulties. Father Nicolás noted thatthere are many understand-ings within individual col-leges and universities, andthe broaderculture as well,of what itmeans to beCatholic andJesuit. Oftenthose holdingvarying under-standings are atodds and viewothers with suspi-cion. This makes itharder for leadersto reach decisionsfrom a place of shared val-ues. It is the role of theboard to assist the presidentsin creating a shared commu-nal vision around ourIgnatian principles. At LMU,we just announced aCampus Conversations onour Catholic Identity (CCCI)committee to help integratethe various understandingsAn extraordinary meeting took place atLoyola University Chicago last October 11,when Father General Adolfo Nicolás metwith the presidents and the board chairs ofthe 28 Jesuit institutions of higher educa-tion in the United States. Present too werethe major superiors of the nine U.S. Jesuitprovinces and other leaders. The meetingwas without precedent, and it should haveserious implications for these schools.In his address to the meeting, FatherNicolás praised the educators for theiraccomplishments, thanked them for theirservice, and challenged them to shape aworthy future for their schools. He askedwhat it means to be an American,Catholic, and Jesuit institution of highereducation? This question has been aroundfor decades since the religious communi-ties stopped owning and fully controllingthese schools, but discussions were oftencasual or anguished and answers tenta-tive. Father Nicolás now brings new ener-gy, determination, and urgency to theseissues and in so doing looks forward withoptimism. It is up to the leaders whoheard him to push forward, deciding fromamong competing values and divergentdirections, choosing a future rather thanjust letting it happen.A Historic EncounterFr. Adolfo Nicolás Meets HigherEducation Presidents and Board ChairsAn Exciting Moment for Jesuit HigherEducation: A Board Chair RespondsBy Kathleen AikenheadFr. Nicolás with Fr. Michael Garanzini, S.J., president of Loyola University Chicago. Photocourtesy of the AJCU.00621_conversations #26   12/13/13  5:38 PM  Page 321: A Historic Encounter: Fr. Adolfo Nicolas Meets Higher Education PPublished by e-Publications@Marquette, 2014

A Historic Encounter: Fr. Adolfo Nicolas Meets Higher Education Presidents and Board Chairs

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A Historic Encounter: Fr. Adolfo Nicolas Meets Higher Education Presidents and Board Chairs

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