The important work on the Inspirational Paradigm for Jesuit Business Education (IP) continues apace, led by a steering committee appointed by the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU). Launched in 2019, this effort led to the publication of the IP in 2020, followed by efforts to promote the IP among Jesuit business educators and business schools across the globe. The IP has been spotlighted in the three International Association of Jesuit Business Schools (IAJBS) World Forums since July 2020 and three rounds of Requests for Proposals to fund course redesign and adaptation to the IP have been launched. These course materials are open access at Ignited (https://www.ignited.global/inspirational-paradigm-jesuit-business-education-0).
The IAJU Inspirational Paradigm for Jesuit Business Education Taskforce has moved to focus on three initiatives to advance the IP. Three subcommittees have been formed to pursue this work – one to support the work of business faculty, a second to support the work of business school deans, and a third to support strategic planning and the creation of an Examen process that business schools can use to gauge progress.
The subcommittee membership draws from across the global Jesuit network, with faculty and administrators coming from North and South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. More than 20 Jesuit institutions are represented in the subcommittees, and the number may grow as the work of the subcommittees evolves.
Gisela Veritier, General Director of the ICDA Business School of the Catholic University of Córdoba, chairs the faculty subcommittee. Dayle Smith, Dean of the College of Business Administration at Loyola Marymount, chairs the subcommittee on supporting deans. Fr. Nicholas Santos, SJ, Associate Professor at Creighton University, chairs the strategic planning/Examen subcommittee. Each is also a member of the IAJU IP Taskforce.
These three subcommittees have started their meetings and will share their first reflections about how to institutionalize the IP at the IAJBS World Forum at Loyola University Andalusia in July 2023, with the hope of making the IP a key element in that important convening of Jesuit business educators. They will not only share their first reflections but will also engage other members in the process of spreading and institutionalizing the IP. Different workshops have been designed to engage more Jesuit business schools in this process.
For more information on the work of the IAJU Taskforce, contact the taskforce co-chairs, Cristina Gimenez Thomsen, Professor and Director of Identity and Mission at ESADE, or Joseph Phillips, Dean of the Albers School of Business and Economics, Seattle University.