Jesuit community: Teacher training, immersion trips, and scholarships

At Loyola, the Jesuit philosophy of serving faith and promoting justice is not just a tradition--it's put into action every day. For example, each year the Jesuit community fulfills its commitment to live simply by giving back their salaries, after expenses, to support key initiatives central to the ethical and spiritual values of the University.

"Over the next three years, the Jesuit community has pledged $3 million to Loyola, beginning with a $1 million donation in 2008," says Daniel Hartnett, S.J., rector.

The donation will fund three important endowments at Loyola: the LU-Choice/ JVC Magis programs, faculty and student immersion trips, and the Anthony Barbato Scholarship Fund.

Both the LU-Choice and JVC Magis programs enable students to put their professional skills at the service of the poor. LU-Choice is an intensive two-year service and teacher training program that allows participants to teach at high-need, under-resourced Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Similarly, JVC Magis is a two- to three-year service program for college graduates who are former Jesuit volunteers. Its mission is to prepare leaders by serving others in nonprofit social service agencies and schools.

Participants in both programs live in a community, share quarters and meals, and attend graduate classes at Loyola. Upon successful completion of coursework, LU-Choice participants receive a master's degree in education with elementary certification. JVC Magis participants earn a master's degree in social work, divinity, spirituality, pastoral studies, social justice, or secondary education.

"These programs attract the best of the best, and the Jesuit community is honored to support these smart and committed students," says Father Hartnett. "Our endowment will also help fund immersion trips, which are transformational experiences for both faculty and students, allowing them to appreciate the Jesuit values in an effective and tangible way."

During the past academic year, faculty and staff members traveled to Peru, Uganda, and Vietnam, with a goal of personal and professional development, as well as partnering with the Jesuit community in other countries.

Through the Alternative Break Immersion (ABI) program, students have the opportunity to expand learning beyond the classroom during their spring and summer breaks in direct service to communities around the United States and abroad.

During the last academic year, groups of 7 to 20 students participated in 17 immersion programs to international locations (Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, and the U.S./Mexico border) and to domestic locations, ranging from urban ministries to Appalachia to a Native American reservation in South Dakota.

Each immersion trip has a direct service, cultural, and awareness component with students working side by side with community members, gaining an appreciation for the cultural context of the community and raising their awareness of social justice issues.

The third component of the Jesuit endowment will fund the Anthony Barbato Scholarship Fund for deserving students at Loyola University Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine. The scholarship fund, which will alleviate some of the financial pressure associated with medical school costs, is named in honor of Anthony L. Barbato, MD, who was in the 1966 freshman class at Stritch and went on to serve as the school's president and CEO for 17 years.

Launched during the 2007-2008 academic year, the fund is a permanent endowment that provides scholarships of up to $25,000 to full-time students enrolled at Stritch who demonstrate high moral standing and integrity, along with scholarship, leadership, and service activities. Two students received the scholarship during its inaugural year.

"All three of these endowment programs reflect our commitment to Loyola," says Father Hartnett. "Our goal is to not only help Loyola, but also to help the community--by sending students to work and teach in urban environments, by supporting experiential immersion trips that often change people's lives and by funding future doctors, who will fulfill the Jesuit mission of service to others."