Michael F. Andrews, PhD

About

Dr. Michael F. Andrews joined Loyola University Chicago in 2017 and served as the Director of Loyola’s John Felice Rome Center campus in Italy from 2017-2021. Prior to coming to Loyola, Dr. Andrews was the McNerney-Hanson University Professor and Endowed Chair in Ethics at the University of Portland from 2011-2017, where he also served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 2012-2017, director of the summer campus in Salzburg, and director of the Catholic Studies Program. Previously, Dr. Andrews served in various leadership positions at Seattle University (2002-2011), including Dean of the Matteo Ricci College of Humanities, where he oversaw the preparation and implementation of the BA in Humanities for Leadership degree for global citizenship. He also served as director of the Faith and the Great Ideas Academic and Residential Program, faculty supervisor for the Sullivan Scholars Program, and director of Seattle University’s Summer Academic Program in Italy (Florence and Rome) from 2003-2011. Dr. Andrews was appointed Visiting International Research Scholar at the Jesuit Historical Institute in Rome, 2007-2008.

Professor Andrews was awarded the BA degree in systematic theology from Georgetown University; the M.A. in philosophical theology from Yale; the Ph.L. / M.Phil. in metaphysics from the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome); the M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from Villanova University; and the Certificate in Higher Education from the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education at Harvard University.

Dr. Andrews’ areas of interest include Phenomenology; Existentialism; Philosophy of Religion (Philosophical Theology); Renaissance Philosophy of Art; Ethics (incl. healthcare and biomedical); Catholic Intellectual Thought / Catholic Social Teaching, and the History of Philosophy. As the former Vice President and a Member at Large of the Executive Committee of the International Association of the Philosophy of Edith Stein (IASPES), Professor Andrews publishes and lectures widely on the thought of Edith Stein, including the relationship between phenomenology, ontology, ethics, and metaphysics, and on issues related to Jesuit and Catholic pedagogy, human rights, social and environmental justice, women’s education, and cultural empathy. He writes and speaks internationally on the importance of integrating the social and natural sciences with the arts and humanities in contemporary global Jesuit education. He has presented his work at international peer-reviewed conferences across five continents and has taught “great figures” courses and directed student theses on Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Thomas Aquinas, Teilhard de Chardin, and Edith Stein.

Dr. Andrews is the author of over thirty peer-refereed articles, book chapters, and scholarly international presentations. He is senior editor of Ethics and Metaphysics in the Philosophy of Edith Stein: Applications and Implications (2022) from Springer Nature International Press’s “Women Philosophers and Scientists” academic series. He has organized and hosted dozens of scholarly conferences and interdisciplinary workshops on topics including Catholic social teaching, environmental justice, Jesuit thinkers, and contemporary issues impacting migrants, immigrants, and refugees. He regularly leads student / faculty / staff / alumni immersion and Ignatian discernment retreat experiences that explore the global intersection of faith and justice in places such as Morocco, Sarajevo, Ecuador, Assisi, Spain, and Rome. In 2018, Dr. Andrews was an invited keynote speaker at the 13th International Conference on Human Rights co-sponsored by the United Nations in Doha, State of Qatar. He has received several formal peer acknowledgments for teaching excellence, including “Most Inspirational Faculty Award in Recognition of Academic Excellence in Teaching” in 2006; and was twice awarded the “O Captain, My Captain Outstanding Teacher of the Year” award at Seattle University.

As Director of the John Felice Rome Center 2017-2021, Dr. Andrews was responsible for all aspects of Loyola’s global campus, including financial and budgetary supervision; advancement and alumni relations; academic development and student life; and operations, security, and risk management. In February 2020, Dr. Andrews concluded a three-year planning and on-site new building construction project that oversaw the successful completion of a new residence hall, welcome center, and chapel on the famed Rome Campus. As a member of Loyola University’s Council of Deans, he contributed to the University’s strategic and international planning, including the JFRC Global Health Initiative and its focus on global justice issues concerning human rights and interreligious dialogue; helped raise over $8 million for the JFRC through alumni and advancement support; and oversaw the successful completion of the Avanti Advancement Campaign.

Originally from Providence, RI, Dr. Andrews is fluent in Italian and has reading proficiency in French, German, Latin, and Russian. Dr. Andrews is a former member of the New England Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). When he isn’t cooking dinner with friends or writing or tinkering on the piano, he enjoys slaying dragons with his daughter, riding his vespa, and taking long walks along the shore with his wife and their dogs, Bacio and Luna.

Degrees

PhD, MA                      Villanova University

MPhil / PhL                  Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome, Italy)

MA in Religion             Yale University

BA                              Georgetown University

Research Interests

Phenomenology; Philosophy of Religion (Philosophical Theology); Renaissance Philosophy of Art; Catholic Intellectual Thought / Catholic Social Teaching; The History of Philosophy

Great Figures: Edith Stein, Soren Kierkegaard, Teilhard de Chardin, SJ