Further enhancing the interchange and continuity between campuses, Rev. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., led a discussion with Austin-based faculty and staff about Jesuit higher education and the role of Jesuits in supporting the mission of ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ University.
Faculty and staff at ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ University’s Austin campus enjoyed a reprieve from their usual end-of-term tasks for a conversation about how their work supports the mission of Jesuit higher education. The discussion was led by Rev. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., vice provost and executive director of ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ Bellarmine, who made his first trip to the new campus for the informal event.
Fr. O’Brien visited the Austin campus at the start of National Nurses Week, and his timing could not have been better. As campus leaders expressed their appreciation to nursing faculty, Fr. O’Brien elevated the celebration by encouraging faculty and staff in the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing & Health Studies to interpret their daily interactions with students as expressions of love.
“A Jesuit education is about discovering truth, beauty, and goodness,” said Fr. O’Brien. “When you bring people closer to these virtues, you bring them closer to God.”
As background to the discussion, Fr. O’Brien shared the conversion story of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and touched on the Ignatian values of finding God in all things and caring for the whole person. A lively discussion ensued, as attendees reflected on the various ways that their pedagogies and interactions embody these values.
