The Jesuit Center is introducing the Ignatian Staff Fellows program, an opportunity for staff to participate in a yearlong workshop dedicated to Ignatian values.

The staff will participate in readings, reflections, spiritual exercises and written assignments to help ingrain Jesuit education into their daily lives, free of charge. At the end of the next academic year, the Ignatian faculty and staff fellows will take a 10-day immersion trip to Belize.

Robert Reed, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, proposed this opportunity as a service on par with the Ignatian Colleagues program, an intensive program offered outside of Loyola that focuses on Jesuit education.

“My vision is to take the Ignatian mission and incorporate it into our daily operations,” Reed said.

The Jesuit Center’s Assistant Director for Faculty and Staff Development Ricardo Marquez said he is dedicated to the product of the university, meaning the students. Marquez also said he values the staff and faculty, who are a large part of a student’s experience and professional development.

“We are inviting people to be more aware of the roots of this institution and give a synergetic feel to the mission in their work place,” Marquez said.

The staff fellows program is open to all staff members that may value the Jesuit mission and want to include those virtues in the work place.

“My goal is to make sure that every part of the university is represented,” Reed said. “The mission of the university is critical to the experience the students have.”

The program will accept eight to 10 applicants. Reed said he is hoping for an even higher number of participants

“Statistically, we know that the number of Jesuits and priests are on decline,” Reed said. “The plan is to have the application process review those applications to see how many people are interested in that particular program and hopefully we will have more than we expect.”

The spring semester has been dedicated to recruitment while the upcoming fall semester will focus on developing members and their spiritual journey.

“Spiritual exercises are very important because it’s the source of inspiration. It’s a very personal journey and we provide a place, a context and some guidelines to help people in this experience,” Marquez said. “The whole goal of this is to become contemplative in action, how to recognize God in all things, how to recognize the sacredness in everything and how to recognize that we are all part of that.”

Jessica DeBold can be reached at [email protected]