Designed for new Dolan School faculty, participants meet as a cohort to discuss how the Jesuit mission can be integrated into coursework and what it means to be a Jesuit business school.
Jesuit business education transforms people and businesses and has the power to transform the world.
— Dolan Ignatian Fellows Program Co-Leader and Professor of Accounting Joan Lee, CPA
Fairfield Dolan has long been dedicated to the Jesuit mission. Dolan faculty and staff place social responsibility and justice at the core of a Dolan School education with the goal of developing ethical leaders with a global mindset. As Fairfield Dolan continues to grow and welcome new faculty, Dean Zhan Li, DBA, felt there was an opportunity to engage new faculty in conversation about what it means to be a Jesuit business school. This idea led to the formation of the Dolan Ignatian Fellows Program.
The program is co-led by Professor of Accounting Joan Lee, CPA, and Special Assistant to the Dean Rev. Gregory Konz, S.J. This year 12 Dolan faculty members will meet regularly during the academic year to discuss the Inspirational Paradigm for Jesuit Business Education. The Inspirational Paradigm is an initiative to promote innovative and engaging curricular course materials that inspire the idealism of business students and integrates the social justice and responsibility values of Jesuit social teaching into learning experiences.
“During the first meeting with faculty we used readings from the Journal of Jesuit Business Education focused on the Inspirational Paradigm,” said Rev. Konz. “With Dolan faculty, we will focus on pedagogical issues and content and how faculty can integrate that into their coursework.”
Dolan’s Ignatian Fellows Program emphasizes a shared dedication to the Jesuit mission regardless of one’s religious background.
“It’s exciting to see how our work in teaching and scholarship can be connected to the Inspirational Paradigm for Jesuit Business Education,” said assistant professor of management Regina Kim, PhD, who is a member of the first cohort and participated in the first meeting earlier this month. “The meeting certainly piqued my curiosity and I want to learn more about the fundamentals of Jesuit business education so I can incorporate these values in my teaching.”
Dr. Lee, who is an editor for the Journal of Jesuit Business Education and former president of Colleagues in Jesuit Business Education, emphasizes to faculty that they are part of a global network as a member of a Jesuit business school.
“What we do is transformative,” said Dr. Lee. “Jesuit business education transforms people and businesses and has the power to transform the world.”