Fairfield University President Rev. Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J., will deliver the prestigious annual More House Lecture at the St. Thomas More Center, the Catholic Chaplaincy at Yale University.

Father von Arx will present "The Character and Role of Newman's Studium Today: Catholic Universities and Catholics at Secular Universities," at 5 p.m., Thursday, November 3, in the Thomas E. Golden, Jr. Center at the Saint Thomas More Chapel and Center, 268 Park Street, New Haven. The presentation is free and open to the public.

This distinguished lecture has been an annual event at the More Center since 1962, when the Reverend John Courtney Murray, S.J., delivered the inaugural Lecture: "The Problem of God." Since that time, prominent theologians have spoken on topics of Christology, ecclesiology, social justice, literature, and spirituality to advance Catholic intellectual discourse on Yale's campus.

In July 2004, the Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, S.J., became the eighth Jesuit to be named President of Fairfield University since the institution's founding in 1942.

Fr. von Arx brings to Fairfield broad academic interests and an integrated view of learning. His zest for student life is born of having lived in undergraduate residence halls throughout his years at Georgetown and Fordham. His approach to the intellectual life reflects the best of what Jesuit education offers the world - the integration of knowledge and values as the foundation for unity of mind, body, and spirit.

An historian by discipline, Fr. von Arx began his academic career at Georgetown University, where he taught in the History Department from 1982 to 1998, and was its chair from 1991 to 1997. He then moved into administration at Fordham University, serving as Dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill from 1998 until his selection as President by the Fairfield University Board of Trustees in 2004.

He graduated from Princeton University in 1969 and entered the Society of Jesus that summer. He subsequently earned an M.A. and M.Phil. in history at Yale University, and completed his Ph.D. there in 1980. A year later, Fr. von Arx received an M.Div. from the Weston School of Theology and was ordained a priest.

Fr. von Arx has served or is currently on the boards of trustees of Le Moyne College, Boston College, Canisius College, Loyola Marymount University, and Xavier University, as well as the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (NEASC). He was appointed to the Fairfield Board in 2002 and as president, continues to serve as a trustee.

The Saint Thomas More Chapel and Center serves the Catholic community at Yale by creating a vibrant and welcoming community through worship and service; cultivating informed faith and spirituality; engaging in reflective discourse on faith and culture; advancing the Church's mission of promoting social justice, and participating in the global Church's life and witness.

For more information: http://stm.yale.edu

Posted On: 10-27-2011 11:10 AM

Volume: 44 Number: 99