Why faculty choose Gonzaga, how teaching has changed
By Peter Tormey

Why do faculty choose to teach at Gonzaga and how has teaching changed in recent years? Following are four faculty perspectives on those questions.


Denise Casey, a first‑year communication arts instructor completing her doctorate from the University of Miami, said she has been aware of Gonzaga's excellent academic reputation her entire life growing up in Calgary, Alberta.

"I jumped at the opportunity," said Casey, the Outstanding Graduate Student in the UM School of Communication in 2002. "I believe that Divine Providence has brought me to this University so that I can fulfill my teaching mission."

Casey said Gonzaga's mission statement is her mission. "I believe in the dignity of the person and treating all with unconditional positive regard," she said. "I believe in doing the very best that you can and trying to do even better. I believe that we are all in search of truth and, as educators, one of our jobs is to facilitate the process for students. I also believe that it is through service to others that we grow."

After a full semester at GU, Casey said she is "so pleased with and apprecia­tive of the level of warmth and genuine concern that I have received." Asked why she chose to teach, Casey said it fits her worldview."I have a vision of the world where students learn in a safe environment and are treated with respect and are nurtured on their academic journey," she said. "I believe in 'Do unto students as you would have them do unto others.' For this reason, I am compelled to teach so that I can, in a small way, add to the quality of another individual's life."

Casey said she believes teachers are more accountable now, compared to her undergraduate days, and more cognizant of individual learning challenges and styles. "Learning has become a collaborative activity involving both teacher and learners," she said.


Father Michael Connolly, S.J., political science associate professor, was awarded his 20‑year pin in fall 2003. Born and raised in Boston, he was ordained in the New England Province and taught at Baghdad College and Al‑Hikma University until Saddam Hussein expelled all Jesuits. He earned a master's degree in International Development Studies from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and a Ph.D. in politics from Australia's Monash University.

Father Connolly said he has always felt comfortable at GU - happy and supported. "I am pleased to make contributions to the University's mission both in developing the faith lives of students through liturgies, retreats and other activities, but also I am trying to help in various ways from the academic perspec­tive, emphasizing justice issues in the courses I teach," he said.

Despite its recent growth, he believes GU remains true to its mission. "Gonzaga, even though it has grown a lot in the last few years, remains a small place where people know each other, interact and become friends with each other and support each other," he said. "It is possible at Gonzaga to have good personal care for students."

Asked why he teaches, Father Connolly said he's always wanted to serve God and help people and teaching is a good way to do both. Father Connolly cited the class size and his experience as key factors in the way he teaches.

"I've gotten better at understanding where the students are at and matching my teaching to their needs and abilities," he said. "The students seem very interested in learning and doing their best. That was always true at Gonzaga, but it may be that with that much more experience I feel I am in some ways a better teacher now."


Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Martha Gonzales, associate professor of modern languages, came to GU in 1992 from the University of Kansas where she earned her master's and doctoral degrees.

"I didn't know anything about Gonzaga, but Gonzaga was one of those schools that was interested in me," she said. "I felt very comfortable here from the beginning because I came from a Catholic family, raised Catholic, and many of the principles in the mission statement were present in the environment in which I was raised."

Gonzales said she enjoys GU for its decidedly different teaching atmosphere. "This is an environment of friendship and everyone is trying to help each other," she said. "Not the negative competitive­ness at many other universities. I got along very well with my colleagues and I like the students very much."

Gonzales doesn't believe teaching is much different now compared to when she started in the profession, but thinks the students are. "Most students were not as interested in world issues as they are now," she said. "Each year, I notice students are more prepared for life; every year, I hear this from more people. If students have good discipline, keep up on assignments and have good dialogue, they can succeed."

Also, Gonzales says Gonzaga students seem more respectful and disciplined than before. "They are good students if they work hard," she said. "Many times, you see very motivated students. People say 'those are the rich kids.' Sometimes, yes, but many of the best students here have one, two or three jobs to pay for Gonzaga. I tell people 'they are such good kids, they have such good hearts.' Generally, they work very hard."

She's also noticed increasing trends of more Spanish‑speaking and Hispanic students.


Douglas Kries, associate professor of philosophy and director of Catholic studies, started at GU in 1989. Kries, who earned a doctorate from Boston College, chose GU partly because of its mission.

"I understand Gonzaga's mission as coming directly from the mission of the Catholic Church," said Kries. "Without its attachment to the Church, Gonzaga might still be a decent school, but it is its dependence upon the Church that makes its mission go above and beyond that of other schools."

For Kries, there exist within Western intellectual tradition several extremely valuable books written by especially insightful authors that Gonzaga students should read carefully - with his help.

"I am passionately committed to these books, which are the best means available to cast light on the fundamental human questions," Kries said. "I told my students on the first day of class, 'I am not your teacher.' I told them that Aristotle was their teacher, and that later on Rousseau would teach. I am only in the classroom to enable a meeting of the minds between the students and their real teachers, the authors of the important books we read."

Kries views his role as Aristotle's teaching assistant. "I understand my role to be that of an intermediary between students and the truly great teachers of the tradition," he said. "I don't try to teach them my own idiosyncratic ideas. Who cares about my ideas? The ideas written in the greatest books left behind by the greatest minds of the tradition are what the students ought to care about."

Asked what's different about teaching now, he cited expectations."Students seem to have greater expectations of their teachers," he said. "They expect the teachers to serve them more than we ever did."