News Article
Subscribe to Gonzaga University's News Service RSS Feed| Dateline: 4/15/2009 | |||
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| GONZAGA UNIVERSITY NEWS FEATURE | |||
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| Father Spitzer Explains His Future Plans | |||
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Gonzaga University President Many questions have been posed to me over the past few months about my future plans, and today I’d like to tell you what those involve. I will continue to serve as your president through the Trustees and Regents meetings in mid-July. I plan to vacate my office after that, but remain on campus for a short time to assist in transition of leadership. A few years ago a group of longtime supporters of my work in the areas of faith and reason and ethical leadership offered me an opportunity to significantly increase my publications and to reach audiences exceeding 100,000 people per year with a new interactive conferencing technology. The prospect seemed very exciting to me, but I was hesitant to accept it because I was uncertain about its actualization, and I was reticent to leave the Gonzaga community that I dearly love. Nevertheless, over the course of two years, everything started to fall into place (thanks in good part to the Holy Spirit and the generosity of the projects’ underwriters). The underwriters were willing to support not only my salary, but full-time secretarial assistance, marketing assistance, office space, and technology, which would not only allow me to publish several long-delayed books but also to find venues in colleges, high schools, adult education and churches around the world for both the faith and reason and ethical leadership curricula. It was a dream-come-true because it had the potential to make a significant impact on the larger culture. My Provincial, Fr. Pat Lee, S.J., was equally enthusiastic about this prospect and has missioned me to work in Irvine, Calif., over the next two to five years and perhaps beyond. I plan to do this through a three-pronged approach: 1. Publication of books, 2. The development of faith and reason curricula for audiovisual and real-time interactive delivery, and 3. The development of ethical and spiritual leadership curricula for audio-visual and real-time interactive delivery. Three new books will be published in 2009-10 at Eerdmans Publishing and Ignatius Press. Following those, I plan to publish “popular” versions of my books (less academic in nature). I started the Magis Institute several years ago to promote the faith and reason curriculum (among other things) and this will provide the primary vehicle for the new interactive delivery of the astrophysical and philosophical response to atheism. I also started the Spitzer Center for Ethical Leadership several years ago which will provide the primary vehicle for the ethical and spiritual leadership interactive curriculum. I will miss the students here very much, and the empathy I share with them and their parents. I will also miss my good friends among our Trustees, Regents, benefactors and alumni, as well as my relationships with administration, faculty, and staff members I have come to know over the past 11 years. I do not consider this to be an absolute departure because I will return to campus and continue to promote Gonzaga’s interests among our benefactors and friends. I leave Gonzaga feeling confident that our future is very secure. Admissions and retention look better than ever, and we have put a blueprint in place in the form of Vision 2012, our strategic plan, which will guide the University over the next five to 10 years. In the meantime, there is plenty of work to be done here. God bless you all. View Fr. Spitzer's Easter Blessing April @Gonzaga Newsletter |
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