Ignatian Leadership Academy:
Followup to Seminars in Ignatian Leadership

Next Meeting: June 20-23, 2011 at the American Airline Conference Center in Dallas, TX

Steering Committee:
Donna Andrade, Fairfield Preparatory School, Fairfield, CT
Jane Rafferty, Walsh Jesuit, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Jim Broderick King, Regis Jesuit, Aurora, CO
Kathy Nitta, Gonzaga Prep, Spokane, WA
Bill Thomason, Loyola High School of Los Angeles, CA

Leadership Development has been and continues to be a significant objective in JSEA’s long-range plan. At its most recent meeting, JSEA’s Board of Directors called on JSEA to “assist the schools in identifying and supporting a broader base of leaders” in its document titled, JSEA Strategic Priorities (2005-2010). One of the challenges for JSEA cited in the summary reports of Colloquium ’04 asked the question, “Should the Seminars in Ignatian Leadership be enhanced and expanded? For many participants of JSEA Seminars in Ignatian Leadership, completion of the program leads many of the graduates to ask the question, 'What’s next?'"

In response to this challenge, JSEA announced the creation of the Ignatian Leadership Academy that will be held every three years in rotation with JSEA Symposia and Colloquia. The Academy will be open to all graduates of the JSEA Seminars in Ignatian Leadership presently employed in Jesuit schools as well as to any member of a Jesuit high school’s administrative team.

A Steering Committee composed of a national chair and three regional coordinators had been appointed by JSEA to work with a JSEA liaison to organize and facilitate the first triennial meeting June 24-27, 2008 at Loyola Univeristy Chicago.

The agenda for each meeting will provide opportunities for participants to re-visit leadership topics, skills and practices addressed in JSEA Seminars, to address current leadership challenges, to further develop their sense of Ignatian spirituality and to renew friendships and networking opportunities. The agenda creating process would parallel that used by JSEA Conferences for National Meetings with solicitation of topics, formats and presenters from among all members of the Academy.

A survey soliciting suggestions for the content and format of the inaugural Academy in 2008 hadbeen sent to all Seminar graduates, Jesuit high school presidents and principals, as well as Year Three (2006-2007) Seminar participants and the results were used by the Steering Committee in designing the inaugural meeting.

In addition to the triennial national meeting, the Ignatian Leadership Academy’s Steering Committee will suggest topics and formats for each Jesuit school’s and/or province’s JSEA Seminar graduates to gather together during each school year. Examples of possible topics include:

• discussion related to Ignatian leadership projects developed by current JSEA Seminar participants;
• development of Ignatian leadership case studies for use in JSEA Seminars;
• partnering with school’s JSEA Seminar participants in Ignatian leadership projects;
• National Dream Trip topics from which an individual school’s group of graduates would develop goal statements, needs, objectives and action plans for their school;
• ways in which graduates could provide leadership within their school’s professional development programs.

Examples of possible formats include:

• prayer sessions followed by reflection/discussion;
• social gatherings with informal/formal meetings;
• formalized program of professional development for graduates.