Leon Wiebers

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Engaging with LMU’s Religious Orders 

By: Leon Wiebers 

“How can faculty engage with the religious orders on campus?” Over the years that I have been a faculty member at LMU, I have been asked this question several times by faculty and members of the religious communities that comprise our unique identity.  LMU is fortunate to have three sponsoring religious communities, including the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, and the Jesuit Community (for more information: https://mission.lmu.edu/aboutus/sponsoringreligiouscommunities/). I have been fortunate to work closely with, partner with, and be supported by several different members of these religious communities including interacting regularly with a departmental colleague, learning from classroom visits in my FYS on the Art of AIDS, participating in Companions in Mission, serving on the advisory board of the CSJ Center, serving as a fellow with the Academy of Catholic Thought and Imagination, and now working with Jesuit leadership as Faculty Senate President.  I have experienced the value of the connections between Ignatian Pedagogy, our LMU Mission, and the interconnectedness of the religious philosophies on our campus.  In my time as the Faculty Fellow for Mission and Ministry, I look forward to finding ways for more engagement and connection between the faculty and our founding orders through dialogue, shared programming, honoring their histories, and community engagement.  I hope to increase awareness of the intellectual resources, grants, creative and research opportunities, and partnerships that are present on campus.  These communities are the bedrock of our identity, and I want to engage in dialogue about how to continue these influences into the future. I look forward to celebrating the upcoming anniversary of the coming together of Loyola and Marymount here on the bluff.