Jonathan Rothchild

A headshot of Jonathan Rothchild on blue background
Jonathan Rothchild, Ph.D., Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Theological Studies

Associate Provost Rothchild provides administrative leadership in undergraduate education, including first-year programs, academic honesty and integrity, advising and mentorship, and the alignment of resources with strategic priorities. He coordinates the development and implementation of academic policies and procedures focused on student learning, retention, support, and success. Working in collaboration with the academic deans, student affairs leadership, faculty, and other units of the university, Associate Provost Rothchild helps build on efforts to integrate significant curricular and co-curricular experiences, promote equitable access to high-impact learning opportunities, and facilitate pathways for success in all phases of the undergraduate student experience. He works closely with the University Honors Program, Core Curriculum, Office of Disability Support Services, and the Academic Resource Center.

Associate Provost Rothchild began as a lecturer in Theological Studies at LMU in 2003 before transitioning to a tenure-line position in 2005 and becoming a full professor in 2018. He has served as department chair for Theological Studies and for Urban and Environmental Studies, graduate director of the Theology MA programs, Acting Accreditation Liaison Officer, Associate Dean in BCLA, and inaugural director of the BCLA Post-Doc Teaching Fellows Program. These leadership roles have primarily involved curricular development and assessment, pedagogy, student advising, faculty affairs and professional development, graduate education, and shared governance.

In the classroom, Associate Provost Rothchild is committed to challenging students to be rigorous thinkers, readers, and writers and to be critically aware of and empathetically responsive to needs in their local communities and global contexts. He believes that student learning should also occur outside of the classroom through high-impact experiences such as engaged learning, internships, study abroad, and living/ learning communities. He has accompanied students on an Alternative Break trip to several California penal institutions and, for four years, co-coordinated a Lilly Endowment ($600,000) funded, weeklong leadership institute at LMU for high school students from across Southern California. As a scholar, he marshals theological, philosophical, and legal arguments to address complex ethical, social, and political issues such as juvenile justice, felony disenfranchisement, the war on terror, voting rights, and restorative justice. His interdisciplinary methodology explores theoretical debates and their concrete implications for justice and the lived realities of individuals and communities.

He resides in Westchester with his wife, Elsa, and their children.