Dear Campus Community, 

Please join me in welcoming John McGarry, SJ, to Santa Clara University to serve as the Director of Campus Ministry. The Office of Campus Ministry fosters the spiritual lives of students, embracing Catholic and Ignatian traditions, while honoring and supporting students from a diversity of religious, spiritual, and personal worldviews. Campus Ministry also contributes to the Division of Mission and Ministry in celebrating SCU’s Jesuit values and helping people to engage SCU’s mission.

John brings to the director role extensive Ignatian leadership and ministry experience within the Society of Jesus and in Jesuit sponsored schools. He is known as a team-oriented, pastoral leader with a passion for Jesuit education. John noted during interviews that, in his service as an educator, he has witnessed the transformative power of a Jesuit education for young people. This is what makes him so excited to lead the Office of Campus Ministry to support the faith and development of our students here.

John's start date as Director of Campus Ministry will be February 1. He is currently finishing a sabbatical at Loyola Marymount University and completing a number of community projects in LA. When John begins, among his first priorities will be getting to know the members of the campus ministry team, building bridges with other campus partners, and meeting our students with their hopes, concerns, and dreams.  

Finally, we are grateful to everyone who helped with the search and attended interview events to get to know the candidates. Thank you especially to the Search Committee for bringing three extremely qualified finalists to campus. The committee included: Shá Duncan-Smith (chair), Kyle Amore, Luis Calero, SJ, Andrew Chai, Dylan Houle, Bernell Nevill, Daniel Noronha, Darcy Phillips, Sarita Tamaya-Moraga, and Aaron Willis. Thanks also to Michael Nuttall, who staffed the committee. We are grateful to the members of the Santa Clara community for fully supporting this search during the busy month of December.

We are so pleased to welcome John McGarry as Director of Campus Ministry! When he begins in February, please stop by the Campus Ministry office to meet him!   Warmly, Alison Benders Vice President, Mission & Ministry