Dr. Jennifer Merritt Faria is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business, where she teaches Managing Human Dynamics in Organizations and will soon also teach Foundations of Leadership. She also serves on the Faculty Advisory Committee for Miller Center for Global Impact, and the Experiential Learning for Social Justice Core Committee. Her academic interests include applying the principles of integral ecology in business education, developing and researching social justice-centered pedagogical models, and evaluating the use of philosophy-based discussion to foster human development in educational and correctional settings.
Dr. Merritt Faria brings over two decades of experience designing and leading programs that connect universities with communities. At Santa Clara, she previously served as Senior Director for Academics at Miller Center, where she directed an international, experiential action research fellowship program focused on advancing climate resilience and women's economic power through social entrepreneurship, and as Director of Community-Based Learning at the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, where she oversaw initiatives placing over 1,200 students annually with community partners and led the Thriving Neighbors place-based engagement initiative in San Jose's Greater Washington neighborhood. Her fundraising efforts contributed to a $1,000,000 endowment gift and over $300,000 in additional support for Thriving Neighbors. She has taught across five departments at Santa Clara, including courses in social entrepreneurship, urban education, and cultural humility.
Before joining Santa Clara, Dr. Merritt Faria served as Faculty Director of Mentoring and Diversity at the University of Virginia Women's Center and as a lecturer and postdoctoral research associate in the Curry School of Education. She also served on the faculty at John Carroll University, where she founded the Carroll-Cleveland Philosophers' Program, which earned the American Philosophical Association's National Innovation Award in 2005 and was featured in a UNESCO report on philosophy and human rights education. She has secured over $700,000 in grant funding across her career and has published in journals spanning community psychology, higher education, and religion and education.
Dr. Merritt Faria holds a Ph.D. in Sociology of Education from the University of Virginia, an M.M. from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, an M.A. in Pastoral Ministry from Santa Clara University, and a B.A. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University. In 2024, she received the Miller Center's Impact Excellence Award.
MGMT - 160: Managing Human Dynamics in Organizations