Deans Cabinet

Associate Dean

B.A., Yale University (1979)
J.D., University of Virginia School of Law (1982)
M.A., Systematic Theology, Boston College (2003)
Ph.D., Systematic and Comparative Theology, Boston College (2006)

About Dr. Benders

Dr. Benders joined the Jesuit School of Theology in the summer of 2014. As Associate Dean, she is responsible for the quality and implementation of the academic programs as well as overseeing faculty development and student affairs. Prior to joining JST, Dr. Benders served as a senior level academic administrator at several Catholic institutions in Ohio and has taught graduate and undergraduate courses for over ten years. She has offered courses on the topics of World Religions, Fundamental Theology, Moral Theology, and Theological Anthropology. Her research interests include race as social justice issue, moral transformation, and the contributions of Jesuit theologian Bernard Lonergan. Higher education administration is Dr. Benders' second career, following upon about a decade of work as an antitrust litigator in Philadelphia.

Publications

Dr. Benders is currently completing a prayer book entitled Just Prayer to be published in 2015 by Liturgical Press.

• "Difficult Disciplinary Decisions: Faculty Dismissals." Behling, Laura, ed., Resource Handbook for Academic Deans. 3rd. New York: Jossey-Bass, 2014. 309-313.
• "Effective Hiring and Evaluation of Staff." Behling, Laura, ed., Resource Handbook for Academic Deans. 3rd. New York: Jossey-Bass, 2014. 255-259.
• Review of The Faithful: A History of Catholics in America, by James M. O’Toole. Emmanuel, March/April 2010: 187-188.
• With Sharpnack, P., Quinn-Griffin, M., Fitzpatrick, J. Spiritual practices and alternative healthcare practices of the Amish. Holistic Nursing Practice, 24:2, March-April, 2010.
• “Theological Method - Leading Beyond Impasse.” Fundamental Theology/Method Topic Session, CTSA Conference Proceedings, 2009.
• “Beyond MySpace: Grounding a Post-Modern Identity in Lonergan’s Interiority Analysis.” Lonergan Workshop 21 (2008): 1-16.
• “Renewing the Identity of Catholic Colleges.” Wabash Journal for Teaching Theology and Religion 10.4, (2007): 215-222.