Communications 2020

In my inaugural address, I proposed an image of a Jesuit university as a place of generous encounter. Before reviewing with you some particulars of the “state of the university,” I would like to further elaborate on that image so that we may ground what we are doing as faculty, students, and staff in our particular mission at Santa Clara. If we forget this broader horizon in which we teach, research, learn, and serve, we risk forgetting why we are doing what we are doing, thus reducing our labor here to simply work, and not a vocation or summons to greater purpose. Yet, so as not to bury the lead, let me say upfront that the state of the university is strong in the face of some serious challenges, strong above all because of the talent and generosity of the people who make up the extended Santa Clara family.

We are at our best when we make room for encounters that enliven and challenge, encounters that ignite the mind, stir the heart, and prod feet and hands into action for the good of others. “Encounter” is a word rich in meaning. It means a conversation or meeting that carries the possibility of an unexpected revelation, an adventurous discovery, or a surprising gift.

To speak of such encounter as “generous” only deepens our image, and challenges us. By generous, I mean an encounter that does not merely tolerate or respect another but reverences them. To borrow a presupposition in Saint Ignatius’ spirituality, generosity means that we presume the good will of another and try to put a positive interpretation on another’s statement or action, and if we cannot, to correct them in truth and in love. Generous encounter means that we can have difficult conversations because we are ready to do the hard work of forgiveness and reconciliation. In other words, we can be generous with another as well as prophetic. Finally, generous encounter means that we are quick to encourage one another when we can, because life can be hard, the times are challenging, and the hidden burdens people carry can be heavy.

The university as a place of generous encounter is not a given. No matter the rankings, no matter the size of the endowment, no matter how old the tradition, we must be intentional and bold in our making Santa Clara such a place. Let me suggest two practices that can help us ferment a culture of generous encounter, both steeped in the Ignatian tradition.

The first is gratitude. We are stewards of gifts freely given to us – knowledge generated by scholars of the past, works of art and music created by artists over the ages, land marked sacred by the Ohlone people, the spiritual and intellectual tradition of the Jesuits nearly five centuries old, and a campus and programs made possible by countless faculty, staff, students and benefactors. Recognizing these gifts, we naturally want to share those gifts to serve others. Gratitude fuels generosity. The impact of an encounter thus multiplies.

There is another practical benefit of cultivating an attitude of gratitude. Anthony de Mello, SJ, a wise Indian Jesuit, succinctly put it: grateful people are happier people. This is not trendy self-help. Nor does the practice of gratitude gloss over problems or injustices. To the contrary, gratitude fuels us to take on those challenges. So grateful are we for this world, this planet, this discipline, this campus, this person, we want only to make things better. Gratitude can transform us and how we look at one another and our shared labor at the university.

The second practice that helps us ferment a culture of generous encounter is attentiveness. The philosopher Simone Weil provocatively observed, “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” Provocative because in her time and even more so in our own, it is hard to really pay attention, given the information overload we face, our hectic schedules, and the always present distraction of screens. Paying attention – that is, looking, listening, reflecting, sensing, and feeling deeply – helps us avoid the trap that T.S. Eliot warned about in his Four Quartets: to have the experience but miss the meaning. And Jesuit education is about meaning-making.

It is easy to go for the quick fix, easy to regurgitate the expert opinion or popular consensus, easy to categorize people. But if we really pay attention, then the person before us has the possibility of becoming our teacher and our friend. If we really look and listen deeply, the most ordinary encounter can become extraordinary. Superficiality is so seductive because it means we don’t have to change. But attentiveness might just summon us to address a problem or injustice because we notice that once hidden burden another carries. It might just inspire us to reach out to someone who is lonely. It might call us to let go of old ways of doing things and seeing things and to let go of comfortable ways of living, learning, and relating, in order to embrace a whole new outlook that can liberate us beyond our imagining.

• Attentive and grateful, I’ve been blessed with some really meaningful encounters over these last seven months. Let me share just a few examples:
• I was invited to two classes, Barbara Burns’ “Intro to Child Studies” class and Chip Adams’, “Conscientious Capitalism” course. There I saw professors passionate about their subjects and connecting to both the minds and hearts of their students;
• I saw so many faculty, staff and students respond when Jake Engelken was hit by a car. The lacrosse team arranged for Thanksgiving dinner for the family on campus. I visited the ICU one day to find him wrapped in a red Santa Clara blanket that Matthew Duncan had given him;
• At two forums, I joined conversations about race and diversity that were challenging and sometimes difficult, conversations in which I saw Broncos listen, learn, and try to find ways to work together in the shared conviction that we can be better;
• On my walks across campus, I see our gardeners so carefully, even reverently, pruning back the rose bushes. “They will be back by April,” they assured me!
• I was overpowered by the closing song of Rhiannon Giddens’ fall concert. Rhiannon is the Sinatra Artist-in-Residence. Her song was a sweet lullaby, a psalm, a lyrical prayer for grace in challenging times. I was equally overpowered in a visual sense by Ken Gonzales-Day’s images of California lynching trees, exhibited in the gallery in the Dowd building;
• I’ve met alumni along the road and heard their stories of putting their Santa Clara education in service of others. One day, Fred Ferrer, an alumnus and teacher here, drove me around east San Jose to introduce me to people who were trying to make their community better. At the courthouse, an alumna of our law school proudly told me about her work serving as a child advocate in family court;
• I have joined students in their residence halls and at performances, even on a KSCU radio show. I have noticed that in their contagious enthusiasm, generous encounters can also be a lot of fun. They have welcomed me into their home here. One team asked me to pray with them before a game. A group of students invited me to lead “Bronco Jacks” at a basketball game. A student group invited me to deliver food with them in St. James Park. And for one who has no children of my own, I’m amazed by the number who walk or skateboard by me every day and say, “Hey, Father.”

There are many more examples to share, but I hope these few demonstrate how a practice of attention and gratitude can enrich our life here. Noticing the details and reflecting on them gratefully will ensure that we have the experience without missing the meaning. I’m convinced that a culture of generous encounter will allow us to do our best work, find even more fulfillment in our labors, and more powerfully serve the common good. In this way, Santa Clara can be an example of generous encounter in a country and culture that too often lacks both generosity and true encounter.

Not so here in this special place. I love being here, I love this remarkable position of service because of the people I work with, the students I am getting to know, the mission that is so vital, and the impact we can have – together.