Loyola University Chicago

Michael J. Garanzini, S.J.

Overview Academic Experience Degrees Professional Interests Selected Publications

Overview

Reverend Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., has served as the 23rd president of Loyola University Chicago since June 2001. A seasoned university administrator, tenured professor, author, and scholar, Father Garanzini has spent the majority of his career working in higher education.

Father Garanzini’s solid academic credentials combine with a rare blend of experience in teaching, research, service, and administrative leadership at some of the nation’s leading Jesuit institutions of higher learning, including Georgetown, Fordham, Saint Louis, and Rockhurst universities, as well as Gregorian University in Rome.

Prior to becoming president of Loyola, Father Garanzini was a full professor of psychology at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where he had been special assistant to the president for two years. Before joining Georgetown, Father Garanzini was a visiting professor at Fordham University in New York.

Much of Father Garanzini’s academic and administrative experience comes from his years at Saint Louis University in Missouri, where he held several academic and administrative posts. A native of St. Louis, Father Garanzini received his BA in psychology from Saint Louis University in 1971, the same year he entered the Society of Jesus. From 1984 to 1988, he divided his academic responsibilities between the University of San Francisco and Gregorian University in Rome. He received a doctorate in psychology and religion from the Graduate Theological Union/University of California, Berkeley in 1986. In 1988, he returned to Saint Louis as an associate professor of counseling and family therapy. He then served as assistant academic vice president from 1992 to 1994. He was appointed academic vice president in 1994, a post he held until 1998. In 2008, he was award an honorary doctorate of public service from Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Father Garanzini currently serves on the boards of trustees of Loyola University New Orleans, Fairfield University, and Fordham University. He also is on the boards of CARA in Washington, DC; St. Gregory the Great High School in Chicago; Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois; and the Flannery O’Connor-Andalusia Foundation. 

Active in community service, Father Garanzini is known for his work on behalf of children and families. He is a frequent speaker and has published many books and articles on issues such as child and family therapy, moral development, and Catholic education.

Committed to preparing people to lead extraordinary lives, Loyola University Chicago was founded in 1870 and is the nation’s largest Jesuit, Catholic University. Loyola has a total enrollment of more than 15,500 students, which includes nearly 10,000 undergraduates hailing from all 50 states and 82 foreign countries. The University has four campuses: three in the greater Chicago area and one in Rome, Italy. Loyola also serves as the U.S. host university to the Beijing Center for Chinese Studies in Beijing, China. Loyola's nine schools and colleges include arts and sciences, business administration, education, graduate studies, law, medicine, nursing, continuing and professional studies, and social work. Loyola offers 71 undergraduate majors, 71 undergraduate minors, 85 master's degrees, and 31 doctoral degrees. Recognizing Loyola's excellence in education, U.S. News and World Report has ranked Loyola consistently among the "top national universities," and named the University a "best value" in its 2008 rankings. For more information, please visit our Web site at LUC.edu.

Academic Experience

2001-Present — President, Loyola University Chicago
1999-01 — Special Assistant to the President and Acting Chair, Psychology Department, Georgetown University
1998-99 — Visiting Professor of Counseling, Fordham University
1994-98 — Academic Vice President, Saint Louis University
1993-94 — Acting Academic Vice President, Saint Louis University
1992-93 — Assistant Academic Vice President, Saint Louis University
1991-92 — Acting Vice President for Student Development, Saint Louis University
1988-98 — Associate Professor of Education, Saint Louis University, Graduate Program in Counseling and Undergraduate Psychology (tenure 1992)
1986 & 1988 — Visiting Professor in Psychology and Family Studies, Gregorian University, Graduate Division
1986-88 — Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and School of Education; Department of Educational Psychology, University of San Francisco
1984-86 — Part-Time Non-Tenured Faculty, University of San Francisco

Degrees

• PhD, Graduate Theological Union University of California, Berkeley, 1986, Psychology and Religion
• STM, Jesuit School of Theology Berkeley, 1981, Moral Development
• MDiv, Weston School of Theology, 1980
• MA, New York University, 1978, American Civilization
• BA, Saint Louis University, 1971, Psychology
• Honorary Doctorate of Public Service, Carthage College, 2008

Professional Interests

• Child development
• Family systems
• Counseling psychology

Selected Publications

• "The Narcissistic Family: Implications for Catholic School Leaders" chapter in Catholic School Educational Leadership, by Hunt, Oldenski and Wallace (1998)
  
  
• Child-Centered Schools: An Educator's Guide to Family Dysfunction (1995) NCEA Press
  
  
• "Matching the Inner World with Outer Reality: Moral Development Domains and the Role of the Media" In Mass Media and the Moral Imagination, pp. 85-100. Edited by Philip J. Rossi and Paul A. Soukup. Kansas City, MO: Sheed and Ward, (1994).
  
  
• "Meeting the Needs of Dysfunctional Families" Catechist, January, (1993).
  
  
• The Attachment Cycle: An Object Relations Approach to the Healing Ministries  (1987) Paulist Press