Spotlight On: Art Lurigio
A Legacy of Care: Art Lurigio's Journey of Academic Advocacy
Story by Sophia Duque
Art Lurigio's twenty-one-year tenure in the Dean's Office in the College of Arts and Sciences has been marked by an unwavering dedication to faculty and mental health advocacy. As he transitions to a new academic role, we explore the legacy of a person who always puts people first.
“Everything I do is about people.”
Art Lurigio joined the Dean’s Office in the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago twenty-one years ago. His impact over that period has been immeasurable.
He nonetheless has begun his next Loyola chapter as he transitions back to a role – faculty member – he has spent the last two-plus decades serving.
Lurigio’s contributions to the Dean’s Office began in 2003, when he became Special Assistant to the Dean, before transitioning to a newly created role, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, in 2004. He has served as the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs since 2013 and has played a key role in the hiring and promotion of hundreds of faculty members during his tenure.
“We as a faculty and staff, and the College of Arts and Sciences as a whole, are much better persons and a much better institution thanks to Art’s innumerable contributions over the years,” said Peter J. Schraeder, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago.
Lurigio will begin the 2024-25 academic year as a returning faculty member in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology.
But to fully understand the impact of Lurigio’s passion for helping others, influenced by his expertise in psychology and criminal justice, it’s best to start at the beginning.
Art Lurigio when he began in the CAS Dean's Office.
“Show me the boy at seven, and I’ll show you the man at seventy.”
From an early age, Lurigio was an observer. He would observe other children on the playground and wonder why they behaved in certain ways. He would observe the Roman Catholic community around him, with three churches within walking distance of his home. He also observed his father, noting his compassion and care for others.
His father, Attilio Sr., always gave to others. Lurigio recalls his father serving in the military and becoming a union leader. “He was always giving to other people. He was focused not on himself, but on others.”
“Instead of growing up thinking differences, differences, differences. I grew up inspired by my father, seeing that there is sameness, sameness, sameness. People are people.”
Today, he keeps a picture of his father in his office. “It reminds me of someone who was called to duty,” he said.
When Lurigio was seventeen, he took a college-level introductory psychology class in high school, which changed everything. “Immediately, I knew that was what I wanted to be. There was no wavering, there was no dissuading me,” Lurigio stated.
“My interest was always in people.”
At eighteen, he experienced another life-altering change: his best friend was diagnosed with schizophrenia. “He became extremely ill, and we [mentally] lost him,” Lurigio reflected. He grew closer to the family and visited his friend in the hospital. This experience fortified his desire to help people with mental illness.
Lurigio recalls moments as a child when he joined his dad to visit his uncle’s wife in a mental hospital. “My dad was the only one who didn’t leave her behind. He thought, ‘She’s a person. She’s sick. We’ll visit her like we’d visit anyone in the hospital.’ That left quite a lasting impression,” he said.
Recognizing it was uncommon and frightening for a child to be visiting mental institutions, he credited his father for instilling the confidence to be present in that environment and to feel safe.
Art Lurigio, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty, and Jackie Long, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and International Initiatives.
Lurigio used this “Be for Others” mentality throughout his life.
He received his PhD from Loyola University Chicago in 1984 and began his academic career at Northwestern University before he was recruited to return to Loyola in 1989.
Having been raised Catholic, he felt a natural alignment with the Jesuit values of Cura Personalis, or caring for the whole person. After serving as the Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, he was asked to take on a leadership role in the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office.
Lurigio and the Dean at the time discussed creating a permanent position for him in the Dean’s Cabinet. He envisioned a role that reflected his values and thus created the position of Associate Dean for Faculty.
Lurigio made sure that this title indicated for faculty and not of faculty. He explained, “My mindset will always be one of service, not of exercising authority. The authority is implicit. I wanted to signal to people that I am an advocate, helper, and facilitator in the office.”
Lurigio was uniquely positioned to create the position from the ground up, defining the duties, responsibilities, faculty programs, and protocols.
“Every day, I learn about problems and challenges I must address. This job involves people, and people are complex,” he noted.
Over time, Lurigio developed a deep passion for helping faculty, “You elevate the faculty, you elevate the Department; you elevate the Department, you elevate the College as a whole.”
Beyond his work in administration, Lurigio is a renowned psychologist and criminologist. His greatest learning experiences didn’t take place in the classroom, though.
As a graduate student, he became an administrator and psychologist in the Cook County Court system. He noted that this experience was the centerpiece of his education to become a Criminal Justice and Criminology Professor.
“I learned it from the inside of the system itself, not from a book, but from everyday experience.”
Lurigio’s interest in research has gradually evolved. Inspired by his father and his experiences with those who have mental illnesses, he has become a strong advocate for integrating mental health and criminal justice in his work.
One of his proudest achievements in this area is helping to launch Cook County’s first specialized unit for adult probationers with mental illness. Along with that program, Lurigio has had a hand at implementing numerous mental health policies for individuals with addictions, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and sex workers. Lurigio also works with crime victims to develop risk assessment initiatives and train police and probation officers on the scene.
“I brought psychology into the criminal justice system,” he reflected, noting that it helped to permanently change how the system views mental illness and addiction.
It has now been seventeen years since Lurigio was a full professor. His expertise has earned him a joint appointment in the criminal justice and psychology departments.
I’m most excited about learning new and better ways to teach this new generation. Art Lurigio
According to Research.com, Lurigio has been recognized as one of the top Law Scientists in the world. He is one of four law scientists from Chicago to make the list and the only one from Loyola University Chicago.
When thinking of his long-term goals, Lurigio returns to being a product of his father’s care for others.
“I’m blessed to have an opportunity to help people,” he said.
Lurigio’s journey will only continue to inspire those around him, from his Chicago neighborhood and faith growing up to his academic achievements, involvement in court systems, time in the Dean’s Office, and now back in the classroom.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest of Loyola University Chicago’s 15 schools, colleges, and institutes. More than 150 years since its founding, the College is home to 20 academic departments and 36 interdisciplinary programs and centers, more than 450 full-time faculty, and nearly 8,000 students. The 2,000+ classes that we offer each semester span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our campus in Rome, Italy, as well as at dozens of University-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the University’s Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola’s students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be “individuals for others.”
Story by Sophia Duque
Art Lurigio's twenty-one-year tenure in the Dean's Office in the College of Arts and Sciences has been marked by an unwavering dedication to faculty and mental health advocacy. As he transitions to a new academic role, we explore the legacy of a person who always puts people first.
“Everything I do is about people.”
Art Lurigio joined the Dean’s Office in the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago twenty-one years ago. His impact over that period has been immeasurable.
He nonetheless has begun his next Loyola chapter as he transitions back to a role – faculty member – he has spent the last two-plus decades serving.
Lurigio’s contributions to the Dean’s Office began in 2003, when he became Special Assistant to the Dean, before transitioning to a newly created role, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, in 2004. He has served as the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs since 2013 and has played a key role in the hiring and promotion of hundreds of faculty members during his tenure.
“We as a faculty and staff, and the College of Arts and Sciences as a whole, are much better persons and a much better institution thanks to Art’s innumerable contributions over the years,” said Peter J. Schraeder, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago.
Lurigio will begin the 2024-25 academic year as a returning faculty member in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology.
But to fully understand the impact of Lurigio’s passion for helping others, influenced by his expertise in psychology and criminal justice, it’s best to start at the beginning.
“Show me the boy at seven, and I’ll show you the man at seventy.”
From an early age, Lurigio was an observer. He would observe other children on the playground and wonder why they behaved in certain ways. He would observe the Roman Catholic community around him, with three churches within walking distance of his home. He also observed his father, noting his compassion and care for others.
His father, Attilio Sr., always gave to others. Lurigio recalls his father serving in the military and becoming a union leader. “He was always giving to other people. He was focused not on himself, but on others.”
“Instead of growing up thinking differences, differences, differences. I grew up inspired by my father, seeing that there is sameness, sameness, sameness. People are people.”
Today, he keeps a picture of his father in his office. “It reminds me of someone who was called to duty,” he said.
When Lurigio was seventeen, he took a college-level introductory psychology class in high school, which changed everything. “Immediately, I knew that was what I wanted to be. There was no wavering, there was no dissuading me,” Lurigio stated.
“My interest was always in people.”
At eighteen, he experienced another life-altering change: his best friend was diagnosed with schizophrenia. “He became extremely ill, and we [mentally] lost him,” Lurigio reflected. He grew closer to the family and visited his friend in the hospital. This experience fortified his desire to help people with mental illness.
Lurigio recalls moments as a child when he joined his dad to visit his uncle’s wife in a mental hospital. “My dad was the only one who didn’t leave her behind. He thought, ‘She’s a person. She’s sick. We’ll visit her like we’d visit anyone in the hospital.’ That left quite a lasting impression,” he said.
Recognizing it was uncommon and frightening for a child to be visiting mental institutions, he credited his father for instilling the confidence to be present in that environment and to feel safe.
Lurigio used this “Be for Others” mentality throughout his life.
He received his PhD from Loyola University Chicago in 1984 and began his academic career at Northwestern University before he was recruited to return to Loyola in 1989.
Having been raised Catholic, he felt a natural alignment with the Jesuit values of Cura Personalis, or caring for the whole person. After serving as the Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, he was asked to take on a leadership role in the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office.
Lurigio and the Dean at the time discussed creating a permanent position for him in the Dean’s Cabinet. He envisioned a role that reflected his values and thus created the position of Associate Dean for Faculty.
Lurigio made sure that this title indicated for faculty and not of faculty. He explained, “My mindset will always be one of service, not of exercising authority. The authority is implicit. I wanted to signal to people that I am an advocate, helper, and facilitator in the office.”
Lurigio was uniquely positioned to create the position from the ground up, defining the duties, responsibilities, faculty programs, and protocols.
“Every day, I learn about problems and challenges I must address. This job involves people, and people are complex,” he noted.
Over time, Lurigio developed a deep passion for helping faculty, “You elevate the faculty, you elevate the Department; you elevate the Department, you elevate the College as a whole.”
Beyond his work in administration, Lurigio is a renowned psychologist and criminologist. His greatest learning experiences didn’t take place in the classroom, though.
As a graduate student, he became an administrator and psychologist in the Cook County Court system. He noted that this experience was the centerpiece of his education to become a Criminal Justice and Criminology Professor.
“I learned it from the inside of the system itself, not from a book, but from everyday experience.”
Lurigio’s interest in research has gradually evolved. Inspired by his father and his experiences with those who have mental illnesses, he has become a strong advocate for integrating mental health and criminal justice in his work.
One of his proudest achievements in this area is helping to launch Cook County’s first specialized unit for adult probationers with mental illness. Along with that program, Lurigio has had a hand at implementing numerous mental health policies for individuals with addictions, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and sex workers. Lurigio also works with crime victims to develop risk assessment initiatives and train police and probation officers on the scene.
“I brought psychology into the criminal justice system,” he reflected, noting that it helped to permanently change how the system views mental illness and addiction.
It has now been seventeen years since Lurigio was a full professor. His expertise has earned him a joint appointment in the criminal justice and psychology departments.
According to Research.com, Lurigio has been recognized as one of the top Law Scientists in the world. He is one of four law scientists from Chicago to make the list and the only one from Loyola University Chicago.
When thinking of his long-term goals, Lurigio returns to being a product of his father’s care for others.
“I’m blessed to have an opportunity to help people,” he said.
Lurigio’s journey will only continue to inspire those around him, from his Chicago neighborhood and faith growing up to his academic achievements, involvement in court systems, time in the Dean’s Office, and now back in the classroom.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest of Loyola University Chicago’s 15 schools, colleges, and institutes. More than 150 years since its founding, the College is home to 20 academic departments and 36 interdisciplinary programs and centers, more than 450 full-time faculty, and nearly 8,000 students. The 2,000+ classes that we offer each semester span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our campus in Rome, Italy, as well as at dozens of University-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the University’s Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola’s students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be “individuals for others.”