حوإ¼½م½م President William P. Leahy, S.J., signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with Jesuit Refugee Service International Director Thomas H. Smolich, S.J. Looking on is حوإ¼½م½م School of Social Work Dean Gautam Yadama, who signed a sub-agreement with JRS on behalf of his school. (Lee Pellegrini)
حوإ¼½م½م will collaborate with the Jesuit Refugee Service—a Rome-based international Catholic relief and human services organization operating in more than 50 countries—to develop programs and activities aimed at improving the quality of life and care of refugees and forcibly displaced persons in areas of the world where JRS is involved.
حوإ¼½م½م President William P. Leahy, S.J., with Jesuit Refugee Service International Director Thomas H. Smolich, S.J. (Lee Pellegrini)
University President William P. Leahy, S.J., and JRS International Director Thomas H. Smolich, S.J., signed a three-year memorandum of understanding to affirm the partnership on April 12 at a ceremony in Simboli Hall. Also attending were حوإ¼½م½م School of Social Work Dean Gautam Yadama, who signed a sub-agreement with the JRS on behalf of his school, and School of Theology and Ministry Dean Thomas Stegman, S.J.—whose school is discussing a similar sub-agreement with JRS—as well as other حوإ¼½م½م faculty and administrators and JRS representatives.
The حوإ¼½م½م-JRS partnership will include joint research and consultancy, mutual provision of educational and experiential services, production of academic materials and publications, and awareness-raising campaigns for the benefit of refugees in the care of JRS.
JRS was founded in 1980 by then-Superior General of the Society of Jesus Pedro Arrupe, S.J., and officially registered as a foundation of the Vatican City State in 2000. Its programs and initiatives are in the areas of education, emergency assistance, health care, livelihoods, reconciliation, psychosocial support, advocacy and human rights work.
حوإ¼½م½م School of Social Work Dean Gautam Yadama, here with JRS Director Thomas Smolich, S.J., signed a sub-agreement of understanding on behalf of his school. (Lee Pellegrini)
As speakers at the ceremony noted, the memorandum builds on, and formalizes, a longstanding association between حوإ¼½م½م and the JRS: Over the years, the organization has developed ties to STM, حوإ¼½م½مSSW, the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, حوإ¼½م½م Law School, and Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences through various initiatives involving administrators, faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Among those present at the April 12 event was Sister Maryanne Loughry, who chairs the JRS Staff Care Advisory Board and has been a visiting professor at حوإ¼½م½مSSW for more than a decade. ج
In his remarks, Fr. Leahy said a dedicated partnership with JRS was important in the context of حوإ¼½م½م’s Strategic Plan, which calls for the University to broaden its international presence and impact.
“حوإ¼½م½م’s relationship with JRS has already been fruitful,†he said. “This memorandum of understanding provides a valuable connection between both institutions, and for حوإ¼½م½م, a further manifestation of our international commitment.â€
Turning to Fr. Smolich, Fr. Leahy added jovially, “Let’s partner up.â€
“Being associated with حوإ¼½م½م helps us raise our game,†said Fr. Smolich. “It will help extend awareness of JRS, and create or expand interest in our work. JRS shares in the mission of the Society of Jesus and حوإ¼½م½م to build faith and promote justice, through study, reflection, service, and action.â€
Vice Provost for Global Engagement Alberto Godenzi, who formally opened the signing ceremony, hailed the multiple ties between حوإ¼½م½م and JRS: “The best partnerships are bottom-up. There have been many lines of contact over the years between حوإ¼½م½م and JRS, and this memorandum of understanding codifies these affiliations on an institutional level.â€
حوإ¼½م½م-JRS collaborations have included more than 30 حوإ¼½م½مSSW field placements in which students have provided therapy for trauma survivors in Malawi, taught job skills to asylum seekers in South Africa, and helped resettle refugees in Portugal; Lynch School Professor Dennis Shirley’s work with the JRS Global Education Initiative, which seeks to educate displaced children; and a conference co-sponsored with حوإ¼½م½م’s Center for Human Rights and International Justice that brought together JRS staff with حوإ¼½م½م theologians to discuss the moral, theological, and spiritual values guiding work with refugees.
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Sean Smith | University Communications | May 2019