Loyola Marymount University Selected as Lead Academic Partner to Jesuit Refugee Service

LMU and JRS will collaborate on leadership training and development for JRS leaders working in complex refugee and displacement contexts

LOS ANGELES - Loyola Marymount University (LMU) has been selected by Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) as Lead Academic Partner to co-create and deliver leadership and management development programming as part of JRS's multi-year initiative to strengthen mission-centered leadership across its global organization.

The partnership brings together mission-aligned organizations in LMU's College of Business Administration (CBA) and Center for Ignatian Spirituality (CIS), with JRS - a global apostolate of the Society of Jesus that accompanies, serves, and advocates for refugees and other forcibly displaced people in 57 countries. As Lead Academic Partner of JRS's Leadership Development Program, LMU will provide faculty, curriculum, and guidance toward the co-design and pedagogical development of courses, blending Ignatian leadership, mission-centered reflection, and the practical management competencies needed by leaders working in complex refugee and displacement contexts.

Rooted in shared Jesuit values of accompaniment, discernment, and service to the common good, the partnership represents a mutual commitment to advancing human dignity - preparing leaders to navigate the complex realities of humanitarian work while accompanying forcibly displaced communities around the world.

LMU's College of Business Administration will contribute expertise in leadership development and organizational management, helping participants strengthen the skills needed to lead effectively in complex and rapidly changing environments. LMU's Center for Ignatian Spirituality will help shape the program's mission-centered approach by integrating practices of reflection, discernment, accompaniment, reconciliation, and community throughout the curriculum.

"CBA's mission aims to create leaders who understand and address global challenges while leading with purpose and discernment,' said Dayle M. Smith, Ph.D., dean of the LMU College of Business Administration. "Our partnership with JRS is directly aligned with that mission, allowing LMU to contribute to the service of vulnerable communities, while forming JRS leaders who unite reflection with action."

"There is something deeply meaningful about two Jesuit institutions coming together in this way," said Dominic Chai, S.J., associate dean for Strategy and Mission at LMU College of Business Administration. "I am grateful for this collaboration and for the opportunity to support JRS leaders in their mission of accompanying forcibly displaced communities around the world."

The JRS Leadership Development Program is a strategic part of JRS's broader Mission and Identity initiative, which focuses on accompaniment, reconciliation, and Ignatian leadership.

"As JRS has grown into a large and complex global apostolate, so too has the challenge of leadership within it," said Brother Michael Schöpf, S.J., JRS international director. "We are grateful to have found a mission-aligned partner in LMU, who brings together Ignatian formation, academic depth, and leadership and management expertise in a way that's practical and applicable for our emerging JRS leaders."

The program's curriculum will include in-person and online components, combining peer learning with academic instruction in humanitarian management and Ignatian leadership. Participants will include regional and deputy regional directors; country and deputy country directors; project directors; heads of global functions; and emerging leaders from across JRS.The partnership began in June 2026 and extends through December 2028, with the first phase focused on designing a leadership formation experience that equips JRS leaders to respond to the evolving challenges of forced displacement with competence, compassion, and hope. The program's first cohort is tentatively scheduled to begin in early 2027, including an intensive, in-person week in a "frontier location" where JRS is present.

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