Dear Mission and Ministry Colleagues:
I am pleased to introduce Marissa Papula as our next director of Campus Ministry. Her first day is July 25, 2023. She will report directly to me.
Director Papula joins LMU from Boston College where she was campus minister for Kairos, overseeing the largest Kairos retreat program in the U.S., inviting 600 undergraduate students across 12 weekends to explore their relationships with themselves, others, and God in an Ignatian, Catholic context. In her role, Director Papula balanced pastoral attentiveness with administrative dexterity to ensure the companionship of students as they explore the expansive vistas of their spirituality.
In keeping with Campus Ministry’s central role at LMU, Director Papula will seek to promote the ministry as a spiritual home for all LMU students to “belong, believe, and become.” She will provide strategic vision and leadership for Campus Ministry as the department seeks to enhance the integration of faith as a fundamental value of an LMU education; act and lead for diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism; and achieve greater implementation of the Ignatian way of proceeding in Mission and Ministry as well as in wider institutional culture and practices.
While leading the professional staff, student workers, and ministers, Director Papula will engage in a variety of ministries including liturgical and sacramental life, spiritual direction, justice ministries, retreats, pilgrimages, Jewish Student Life and Muslim Student Life, and activities sponsored by the Interfaith Council. She will also oversee the use and maintenance of facilities, including, in cooperation with the rector of the LMU Jesuit Community, Sacred Heart Chapel, and Leavey Chapel. Director Papula will also identify opportunities for engaging a broad range of students in the programs and activities of Campus Ministry, including students of all faith traditions, the religiously unaffiliated, the spiritual but not religious, and all persons who have been alienated, excluded, marginalized, or traumatized by religious institutions.
Director Papula earned her M.A. in theology and ministry at Boston College and holds a post-graduate certificate in spiritual direction. During her undergraduate years at the University of Scranton, she studied theology and religious studies, counseling and human services, and peace and justice studies. Director Papula originally hails from the Hudson Valley in New York State.
I thank our search committee (listed below), led by Patrick Furlong, director of the Pam Rector Center for Service and Action, for conducting a rigorous and comprehensive search that yielded an outstanding candidate pool. Their professionalism and engagement provided me with valuable insights during my discernment process.
I also am grateful to Marc Reeves, S.J., who commenced serving as interim director in the difficult days immediately after LMU’s campuses were closed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. He worked tirelessly to keep Campus Ministry a vital part of the campus community during that unprecedented time and during the transition back to full on-campus operations. I am delighted that Father Reeves will return to his prior position as associate vice president for Mission and Ministry. In that role, he will work closely with me to ensure Mission and Ministry’s successful pursuit of our strategic goals.
Please join me in welcoming Marissa to the LMU family.
With gratitude,
John
Director of Campus Ministry Search Committee
Chair
Patrick Furlong, Director of the Pam Rector Center for Service and Action
Members
Nicole Bouvier-Brown, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Katherine Brown, Director of Mission and Identity Programs
Brett Hoover, Associate Professor of Practical/Pastoral Theology
Susan Kadota, Campus Minister for Global/Local Faith-Based Service
Mark Lopez, S.J., Ed.D. ’23
Cecilia Magladry, C.S.J., Councilor, Sisters of Saint Joseph of Orange
Lisha McGrue, Senior Director, Alumni and Family Engagement
Gabrielle Poma ’21, graduate student in Theological Studies, and Senior Administrative
Coordinator in Marketing, Communications, and External Relations
Claudio Rodriguez, Director Chicane/Latine Student Services
Kienan Taweil, Coordinator for Muslim Student Life and Interfaith Chaplain
