MISSION AND MINISTRY | José Garcia Moreno, the director of the Academy of Catholic Thought and Imagination, will be presented with the Collegium Visionary Award on Tuesday, Oct. 5, at 5 p.m. in the Von Der Ahe Family Suite, William H. Hannon Library. The Visionary Award will be presented by Collegium, a consortium of 65 Catholic colleges and universities that seeks to engage Catholic intellectual and spiritual traditions in the classroom.
The award celebrates and advances the work of Collegium alumni that encourages leadership to promote the Catholic mission on member campuses; scholarship to advance the Catholic intellectual tradition or to bring other traditions into fruitful dialogue with it; and innovative teaching to bring aspects of the summer colloquy to life for students.
“I am very grateful the impact of ACTI has gone beyond LMU,” said Garcia Moreno. “It will be very exciting to see everyone again in the flesh.”
Moreno believes that being virtual for the past year gave ACTI more exposure and allowed people from across the nation to tune in to their programs. He believes LMU’s unique mission provides faculty and students a different perspective on academia, technology and life. “I want ACTI to be an active agent between spiritualty and technology … there is a need for reflection between the sciences and the arts,” said Moreno.
“Professor Garcia Moreno’s interdisciplinary approach to the activity of ACTI reflects his fundamental belief that no area of human knowledge is alien to the Catholic imagination,” said John Sebastian, LMU’s vice president of Mission and Ministry. “With this award, Collegium acknowledges the remarkable breadth of Professor Garcia Moreno’s vision for ACTI, which he will share with our community through some of the exciting programs he is planning for the near future.”
In March, ACTI is creating an immersive experience based on the St. John’s Bible using holograms and animation. Experts from across the university from various faith traditions will be on a panel discussion on this exciting presentation. Garcia Moreno is also using the images from the late artist John August Swanson to create animated projects that will tell the story of migrant children in a short documentary focusing on social justice and immigration. Cecilia González-Andrieu, professor of theological studies, will serve as consultant of the project.