Inspirational Paradigm for Jesuit Business Education

Overview

“Business is a noble vocation, directed to producing wealth and improving our world. It can be a fruitful source of prosperity for the areas in which it operates, especially if it sees the creation of jobs as an essential part of its service to the common good.” – Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 129.

Reimagining Jesuit Business Education: The Inspirational Paradigm

Shaping the Next Generation of Responsible Leaders

The first Inspirational Paradigm for Jesuit Business Education was published in July 2020 by an International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) taskforce. It issued a vital call to action: we must re-examine how we prepare future business leaders to meet mounting global challenges.

While significant progress has been made, our global landscape has faced profound disruptions since that first edition, including:

• A global pandemic
• Escalating regional and international conflicts
• The rapid emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)

These shifts have intensified inequalities, transformed the nature of work, and raised urgent ethical, social, and anthropological questions. Today’s realities demand a renewed approach—one grounded in greater depth, urgency, and discernment.

A Vision of Inclusion and Innovation

Drawing inspiration from Pope Francis’ encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, the second edition of the Inspirational Paradigm proposes a framework of radical inclusion.

Key Pillars of the Updated Paradigm:

• Economic Justice: Sharing the benefits of increasing wealth to improve social conditions for all, serving as a counterweight to traditional wealth creation that ignores environmental and societal impacts.
• Ethical Tech Integration: Encouraging business schools to discern how to responsibly incorporate AI into teaching and scholarship, drawing upon the principles of Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas.
• Curricular Transformation: Recreating economics, business, and finance curricula through the lens of the Ignatian pedagogical paradigm.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Actively defining the vital roles that students, faculty, and leadership play in this new ecosystem.

Our Responsibility as Educators

Universities—and business schools specifically—play a crucial role in driving positive change. At a minimum, our responsibility is to:

1. Raise student awareness regarding systemic global issues.
2. Provide a framework for reflection so students understand their role in the solution.
3. Support faculty and students as they develop concrete, actionable responses to these challenges.

The Journey So Far

This movement began in March 2019, when 12 business education leaders convened at the invitation of the IAJU. Inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the task force listened closely to the voices of concerned students, forward-thinking faculty, and global thought leaders to pioneer a new era of business education.

For questions about the ongoing work of the taskforce, please contact the co-chairs, Cristina Gimenez Thomsen ([email protected]) and Joseph Phillips ([email protected]).