| Duties and Responsibilities |
Salary Range: $135,000 - $160,000
Benefits Information:
https://www.luc.edu/hr/benefits/
Loyola University Chicago (Loyola) invites applications for the position of Executive Director of the Institute of Pastoral Studies (
IPS). We seek an innovative leader who can guide a specialized academic unit and dedicated team through a period of strategic positioning and growth in the coming years. The preferred candidate will have experience leading and innovating in academic program administration and be truly excellent at relationship-building.
The Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola has, since its founding in 1964, played a pivotal role in shaping lay and ordained leadership for the Church, rooted in the Jesuit tradition of academic excellence and the faith that does justice. Emerging in the wake of the Second Vatican Council,
IPS began as a summer program responding to the Church's call for broader lay engagement and pastoral renewal. Over six decades, it has grown into a self-standing academic unit reporting directly to the Provost, with a history marked by theological rigor, pastoral innovation, and deep responsiveness to the changing realities of the Church and world. Loyola now seeks an innovative, collaborative, and mission-driven leader to serve as the next Executive Director of
IPS.
Loyola enrolls more than 17,300 students, including over 12,400 undergraduates, and offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and 80 undergraduate minors, as well as more than 200 graduate and professional degree programs and certificates across its three campuses in the Chicago area (Lake Shore, Water Tower, and Health Sciences) and one campus in Rome (Loyola's Rome Center).
The Executive Director will join the University at an exciting time and will have an opportunity to make an immediate and significant impact on the future. President Mark C. Reed, EdD,
MBA, joined in October 2022 and Provost Douglas W. Woods, PhD, joined Loyola in 2024. In 2025, Loyola attained the highest research classification, Research 1 (R1), highlighting significant strides in the university's research capacity and launched a new strategic plan,
For the Greater Good (https://www.luc.edu/strategicplan/).
The Executive Director will join a dynamic and highly motivated team dedicated to serving the Loyola community. To help lead
IPS into a new era of growth and impact, the next Executive Director will address the following opportunities and challenges:
- Finding creative solutions for enrollment challenges, particularly those tailored for graduate-level residential, online, and hybrid pastoral studies programs
- Creating a culture of meaningful connection between students, faculty, and staff, with special attention to a context where in-person and online teaching and learning co-exist
- Helping grow Loyola's profile by effectively leveraging the strong relationships IPS has with the local and international Church
- Effectively advocating for IPS's role within LUC's educational, scholarly, and service missions
- Appreciating and enhancing the distinct elements of IPS's mission, while maintaining a cohesive identify across the Institute
- Recruiting and supporting a group of faculty with a diverse set of skills and interests
Loyola's strategic plan,
For the Greater Good, provides the framework for the evolution of Loyola to a more research-intensive institution with a focus on transdisciplinary approaches to complex and urgent social problems.
The plan is centered on four pillars:
1. Deliver on the promise of a Jesuit education
2. Elevate our reputation and external impact through research and engagement
3. Deepen our Jesuit, Catholic culture
4. Strengthen our institutional capacity for future growth
Leadership and Mission
The Executive Director will join Loyola at an exciting time under the leadership of President Mark C. Reed, EdD,
MBA, who joined in October 2022. Dr. Reed's career has focused on strengthening the institutions he has served, particularly in the areas of expanded academic programs, academic excellence and impactful research, strategic partnerships, university finances and endowment, student formation, and advancement of the Jesuit, Catholic mission. Provost Douglas W. Woods, PhD, joined Loyola in 2024 and is a strong advocate for an integrated educational experience that provides students with a foundational liberal arts and sciences core curriculum, complemented by knowledge and skills developed across a range of disciplines to prepare students for successful careers and lives.
The University has always been guided by its identity as Chicago's Jesuit, Catholic institution of higher learning. Faculty, staff, students, and community hold great pride in pushing the mission forward by committing to the characteristics of Jesuit Higher Education, including leadership and public commitment to mission; the academic excellence; the pursuit of faith, justice, and reconciliation; promoting a welcoming campus culture; service to church; relationship to the Society of Jesus; and institutional integrity. More information on the mission integration can be found here: https://www.luc.edu/mission/.
About the Institute of Pastoral Studies
Since its founding in 1964, the Institute of Pastoral Studies (
IPS) at Loyola University Chicago has played a pivotal role in shaping lay and ordained leadership for the Church, rooted in the Jesuit tradition of academic excellence and faith that does justice. Emerging in the wake of the Second Vatican Council,
IPS began as a summer program responding to the Church's call for broader lay engagement and pastoral renewal. Over six decades, it has evolved into a vibrant, self-standing academic unit reporting directly to the Provost - one marked by theological rigor, pastoral innovation, and responsiveness to the changing realities of the Church and the world. It remains a valuable part of Loyola's academic portfolio and a unique academic unit within US Jesuit universities.
Today,
IPS offers a wide range of mission-driven graduate programs in pastoral studies, counseling, spirituality, and social justice, alongside robust efforts in continuing education. These programs combine academic formation with spiritual, pastoral, and human development, including the MA in Pastoral Counseling, MA in Pastoral Studies (with multiple concentrations), MA in Christian Spirituality, MA in Social Justice, and the Master of Divinity, as well as certificates and dual-degree options in partnership with other Loyola schools. With many offerings available online or in hybrid formats,
IPS serves a geographically diverse and professionally varied student body - faithful, curious, and committed individuals who become leaders in local, national, and international pastoral settings.
At the heart of
IPS is a devoted community of faculty and staff who believe deeply in preparing the next generation of pastoral leaders through applied, contextual scholarship and mentorship rooted in Ignatian values. Their teaching and research cultivate pastoral imagination, spiritual depth, and intellectual excellence in an environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and attentive to the gifts each person brings to this important work.
Through strong ecclesial and ecumenical relationships,
IPS sustains considerable global outreach and engagement, advancing the Church's mission through initiatives such as the Parish Leadership and Management programs, the Ignatian Wisdom Fellowship for adult vocational discernment, and the Miguel Pro, S.J. Pastoral Protagonism Initiative, which empowers Hispanic/Latinx ministry. The Institute also maintains a robust spiritual formation program that ensures graduates are not only professionally equipped but personally grounded and missionally inspired.
A unique part of Loyola University Chicago's academic portfolio,
IPS stands as both a site of missional activation and a place where questions of ultimate concern are engaged with intellectual honesty and spiritual depth. Its graduates serve across dioceses, parishes, nonprofits, and educational institutions, extending Loyola's Jesuit mission in the life of the Church and a range of pastoral settings. For a prospective Executive Director,
IPS represents a distinctive opportunity to lead an established yet evolving institution at the intersection of academic formation, spiritual leadership, and social transformation-one poised to expand its reach, deepen its partnerships, and continue forming pastoral leaders for a world in need of healing and hope.
Role of the Executive Director
The Executive Director will help uplift and define the next era of the Institute of Pastoral Studies and will address key strategic and operational priorities. To be successful in this role, the Executive Director will:
- Be mission-centered servant leader
- Collaborate with resourceful and committed faculty and staff to promote outstanding teaching, formation, scholarship and public engagement
- Creatively build relationships with members of Loyola's council of Executive Directors and Provost leadership team
- Bring or build a reputation for leadership that enhances IPS's role within the Archdiocese of Chicago, the US Church, the global Church, and IPS's many ecumenical partners
- Identify and leverage alternative sources of revenue, including philanthropy and extramural grants
- Promote the financial health of the Institute by effectively manage resources
- Advance a strategic plan for IPS that builds upon the university's strategic plan, with particular contributions to strengthening Loyola's Jesuit, Catholic culture and delivering on the promise of a Jesuit education
Key Opportunities and Challenges for the Executive Director
Finding creative solutions for enrollment challenges, particularly those tailored for graduate-level residential, online, and hybrid pastoral studies programs
The Executive Director will bring imagination and strategic vision to address enrollment dynamics in graduate theological education.
IPS serves diverse learners-professionals discerning vocation, ministers deepening formation, and students seeking meaning in complex times. The opportunity lies in designing flexible, mission-driven pathways that meet contemporary learners where they are-through innovative online, hybrid, and residential programs. The next Executive Director will embrace data-informed decision-making while remaining grounded in Jesuit values, ensuring that recruitment and retention strategies reflect both academic rigor and the transformative character of pastoral formation.
Creating a culture of meaningful connection between students, faculty, and staff, with special attention to a context where in-person and online teaching and learning co-exist
In a learning environment that blends in-person and online experiences, the Executive Director will cultivate a community rooted in authentic encounter and shared mission.
IPS thrives when students, faculty, and staff feel supported and spiritually nourished. The Executive Director will champion initiatives that foster belonging and collaboration across platforms, ensuring that formation and community life remain hallmarks of the
IPS experience. Grounded in Ignatian pedagogy, this work calls for creativity and empathy: building bridges across distance and difference to sustain a vibrant, inclusive culture of connection and shared purpose.
Helping grow Loyola's profile by effectively leveraging the strong relationships IPS has with the local and international Church
IPS has longstanding relationships with local parishes, dioceses, and international Church networks. The next Executive Director will nurture these bonds while envisioning new partnerships that amplify Loyola's global Jesuit mission. This role invites a leader who can translate the richness of Catholic intellectual and pastoral tradition into meaningful engagement with the Church, ecumenical partners, and society. By connecting IPS's academic strengths with real-world pastoral needs, the Executive Director can help position Loyola as a leader in theological and ministerial formation - one that listens deeply, responds boldly to contemporary realities, and models faith seeking justice in action.
Effectively advocating for IPS's role within LUC's educational, scholarly, and service missions
As a key academic leader, the Executive Director will articulate the distinctive contributions of pastoral studies within Loyola's educational, scholarly, and service commitments. The opportunity lies in positioning
IPS as a vital collaborator across the many thriving disciplines at Loyola - from social work to business to education and health sciences. The Executive Director will engage IPS's natural institutional partners, including the theology department, the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage, and the division of Mission Integration, ensuring IPS's voice helps shape the university's unique response to a world in need. Together,
IPS and its partners can effectively witness to the transformative power of Jesuit education and the enduring relevance of ministry and spirituality.
Appreciating and enhancing the distinct elements of IPS's mission, while maintaining a cohesive identity across the Institute
The Institute of Pastoral Studies has a deeply rooted mission and a history of responding to the signs of the times. The Executive Director will sustain this legacy by helping the community discern how best to live it in today's context. This means embracing the diversity of IPS's programs and people while offering a focused mission and a cohesive sense of identity and purpose. The Executive Director will provide the community with a sense of how IPS's professional graduate programs, continuing education, scholarship, and service come together so that the sum is greater than its many excellent parts. Even more, this vision will reflect IPS's unique Jesuit, Catholic contribution to the field of pastoral studies and prepare transformative leadership for today's world.
Recruiting and supporting a group of faculty with a diverse set of skills and interests
Faculty are the lifeblood of IPS's teaching and formation mission. The Executive Director will lead efforts to attract, develop, and retain scholars and practitioners who bring intellectual excellence, pastoral sensitivity, and a commitment to justice and inclusion. This opportunity involves cultivating a collegial environment that values interdisciplinary collaboration, pedagogical innovation, and spiritual depth. The next Executive Director will champion professional development and support for faculty at every stage, ensuring they are equipped to inspire students, advance scholarship, and embody the Ignatian ideal of forming persons for and with others. |
Loyola University Chicago
$135,000 - $160,000
Nov 20, 2025