“Discussion and Common Discernment” ft. Gonzaga University’s Katia Passerini

In the twenty-seventh episode of the third season of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with Katia Passerini, the President of Gonzaga University. Passerini begins by drawing upon her expertise as an information system management scholar, thinking through academe’s successes and failures to date in relation to online learning. While such opportunities came with greater access for populations previously underserved by higher education, Passerini contends one challenge is those efforts were not personalized to the point that students had access to immersive experiences that often allow for deep learning or personal formation. The rapidly accelerating presence of AI may allow for greater personalization. However, Passerini cautions rapidly accelerating forms of technology such as AI may also come with accelerating costs for the foreseeable future. Passerini then shifts to discuss her own calling to education and educational leadership, beginning with her student years in Rome and DC, appointments she accepted at in the Tri-State region at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, and now her appointment as the president of Gonzaga University. When considering that current appointment, Passerini shares what she sees as jewels in terms of Gonzaga’s Jesuit charisms, relationship with the Catholic Church, and commitment to global engagement and service. Passerini concludes by exploring her hopes for relations shared by Church-related colleges and universities and the Church, noting, in particular, inspiration she draws from the practices embedded in Pope Francis’s commitment to synodality and the habits of discussion and common discernment.