Gonzaga University says goodbye to...

... Father Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., who is stepping down, on July 15th, from the presidency of the school after eleven years of service in that position. From The Gonzaga Witness:

So what's in store for Fr. Spitzer? Though his role as President is coming to an end, Father Spitzer's vocation of education and service continues.

Father has several books long overdue for publishing, including Jesus-Emmanuel: Evidence of the Divinity of Christ and the Unconditional Love of God (Ignatius 2010), Suffering and the Unconditional Love of God (submitted to Ignatius for possible 2010 publication), and New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy (Eerdmans 2009), the latter many of us have experienced in lecture form in Father's Faith and Reason course. Father has spent seven years writing these books and is looking forward to working one-third time on the publication of six other books in the next two years-"I have these six books in my head, and they have been there for quite some time. I really need to do a 'data dump' and get them onto the laptop so they can see the light of day. My underwriters are willing to make this possible."

In addition to this, Father Spitzer will be moving to Orange County, California, where he will be conducting audio-visual lectures for ethical leadership, spiritual leadership, and faith and reason curricula. In response to many student inquiries, Father Spitzer will continue the Faith and Reason philosophy course via audio-visual medium. This is a phenomenal opportunity for Father Spitzer, whose knowledge of the material must be shared with as many people as possible. "Honestly, I have loved being here," says Spitzer, "but the Holy Spirit has just been pushing me out the door towards this opportunity." In the first year alone, Spitzer hopes to reach over 100,000 organizational and church leaders and college students with the same amazing lecture material that we have experienced in his course, and that is only the beginning-"If you really want to make a cultural impact, you have to start thinking about numbers like one million people per year."

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports:

Spitzer, 55, will return to study, teaching and writing in the ethics field. He is a prominent scholar-critic of the movement to legalize assisted suicide, and a leading Catholic spokesman on the right to life.

Spitzer, who is legally blind, has overseen a turnaround on the Spokane campus since taking over Gonzaga's presidency in 1998. Enrollments at the Jesuit university have risen from 4,500 to 6,900, and a higher volume of applications has allowed Gonzaga wider leeway in who it accepts.

Fr. Spitzer has published two books so far with Ignatius Press: Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life and Healing the Culture: A Commonsense Philosophy of Happiness, Freedom and the Life issues. Here are excerpts from each:

•  The Introduction to Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life | Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J.
• Happiness and the Heart | Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J. | From Healing the Culture: A Commonsense Philosophy of Happiness, Freedom and the Life issues

Comments

[Mark L.]

Gonzaga has clearly been made better by Fr. Spitzer's presence and will certainly feel his absence. I hope and pray that the university will find a successor of his caliber. Any of Fr. Spitzer's books and/or video series are well worth your time and attention!

Mark L. (Gonzaga graduate, B.S. '82, J.D. '86)

[Rodney M Jackson]

I first heard Fr. Spitzer in 1986 when he was preaching at Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown. I've had the privilege of meeting him and getting to know him some in the years since. To say that God has gifted him with a tremendous intellect is an understatement. His answer to the call of Jesus should be a wake up call for all of us. As a Jew from a wealthy family, he took up his cross and followed Jesus to become a Catholic priest, leaving behind what certainly would have been an affluent and comfortable life. Despite his great intellect he remains a holy and humble man whom God has used to bless many. May God bless him and his work. May it bear fruit manyfold in our Church and in our Culture.