2016 Holstein Award- Michael Garanzini

Congratulations to Fr. Michael Garanzini, S.J. for receiving the 2016 Holstein ‘Faith Doing Justice’ Award!


The Holstein Award is presented to one individual a year who demonstrates “a significant commitment to leadership for social justice grounded in the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola.” The namesake of the award, the late Robert Holstein, S.J., advocated for social justice and helped to found the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, the precursor to the Ignatian Solidarity Network.


Fr. Garanzini has demonstrated his commitment to social justice and Jesuit higher education throughout his career. Fr. Garanzini was a professor of psychology at Georgetown University and acted as a special assistant to the president. He served as the 23rd president of Loyola University of Chicago from 2001-2015; during his career at Loyola Chicago, Fr. Garanzini led a campaign to make Loyola Chicago one of the nation’s most sustainable universities, and the university’s Stritch School of Medicine became the first medical school in the United States to admit undocumented immigrant students. In August of 2015, Fr. Garanzini helped to open Arrupe College, the world’s first Jesuit community college, which will allow students to attend college on a work-study basis so that all its students can graduate debt-free within two years.


Additionally, in 2011, Fr. Garanzini was appointed by Adolfo Nicolas, the superior general of the Society of Jesus, to act as the secretary for higher education for the Society of Jesus. This year Fr. Garanzini was selected by Rahm Emanuel, the major of Chicago, to serve on the board of Chicago Public Schools.


Fr. Garanzini is a proud member of Alpha Sigma Nu. He was inducted at Saint Louis University in 1971.


For more information on the Holstein award, go to the Ignatian Solidarity Network website.