Dear Members of the Santa Clara University Community, 

I am happy to announce that Alison M. Benders, associate dean and senior lecturer at the Jesuit School of Theology (JST), has accepted Fr. O’Brien’s offer of last week to be Santa Clara University’s  first vice president for mission and ministry, overseeing Campus Ministry, the Mission Church, and the Ignatian Center. She will begin her appointment on July 1, 2021. 

Dr. Benders is no stranger to SCU, having joined JST in 2014. She has held leadership roles as associate dean and interim dean at JST, and previously as vice president for academic affairs at Ohio Dominican University. Her broad portfolio has included impressive academic administrative experience, long-term visioning, strategic planning, and organizational change management. A published theologian and seasoned faculty member, she is steeped in the Catholic intellectual tradition, and possesses lived experience with Ignatian spirituality and the Jesuit mission to advance justice and reconciliation. She brings a valuable skill set and personal disposition that will help build synergy with our new vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion and unify mission-related efforts across campus. 

Dr. Benders holds a Bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia, Licentiate of Sacred Theology from JST and a Ph.D. in theology from Boston College. She is currently on sabbatical, completing a writing project entitled Recollecting America’s Original Sin, a civil rights pilgrimage. For more about Dr. Benders, read the press release here.

Having worked with Dr. Benders while he served as dean of JST, Fr. O’Brien can attest to her collegial spirit, creativity, and deep appreciation for Santa Clara’s distinctive mission and its role in transforming students. As for me, I had the good fortune of working with Dr. Benders while I was interim provost and she was interim dean at JST. She was a cherished member of our all-female team of deans at that time. I am thrilled that she has accepted this position. Both Fr. O’Brien and I look forward to working with her again in this new position. 

I want to thank the search committee who managed to work through the challenges of conducting a search in the middle of the COVID pandemic. Thanks go to: Laura Nichols (search committee chair), Jim Bennett, Donna Bolio, Sarah Bonino, Bill Carter, Gaby Fernandez ‘21, Ali Hassan, Grace Lin-Cereghino ‘21, Rose Nakamoto, Rob Scholla, S.J., and Sally Vance-Trembath. I also want to acknowledge Anne McMahon who helped support and shepherd the search through to its conclusion. 

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Benders to her new role at Santa Clara University. 

Lisa A. Kloppenberg
Acting President