Rev. Kevin Gillespie, S.J. honored by Fordham Univ.

Many on the Evergreen campus may not know Loyola's Department of Pastoral Counseling and Spiritual Care, but last month the department received recognition of a much greater stature. Fordham University awarded Rev. Kevin Gillespie, S.J., associate professor of pastoral counseling and interim chair at the Loyola Columbia Campus, the "Sapientia et Doctrina" on Oct. 20. Fordham's Graduate School of Religion and Religions Education gave Gillespie the award, whose title means, "wisdom and knowledge" and honors service to the renewal of the Church. The award presentation was the second annual Sapientia et Doctrina Celebration at the College's Rose Hill Campus in New York.

"It was an honor and it was surprised," said Gillespie. "I didn't know such an award existed as it's only the second year they had done it."

Gillespie's work with pastoral counseling and spiritual care has been extensive and beneficial toward his entire department. He has worked with several other departments with his own on finding new relationships and comparisons to spirituality, including psychology and soon speech pathology and audiology, as well as education.

Gillespie was recognized by the Loyola students in 2005 as he was asked to lead the freshman.

"Father Gillespie had a lot of good and encouraging things to say during the retreat," said now senior John Dougherty. "He is very insightful, extremely personable, and easily able to relate to the students. He connected important topics to our group by integrating faith into all he discussed."

The collaborate efforts from Gillespie and the department of Pastoral Counseling and Spiritual Care have expanded beyond their Columbia campus grounds. The department has worked all over the world in countries like Chile and Italy and just recently just received a grant to work in Kenya and Sudan.

"He is one of the bright stars in our department. His sense of humor, kindness, and student centered focus is a real blessing for us," said Sharon Cheston, faculty professor in the Pastoral Counseling. "In addition, he developed the M.A. program in Spiritual and Pastoral Care from a handful of students to over 75 students in less than 10 years. This success resides squarely on [his] shoulders. In addition to being a competent, kind, successful professor, he dances a mean Irish jig."

"It is an honor to receive such an award, but I really feel that it goes to my colleagues and my department that make it happen," said Gillespie. "It is also a credit to the students both national and internationally and Loyola as a whole. It is a compliment to the school."

When discussing his award, Gillespie was holding an Atlantic Regional conference at the Columbia campus on pastoral counseling. Loyola's department has been certified for pastoral counselors and to host conferences for one of the eight regions in the country.

"This award [and our department] shows you the excitement of Catholicism today," said Gillespie.

Much of Gillespie's work has been the connection of psychology and spirituality as he wrote a book on the history of relations between professional psychology and American Catholicism titled, "Psychology and American Catholicism: From Confession to Therapy?" and his most piece of being cited in "Catholicism and Psychology: The Psychologies in Religion: Working with the Religious Client." Other work that Gillespie has researched has connected terrorism and trauma in relation to Gettysburg and 9/11's ground zero.

Gillespie is planning a course he will be teaching in the near future on community counseling and is expanding the service learning program of the pastoral counseling department rapidly, working with the Loyola clinic in Belvedere Square. Also on his agenda is the research into the article Time magazine wrote on Mother Theresa and her over 40 letters where she had a dark and painful 40 years, forming a strong contradiction. Gillespie hopes to look into the psychology of her work and her letters and to do a presentation on his findings.

As a Jesuit and member of the Board of Rank and Tenure and member of the Year of the City initiative at Loyola, Gillespie also maintains professional memberships in The American Association of Pastoral Counselors (as a fellow and executive committee member), American Psychological Association, and Spiritual Directors International. Another notable organization that Gillespie was sure to mention was his participation on the reigning championship intramural softball team, Faculty United.