The Ignatian Inquiry Podcast
The JSN seeks to be a supportive resource to our member schools, and this podcast is designed to be just that – a carved out space to listen, learn, and engage with issues that matter to our collective work as Ignatian Educators. We are eager to encourage a spirit of inquiry across the many layers of our work in Jesuit education. We envision our particular brand of Ignatian Inquiry to be….The art of inquiry as seen through our Ignatian lens; asking questions and exploring issues that matter in our schools through the frame of our shared Jesuit mission.
Listen to the latest episode!
Start-Up Leadership and Creating Ecosystems of Support for Marginalized Students: A Conversation with CEO and Founder of the Come to Believe Network Fr. Steve Katsouros, SJ
A Conversation with Fr. Steve Katsouros, SJ
On this episode, we’ll explore the experiences of Fr. Steve Katsouros, CEO and Founder of the Come to Believe Network, a mission-based organization that works to provide higher education institutions an innovative college model that’s inclusive and accessible to students who are often underrepresented at selective universities. From Fr. Katsouros’ first-hand experience in crafting the unique culture at Loyola University Chicago’s Arrupe College, we’ll learn about the value in building ecosystems of support for marginalized students and how impactful these students are on larger institutions. We discuss Fr. Katsorous’ vast experience as a start-up leader in Jesuit education, and the skills needed to cultivate an asset culture in our communities. This conversation encourages school settings across the JSN to learn from our colleagues in higher education about accelerating paths to access and equity in our schools.
About Fr. Steve Katsouros, SJ
A member of the United States East Province of the Society of Jesus, Steve Katsouros, S.J., is the president and CEO of the Come to Believe Foundation and Network in New York City. Before Come to Believe, Fr. Katsouros served as the founding dean and executive director of Arrupe College at Loyola University Chicago. Arrupe is a two-year college that continues the Jesuit tradition of offering a rigorous liberal arts education to a diverse population, many of whom are the first in their family to pursue higher education. Fr. Katsouros served as the academic and administrative leader for Arrupe from 2014 until 2020. In Paul Tough’s study of higher education, THE YEARS THAT MATTER MOST: HOW COLLEGE CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOU (2019), the author observed Arrupe College “may be doing a more impressive job of keeping its students enrolled and on track for success than any other institution I visited.”
Prior to his assignment at Arrupe, Fr. Katsouros served as the director of the Institute for Catholic Educational Leadership (ICEL) and associate dean of the School of Education at the University of San Francisco. From 2002-2011, Fr. Katsouros was president of Loyola, a coed Jesuit high school on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
His doctorate, from Columbia University Teachers College, is in organizational leadership; his research interests are leadership; governance; and institutional performance. He was ordained in 1998.
Currently, Fr. Katsouros is a trustee at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Chicago; Josephinum Academy of the Sacred Heart, Chicago; Regis High School, New York; Saint Mary’s College, South Bend, Indiana; and Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, New Jersey.
His book about the launch of Arrupe College, COME TO BELIEVE: HOW THE JESUITS ARE REINVENTING EDUCATION (AGAIN), was published by Orbis in 2017 and received an award from the Christophers in 2018.
The success of Arrupe College and its students inspired Fr. Katsouros to lead Come to Believe, a network and foundation created to replicate and scale the Arrupe model nationally. Based in Manhattan, with teams working in Chicago and New York, Come to Believe provides advisory services to universities with the capacity to launch and sustain successful two-year colleges for high potential students from low wealth backgrounds. Come to Believe guides university leaders through the process of implementation and launch of new colleges and provides research-based best practices and problem-solving techniques.