News: Speakers, July 3rd - Assembly IAJU 2025
Speakers, July 3rd
As part of the IAJU 2025 Assembly, we are honored to welcome distinguished leaders from across the globe—academics, Jesuits, and professionals—whose work embodies a profound commitment to justice, reconciliation, sustainability, and the holistic formation of young people.
Their insights, testimonies, and shared practices invite us to reflect deeply on how Jesuit universities can respond boldly and faithfully to the most pressing challenges of our time.
The following speakers will guide and enrich our conversations as we discern the future of Jesuit higher education together.
Dr. Christopher Bacon
He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and completed postdoctoral training in Geography and Political Economy at the University of California, Berkeley. He is an environmental social scientist with extensive experience in sustainable food systems, agroecology, environmental justice, food security, climate resilience, and participatory action research methodologies. His work focuses on developing transformative strategies to address the structural causes of social vulnerability, food insecurity, and environmental degradation, working closely with smallholder farmer cooperatives in Central America and urban food justice organizations in California. A professor at Santa Clara University, he teaches courses on environmental policy, political ecology, and research methods, and leads a transdisciplinary action-research lab. He is a co-founder of the Environmental Justice and the Common Good Initiative, co-chair of the AJCU Laudato Si’ Commission, and an active member of multiple academic and community initiatives related to ecological and social justice.
Dr. Maria Adelaida Farah Quijano
She is the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, and an interdisciplinary researcher and professor with extensive experience in rural development, new rurality, gender transformations, women in rural areas, community-based natural resource management, sustainable development, and integral ecology. For the past 29 years, she has been affiliated with the Faculty of Environmental and Rural Studies at Javeriana, where she has served as a professor, researcher, and held various academic leadership roles, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of territory and the role of communities in sustainability.
Fr. Praveen Martis, SJ
He is a theologian with a Ph.D. in Science from the University of Namur, Belgium. He is currently the Vice Chancellor of St. Aloysius University, India. He holds a Master’s degree in Commerce from St Aloysius College (Autonomous), Mangalore, with a specialization in Applied Finance and Accounting. He has passed the National Eligibility Test (NET) and the Karnataka State Eligibility Test (KSET), and has prior experience as a lecturer and finance officer at St Aloysius Pre-University College in Harihar. His academic vocation is reflected in his strong interest in teaching and research, particularly in the field of accounting and finance.
Fr. Anderson Pedroso, SJ
He is profesor and researcher, and since 2022, has served as Rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). He was elected President of the Organization of Catholic Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean (ODUCAL) for the 2025–2028 term during the XXI Ordinary General Assembly held in the Dominican Republic. He holds a Ph.D. in Art History and Philosophy from Sorbonne Université (Paris), as well as degrees in Theology and Philosophy, with classical Jesuit formation and specialization in Thinking and academic practices. His vision combines a deep evangelizing vocation with an intellectual commitment to truth and justice, especially through a preferential option for the poor. He maintains active communion with CELAM and the Church’s magisterium, promoting the transformative role of Catholic universities in the region.
Fr. François Pazisnewende Kaboré, SJ
Is President of the Jesuit University of Science in Kosyam (KoJUS), and Director of the Jesuit social center CERCLE. He is a professor of Economics at KoJUS and at the Catholic University of West Africa (UCAO–Burkina Faso), with teaching and research experience in institutions across Africa, Europe, and the United States. He has served as a consultant for the World Bank and WIPO, and his areas of expertise include the knowledge economy, development, innovation, and intellectual property. He currently serves as President of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities in Africa and Madagascar (AJCU-AM) and is a board member of the IAJU.