Philosophy Professor Jeffrey Bloechl appointed as Fitzgibbons Chair
Philosophy Department Chair Jeffrey Bloechl has been appointed to the Albert J. Fitzgibbons Chair in Philosophy, announced Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Dean Gregory Kalscheur, S.J. Bloechl succeeds Arthur Madigan, S.J., who retired in 2022.
Bloechl, who holds a doctorate from the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium), has been a member of the Philosophy faculty since 2007. He is a former director of graduate studies in philosophy and is the founding co-director of the University’s joint M.A. program in philosophy and theology. He also co-created the Advanced Research Seminar in Philosophy and Theology, which encourages discussion among graduate students and faculty working in, or with a strong interest in, these two fields.
He specializes in the philosophy of religion, contemporary European philosophy, and the relationship between Christian theology and philosophy. A prominent interpreter of the thought of Emmanuel Levinas, Bloechl is the author of the recently published Levinas on the Primacy of the Ethical: Philosophy as Prophecy and is the founding series editor of Levinas Studies: An Annual Review and Thresholds in Philosophy and Theology.
“His research has made significant contributions to a distinctively Catholic approach to philosophy, and he is deeply committed to formative Jesuit education. Jeff's way of proceeding as teacher and a colleague is distinctively characterized by cura personalis; he is a quiet and steady presence with students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels."
“I am delighted that Jeff Bloechl will be serving as the Albert J. Fitzgibbons Chair in Philosophy,” said Fr. Kalscheur. “The terms of the Fitzgibbons gift state that ‘the Chairholder’s work [will] help [to] engage contemporary philosophical and ethical issues facing society.’ Jeff’s longstanding commitment to scholarship that addresses the relationship between claims for religious meaning and various features of human nature that place pressure on them make him a fitting holder of this endowed chair.
“His research has made significant contributions to a distinctively Catholic approach to philosophy, and he is deeply committed to formative Jesuit education,” added Fr. Kalscheur. “Jeff’s way of proceeding as teacher and a colleague is distinctively characterized by cura personalis; he is a quiet and steady presence with students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. All of these qualities make him an ideal selection to succeed Arthur Madigan, S.J., as the Fitzgibbons Chair in Philosophy.”
“It is an honor for me to receive the Fitzgibbons Chair, which has played an important role in the intellectual life of our Philosophy Department and beyond,” said Bloechl. “I hope to continue that tradition, doing my best to put the resources of this chair to the service of the University and its students.”
The Fitzgibbons Professorship was established in 2007 by Albert J. “Trey” Fitzgibbons III ’67.
At Boston College, Bloechl has taught both undergraduate and graduate students. Recent courses have included The Problem of Suffering; The Hermeneutics of Faith, Hope and Love; and Love of Learning and Desire for God. Ten years ago, he founded an annual course that includes a two-week pilgrimage in northern Spain. Long in the habit of putting his research and teaching into contact with other cultures, he has taught in Belgium, Brazil, India, Italy, and Lithuania and is an Honorary Professor of Philosophy at Australian Catholic University.
Bloechl is married to Newton College Alumnae Chair of Western Culture Catherine Cornille of the Theology Department. They are the parents of three children, including two graduates of Boston College.