Father Robert Spitzer

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii on May 16, 1952, Fr. Spitzer is a Catholic Priest in the Jesuit order, and is currently the President of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith (www.magiscenter.com) and the Spitzer Center (www.spitzercenter.org). The Magis Center produces documentaries, books, high school programs, college courses, adult-education programs, and social media materials to show the close connection between faith and reason in contemporary physics, philosophy, and historical study of the New Testament. The Spitzer Center produces facilitated curricula to strengthen strategic planning, culture, and spiritual practice in Catholic organizations as well as culture and ethics in nonprofit and for-profit organizations. He is also the President, Master of Ceremonies, and speaker at the Napa Institute in Napa, California and Washington, D.C. (www.napa-institute.org).

Some highlights of Fr. Spitzer’s professional life:

• He was President of Gonzaga University from 1998 to 2009. During that time, he significantly increased the programs and curricula in faith, ethics, service, and leadership, and led the efforts to build 20 new facilities, increased the student population by 75%, and raised more than $200 million for scholarships and capital projects.

• He is currently the host of a weekly EWTN television program – Father Spitzer’s Universe – that discusses faith, science, philosophy, and culture.

• He has made multiple media appearances including: Larry King Live (debating Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow, and Deepak Chopra on God and modern physics), the Today Show (debating on the topic of physician assisted suicide), The History Channel in “God and The Universe,” and a multiple-part PBS series “Closer to the Truth.” He has also appeared on dozens of nationally syndicated radio programs.

He has published ten books:

• The Light Shines on in the Darkness: Contending with Suffering through Faith
• God so Loved the World: Clues to our Transcendent Destiny from the Revelation of Jesus
• The Soul’s Upward Yearning: Clues to our Transcendent Nature from Experience and Reason
• Finding True Happiness: Satisfying Our Restless Hearts
• Evidence for God from Contemporary Physics: Extending the Legacy of Monsignor Georges Lemaître
• New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy (for which he won the Catholic Press Associations Award for best book in faith and science)
• Ten Universal Principles: A Brief Philosophy of the Life Issues
• Healing the Culture: A Commonsense Philosophy of Happiness, Freedom and the Life Issues
• Spirit of Leadership: Optimizing Creativity and Change in Organizations
• Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life: A Practical Guide to Prayer for Active People

He is completing a Catholic Faith Compendium to complement The Catechism of the Catholic Church with scientific evidence, philosophical and theological explanations, and spiritual guidance. This encyclopedic work and on-line tool has the potential to change theological education in high schools, university Catholic centers, parishes, and confirmation/RCIA programs.

He has also published many scholarly articles in journals such as: International Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophy in Science, the Business and Professional Ethics Journal, and the Journal of Ultimate Reality and Meaning.

He has also written an online Encyclopedia of Reason and Faith which responds to questions about the evidence for God, Creation, and the transmateriality of human consciousness as well as questions concerning the historicity of Jesus (www.magiscenter.com).

He has given hundreds of presentations to universities, learned societies, professional societies, corporations, non-profit organizations, and government agencies both nationally and internationally (including members of Tony Blair’s Cabinet in London, officials of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia, both sides of the conflict in Northern Ireland, government officials in Costa Rica, as well as international universities, corporations, and Catholic organizations).

Fr. Spitzer has had a rewarding career in teaching.

• He was Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University where he won the Edward T. Bunn Award for most outstanding professor at the University (1989).
  
• He was Associate Professor of Philosophy and visiting Professor of Business at Seattle University where he won the award for most outstanding professor in the College of Arts and Sciences (1997) and held the The Frank Shrontz Chair of Professional Ethics (1997-98).
• While President of Gonzaga University he held the John Aram Chair of Business Ethics (1999-2000) and was awarded the University’s highest honor, the DeSmet Medal (2009).
  

*Brief educational background: *

Ph.D. Catholic University of America, 1984-88. Philosophy Summa cum Laude.
Dissertation: A Study of Objectively Real Time. Director: Paul Weiss.

Th.M. Weston School (Cambridge), 1983-84. Theology (Scripture). Summa cum Laude. Thesis: The Depth Grammar of “Pneuma” and “En Christo” in I Cor. 12.

M.Div. Gregorian University (Rome), 1980-83. Theology. Summa cum Laude.
Thesis: Early Christological Hymns.

M.A. St. Louis University, 1976-78. Philosophy. (Research) Magna cum Laude. Thesis: The Metaphysical Proof of God’s Existence in De Ente Et Essentia of St. Thomas Aquinas.