Laura Jimenez to retire after 19 years

By Gina Belmonte

Laura Jimenez, program director of the Ignation Center for Jesuit Education, has decided that after 19 years of service to the university, she is ready to "take the time to just be quiet."

Jimenez, who graduated from Santa Clara in 1967, has since worked in several different departments on campus.

She was the first staff member appointed to the Eastside Project in 1988. Sonny Manuel, S.J., Dan Germann, S.J. and Stephen Privett, S.J. started this program, which would later become the Arrupe Partnerships.

The program sought to enhance the education of students through active participation in the community.

The project's first placements enabled Santa Clara students to assist individuals applying for amnesty.

"We wanted to establish the foundation of a program for finding ways for students to have the opportunity to learn with and from the community, to begin to understand and gain new perspectives through the eyes of those whose lives and experiences have been different," said Jimenez.

Jimenez played a large role in the project's early days.

"I think of her as one of the co-founders [of the Eastside Project] in some ways," said Laurie Laird, associate director of the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education. "She was the first person to come in and really implement their vision."

In 1999, Jimenez left the Eastside Project to work as operations manager for the Drahmann Center.

After six years in the Drahmann Center, Jimenez returned to Arrupe Partnerships and continued work as a liaison between the community partners and the university.

Jimenez said that she will miss working with her colleagues to create new programs, yet she keeps a positive attitude about her retirement.

"I don't agree with people who feel like 'now I'm going to do what I've always wanted to do,' as if this isn't what I wanted to do," said Jimenez. "No, I wanted to do this. Now I'm ready to do something else. Some of that will be personal growth."

In her honor, the Laura Facchini Jimenez Community Partner Fund will be created using money from the Ignatian Center's budget, Laird said. "The fund's purpose is under discussion," said Laird.

The Arrupe Partnership program is in the process of reviewing applications, with the hope of hiring a replacement by the end of the school year.

Meanwhile, Jimenez said she is looking forward to working on crafts like photo editing and taking a gardening course.

"For the amount of time I spend in my back yard," she said, "it should be in the cover of a magazine. Now I'll get the chance to make it happen."

Contact Gina Belmonte at (408) 554-4546 or gbelmonte@scu.edu