Alice Kearney Alwin ’98 Named Vice President of Mission, Ministry, and Identity

Currently, Alice supports the Ignatian Service Learning and Engagement Program as a service and justice minister and the Theology Department as a substitute teacher. In her new role, Alice will oversee Campus Ministry and the following programs: Ignatian Service Learning and Engagement; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and Adult Faith Formation. She will lead these programs and guide their efforts in fulfilling Loyola’s mission, values, and commitment to social responsibility. The central focus of her work will be creating an environment within our school community that encourages all members to live out the Jesuit, Catholic identity of Loyola. 

“Catholic education needs committed mission-building partners who appreciate how celebrating diversity is the key to creating unity,” she says adding: “Our mission is more than the beautiful words of our mission statement, Jesuit mottos, and slogans. The mission is what sends us into the world with a purpose that is distinctively formed by all that Loyola Academy is, has been, and will be.” 

After moving to the East Coast to study at Yale Divinity School and minister at Marymount School of New York for the past 15 years, Alice relocated back to Chicago with her family this fall. During her time in New York at Marymount School, Alice taught various courses in religious studies department and served as spiritual life coordinator and, most recently, as director of ministry and mission—a role which empowered her to direct all campus ministries on three campuses, train student retreat leaders and plan high school retreats, and form lasting connections with many Jesuit partners in ministry. Prior to her work at Marymount, Alice was editorial assistant at America Magazine (now America Media) in New York and served in the campus ministry office at Fairfield Prep in Fairfield, Connecticut.

A proud member of the Class of 1998, Alice’s return to Loyola is deeply personal. “I can attest from my own life experience that Loyola prepared me spiritually and academically to be a leader in service,” she reflects. “I answered a vocational call to lay ecclesial  ministry because of the seeds planted in my heart during Kairos, summer service immersion trips, and the deep friendships that I formed with my classmates. I am living proof that Loyola Academy is effective at instilling a sense of Jesuit spirituality and deep mission into its students. I desire to give back to the school that has given me so much, and I view my work as an act of loving service that God has formed me to offer.”

In her new role, Alice will also be responsible for designing and implementing Loyola’s Lay Ignatian Training program for all faculty and staff. “Being an Ignatian-formed lay person gives me a special insight into designing a Lay Ignatian Training program for all faculty and staff,” she says. “I look forward to leading a collaborative process that will help all the adults in our community build discernment skills, encourage a deeper understanding of living a faith that does justice, and celebrate our Jesuit identity.” 

Alice holds a masters in divinity from Yale Divinity School (2006), where she focused much of her theological study on Catholic ecclesiology in an ecumenical world and sought pastoral internships to better understand the challenges facing Gen Z Catholics, and a bachelor of arts in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin Madison (2002), where she competed on the varsity rowing team. 

Her doctorate in ministry, with coursework in practical ministry and pastoral theology, is expected in 2026 from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Religious Education. Alice explains: “I returned to graduate studies at Fordham to focus on a specific question that has dominated my professional discussions for over a decade: What’s next for Catholic-identifying schools as the values of our increasingly secular culture invite a response to adapt and thrive? It is my intention to design a doctoral project that will be of direct service to Loyola Academy, focusing on our mission implementation and effectiveness.” 

Throughout her professional and academic pursuits Alice has simultaneously supported the work of Discerning Deacons, a nonprofit that engages Catholics in the active discernment of our Church about women and the diaconate, as a Synod on Synodality listening session facilitator. In addition, she currently serves on the board of Thriving Not Surviving, an organization that enables survivors of sexual assault to pursue their athletic aspirations. 

A native of Northbrook, Alice and her husband Scott now live in Chicago with their two daughters, Alice, who joins the Loyola Academy Class of 2028 next year, and Jane.  Her siblings, Patrick T. Kearney ’01 and Colleen Kearney Pasciak ’07, are also Loyola Academy alumni. 

Alice assumed her position as vice president of mission, ministry, and identity on Monday, February 12.