Patty Perry and Charles F. Austerberry, will receive the 2013 St. Ignatius Award during the University’s Founders Week Mass. The mass will be held on Wednesday at noon in St. John’s Church.
The Deglman Center for Ignatian Spirituality gives this annual award to two individuals who embody the sprit of St. Ignatius in their lives. Creighton faculty and staff are eligible for the award and are selected through a nomination process. Nominations are accepted during the window of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The Rev. Larry Gillick S.J., the president of the Deglman Center, said that the St. Ignatius Award is very different from typical awards.
“We offer the St. Ignatius Award, not to winners as if they had been doing something extraordinary. It is not a prize or trophy to celebrate accomplishments,” Gillick said. “It is offered during Founder’s Week, because our Creighton mission is re-founded by many people bas been re-founded by those whose shoulders we stand upon.”
According to the Deglman Center they are looking for nominees whose, “participation in the mission of Creighton and their involvements beyond university life reflect the Ignatian ideals of Magis, Cura Personalis and being persons for and with others.”
Perry is the director of events management for Creighton and was overwhelmed when she heard that she had been selected to receive the award.
“When Fr. Gillick phoned me to say I had been selected, I said, ‘Father, I just wish I were a better person,’” Perry said. “His consoling response was, ‘Well, it’s a process you know,’ [but] I am very happy and very honored to receive this award. There is no other award here at Creighton that would mean as much to me.”
Austerberry is the assistant professor of molecular biology and protozoology at Creighton and is known for his patient and empathetic teaching style. He is a faculty advisor with the Pre-Medical Education Program, and is prolific in his writings on the topic of faith and science.
Austerberry embodies the Ignatian spirit of being a person for and with others by being actively involved in Omaha Together One Community, a multiethnic and interfaith organization.
The Ignatius Award serves as a role model to the Creighton community, highlighting individuals on campus who emulate the spirit of the Jesuit values.
According to the Deglman Center, “To know a recipient of the St. Ignatius Award is to have experienced something of St. Ignatius, himself.”
Both recipients said they are honored to be an example to Creighton. Perry points to her family as her source of inspiration.
“I am not someone who could ‘set the world on fire,’ but I am inspired to light as many little candles as I can and in winnowing the fan for those that are waning.”
Written by: Claudia Brock