Dr. Ashley is a Colorado native who is looking forward to experiencing the beautiful mountain and ocean scenery of California. He has lived in the Midwest for the past 36 years, first in Chicago where he received his PhD from the University of Chicago Theology School in 1993, and has since lived in South Bend, Indiana, where he is a professor at the University of Notre Dame School of Theology. Dr. Ashley is honored and excited to join the community of scholarship, prayer, and church service at JST-SCU, where he will be able to continue to pursue his interest in spirituality, particularly Ignatian spirituality, at the intersection of theology, which has deepened over the decades as he taught and wrote about figures such as Johann Baptist Metz, Gustavo Gutierrez, Karl Rahner, Oscar Romero, Ignacio Ellacuria, and Pope Francis. He looks forward to sharing his love of the powerful, inspiring and theologically profound texts from authors such as Ignatius, Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena and the great Carmelite nuns of the 17th century, and he is also looking forward to learning in the international community how these beautiful traditions have been enriched and enriched by the faith of Christians on the many “margins” of the Church around the world.
When he’s not thinking about the future of Christian spiritual traditions in a diverse, global church, he enjoys running, playing the clarinet, and spending time with his wife and three adult children. He looks forward to teaching, working, and participating at Santa Clara University and JST-SCU.
