Alejandro García-Rivera

Dr. Alejandro García-Rivera, faculty member at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, passed away Monday morning, December 13. His death is a sorrow for all, particularly for his family and the many colleagues at JST who were so attentive to him and to his wife during his illness. He leaves behind a wife, Kathryn, and two daughters, Sophia and Elizabeth.

“I’m amazed,” says, Alejandro (Alex) García-Rivera, Professor of Systematic Theology and GTU Core Doctoral Faculty Member, about receiving the 2010 Sarlo Excellence in Teaching Award. “I had very little teaching experience when I came here, and at the start, I didn’t know what I was doing. My ‘training’ came — as in an apprenticeship — mostly from colleagues and through trial and error. What I learned along the way is that teaching is about communication, and that if I pay attention to my method of teaching, it can improve and go beyond the apprentice model.” Continuous improvement has paid off. The Sarlo Award recognizes García-Rivera as a teacher who embodies the values of interreligious sensitivity and commitment, interdisciplinary approach and content in teaching, sensitivity to ethnic and cultural diversity, and creative classroom pedagogical methods and performance.