Women at Carroll — Meet Tina Facca Meiss
How are you adding value to the JCU community?
Associate Professor of Marketing
How many years have you been at JCU?
10
What is special about JCU?
Our traditions of service are unsurpassed. Not many (if any) universities can say their students serve 70,000+ hours per semester.
What was your happiest moment at JCU?
My happiest moment at John Carroll was when Pope Francis was elected on 3/13/13. We had confirmed “white smoke!” via texts during the General Faculty meeting, and I rushed back to my classroom to pull it up on the big screen. I had been praying for it to be someone who could really catalyze the Jesuit network and inspire us, maybe an American.
That morning as I was leaving for school and closing the driveway gates, something summoned me to look up at the sky. Here the clouds had parted and streams of sunshine were coming down right above me! I said “Oh, Lord, really? Is today the day?”
Apparently, it was. The students were just as excited waiting to see who it was, we were all glued to the big screen. Then I received a text from my bother, saying it’s a Jesuit from Argentina. I choked up. How could that be right? When Pope Benedict stepped down, I’d texted my friend at Marquette, Fr. Nicky Santos SJ, “any hope for a Jesuit pope?” and his response was “not a chance.” Well, just goes to show, that when we pray for something, we have no idea how God will surpass our expectations if we just trust in Him.
Next, I called the assistant to then-president Fr. Niehoff, “Lisa…is there any way he’d come over and talk to the marketing students about what this means for us? This is really good for marketing Jesuit education!” She said he was on his way to lunch with the Bishop, and that he was only taking calls from Board members, but she’d give him the message.
Sure enough, a few minutes later he walked into SB120. There was a collective gasp as if it were the Pope himself walking through our door. Fr. Niehoff explained that this was truly something inspired. Jesuits do not seek promotion, but if they are called by the Pope for service (e.g., as a Bishop), they respond accordingly.
So, that is part of the reason why there has never been a Jesuit pope, but I can’t help but believe Pope Francis is a gift of our time. We have already seen how he has achieved such love and respect from people of many varied religious traditions. It is amazing that now we have a Pope that shares our same Ignatian traditions like praying the Examen, being a man for others, finding God in all things, taking on the Magis… how special is THAT?! It’s like we are “on the inside” with him.
Our service to the poor and marginalized of our time is clearly making God smile on us as global network of 200 Jesuit universities, thousands of high schools and grade schools, myriad ministries and most importantly, millions of millennials learning and living Jesuit traditions that are so well grounded and practical, that anything is possible if you simply and faithfully trust in the goodness of The Lord.
If you had a magic wand, how would you improve the JCU experience?
Have everyone (all students, faculty, staff and administrators) experience the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, either in the context of a retreat or service immersion into another culture.
Fun fact about you:
I was the first employee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, back when we had collected 100,000 signatures from Clevelanders trying to land the Rock Hall here. It worked!
