Since 1998, the annual Fairfield Awards Dinner has been a beloved Fairfield tradition, raising nearly $20 million for the Alumni Multicultural Scholarship Fund and other endowment scholarships. Continuing the tradition of recognizing volunteer commitment to Fairfield, professional excellence, and outstanding leadership, this year’s Fairfield Awards Dinner will honor Rev. Gerald Blaszczak, S.J.

Indeed, it’s almost difficult to remember a time before “Father Gerry,” alumni chaplain and special assistant to the President, was part of the life of Fairfield University. Arriving in 2009 as University chaplain, he was known for his commitment to unity and interfaith dialogue and made it his first priority to ensure that students of all religions were able to live out their faiths while on campus.

In 2011, Fr. Blaszczak was promoted to vice president of Mission & Identity. The same year, however, he was unexpectedly called to Rome to serve as Secretary for the Service of Faith at the Jesuit's General Headquarters. This post required him to travel to all corners of the world, ensuring that Jesuit communities were doing all they could to promote growth in faith and interreligious dialogue in the face of rising secularism and authoritarianism. He returned to Fairfield in 2018 and assumed the role of vice president of Mission & Ministry until he was appointed to his current position in 2021. 

Ordained in 1979, Fr. Blaszczak studied philosophy in Germany and earned a PhD at Harvard. He has taught at Fordham and LeMoyne Universities and Hekima College in Nairobi, Kenya, where he lived in one of the townships. His facility with languages is legendary, and he is proficient in French, German, Spanish, and Kiswahili, and can read a dozen more languages, including Aramaic, Coptic, and Hebrew.

As special assistant to the President, Fr. Blaszczak has been involved with the launching of a new academic unit dedicated to providing strong educational and professional preparation for underrepresented urban youth, with the intention of providing a smooth transition to a four-year college or meaningful employment.

For more information on Fairfield Awards Dinner sponsorships, tickets, or journal ads, please contact Jen Kane at 203-254-4000 ext. 2464 or jkane1@fairfield.edu.