John Sebastian
Vice President for Mission and Ministry | Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, CA, UNITED STATES
Biography
John T. Sebastian, Ph.D., became LMU’s second vice president for mission and ministry on June 12, 2017, succeeding Robert Caro, S.J. As second vice president for mission and ministry, Sebastian leads and supports LMU's mission and ministry programs, which play a vital role in articulating and advancing a deeper understanding of the university’s Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount identity. He reports to the president.
Sebastian joined LMU from Loyola University New Orleans, where he also served as vice president for mission and ministry. As the chief mission officer, he developed and executed the university’s strategic plan for their Office of Mission and Ministry and served on the president’s cabinet and other leadership committees. Sebastian also participated in the effort to build a Jesuit center, was the founding director of the Ignatian Faculty Fellows Program, established a lecture series on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, and worked collaboratively with the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
Sebastian, a member of Alpha Sigma Nu and Omicron Delta Kappa, is an expert on Middle English literature, especially religious drama, devotional poetry, and mystical writing. He has also written about and taught courses on Anglo-Saxon England and Old English literature, Chaucer, Ignatian pedagogy and education, medieval women writers, and Old Norse literature and the Vikings. He earned his Ph.D. in 2004 in medieval studies at Cornell University. Sebastian has a master’s degree in medieval studies from Cornell University and an M.A. in English from Georgetown University. He earned his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in English and medieval studies from Georgetown.
