Belen Jesuit Appoints AI Champion

 9/16/2026

Fr. Willie García-Tuñón, S.J. ’87 | President

With the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence and its widespread implications for education, we have appointed our Director of Faculty Development, Dr. Matthew Jordan ’08, as Belen Jesuit’s AI Champion. In this role, Dr. Jordan will lead a specialized task force comprising tech professionals, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents. Guided by Pope Leo’s Encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, they will ensure our Catholic identity and values are woven into the policy.

The task force was assembled last academic year and has worked diligently to establish protocols, best practices and recommendations to help the school navigate the world of AI. Their work will be used to form the roadmap that our faculty and staff will use moving forward, whether it’s in the classroom or in the office. From there, they will help craft the framework we will use to teach our students to use AI responsibly so they can be good stewards of technology and the planet.

As with any major technological shift, processing these advancements can feel overwhelming. However, we will not shy away from the importance of AI or the value it brings to modern education. More importantly, we embrace the opportunity to teach our future leaders how to use these tools with wisdom and discernment. AI is a valuable tool that requires vigilance, responsibility and an intentional commitment to understanding its impact. That is what we are doing, and that is a primary responsibility of the role Dr. Jordan has accepted.

“I am genuinely humbled and excited to be a part of this initiative,” said Dr. Jordan. “As we learn more about this technology, it becomes clearer that we must educate ourselves and our students. The world doesn't need leaders in AI; it needs moral leaders grounded in the faith and the principle of human dignity, and we intend on forming our students and each other to be those leaders.”

We look forward to sharing more information as it develops. For now, we ask for your patience as we navigate this new technology, and your prayers for Dr. Jordan and the task force as they take on the work ahead.