Jonathan Rothchild

Jonathan Rothchild, Ph.D., Associate Provost of Research, Strategy, and Special Projects: LMU’s research portfolio continues to grow, requiring the Provost’s Office to keep pace with innovation and new federal mandates. At the same time, LMU is expanding engagement through internships, faculty research, online learning, and innovation initiatives. Jonathan Rothchild, Ph.D., will oversee research leadership, digital learning, research compliance, the core curriculum, and academic integrity. He will also collaborate with corporate and foundation partners, as well as campus and external stakeholders, on strategic initiatives. To strengthen faculty research, Angie Rochat, associate vice provost for research, will report to Associate Provost Rothchild and continue to lead the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects, research compliance, and technology transfer. 

Associate Provost Rothchild began as a lecturer in Theological Studies at LMU in 2003 before transitioning to a tenure-line position in 2005 and becoming a full professor in 2018. He has served as department chair for Theological Studies and for Urban and Environmental Studies, graduate director of the Theology MA programs, Acting Accreditation Liaison Officer, Associate Dean in BCLA, and inaugural director of the BCLA Post-Doc Teaching Fellows Program. These leadership roles have primarily involved curricular development and assessment, pedagogy, student advising, faculty affairs and professional development, graduate education, and shared governance.

In the classroom, Associate Provost Rothchild is committed to challenging students to be rigorous thinkers, readers, and writers and to be critically aware of and empathetically responsive to needs in their local communities and global contexts. He believes that student learning should also occur outside of the classroom through high-impact experiences such as engaged learning, internships, study abroad, and living/ learning communities. He has accompanied students on an Alternative Break trip to several California penal institutions and, for four years, co-coordinated a Lilly Endowment ($600,000) funded, weeklong leadership institute at LMU for high school students from across Southern California. As a scholar, he marshals theological, philosophical, and legal arguments to address complex ethical, social, and political issues such as juvenile justice, felony disenfranchisement, the war on terror, voting rights, and restorative justice. His interdisciplinary methodology explores theoretical debates and their concrete implications for justice and the lived realities of individuals and communities.

He resides in Westchester with his wife, Elsa, and their children.