Rev. James Lies, C.S.C.
Teaching Professor
Expertise
Moral and developmental psychology; psychology of diplomacy; ethical leadership and decision-making; identity development; conflict, aggression, forgiveness, and reconciliation; Catholic social thought; global education and international partnerships
Biography
Fr. Jim Lies, C.S.C., is a teaching professor in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, a core-affiliated faculty member of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies and a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross. He has served most recently as senior advisor for faculty fellow affairs and partnerships at the Keough School’s Nanovic Institute for European Studies. Lies also assists with Serving (in) Europe, a program that prepares students for service with Caritas Internationalis and other Catholic organizations across Europe, and with the Catholic Universities Partnership.
A developmental and moral psychologist, Lies teaches and writes about the human dimensions of diplomacy, leadership, conflict and ethical decision-making. His work draws upon research in identity and moral development, personality, social psychology, cultural intelligence, aggression, forgiveness and reconciliation. He is particularly interested in how identity, moral judgment, group dynamics and culture influence the decisions of leaders and practitioners working in international and intercultural settings.
Lies's courses connect psychological theory with the practical and ethical challenges of global affairs. Through case studies, reflective writing and applied analysis, students explore how diplomats perceive allies and adversaries, why groups make poor decisions, how identity and culture shape conflict and what enables individuals and institutions to act responsibly amid moral complexity.
Before joining the Nanovic Institute in 2023, Lies served in the Notre Dame London program, 2017-2023. In the last three years as academic director. He previously served as vice president for mission at Stonehill College, 2012-1017, and as executive director of the Garaventa Center for Catholic Intellectual Life and American Culture at the University of Portland, 2009-2012, holding associate professor appointments at both institutions.
Lies earned a doctorate in developmental psychology from the University of Minnesota; a master’s in psychological counseling from Notre Dame; a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley; and a bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. He was also a visiting scholar at the Stanford Center on Adolescence, 2005-2006.
Recent Work
Courses
- Psychology of Diplomacy
- Keough Ethical Practice Seminar
- Identity and Moral Development
- Serving (in) Europe: Catholic Social Teaching and the Charitable Sector in Europe