Chancellor, 2000-Present
President, 1974-2000
Three weeks before I officially became the president of Franciscan University, I went on pilgrimage to Assisi. There, I knelt before the San Damiano Cross and reflected upon the words our Lord spoke to St. Francis in the wreckage of San Damiano Church: “Rebuild my house, which lies before you in ruins.”
At the time, it seemed to me as if Christ wasn’t speaking to St. Francis alone, but also to me personally, as well as to all believers. And I knew that what Francis had done for the Church in his day was what the Lord desired us to do for Franciscan University, and in turn, what he desired Franciscan University to do for Catholic education and for the culture.
Now, more than 30 years later, I look around me and I see a school where students come to grow in Christian maturity and love of the Church, as well as knowledge and wisdom. I see those same students then go out into the world and become leaders in everything they do. It is a great blessing to see what I hoped for on that long ago day in Assisi come to pass. And I know there are great blessings for and from this school still to come.