2008 Woodie Awards
VP of Student Affairs chosen as Spring Hill College president
Ahad Syed
Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: News
The Board of Trustees of Spring Hill College announced on Sept. 25 that Richard Salmi, S.J., will be replacing Gregory F. Lucey, S.J., as the 38th president of Spring Hill College. Lucey has served as president of Spring Hill College since 1997.
Founded in 1830 and located in Mobile, Ala., Spring Hill College is the oldest college in the state. It is a small liberal arts college with a total student body of 1,500.
Lucey announced last semester that it was time to retire after 12 years. The Board of Trustees decided in June to look for a new president. The Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., among others, urged Salmi to apply. Salmi was one of 34 candidates that were considered for the position from the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
"I met with the search committee here in Chicago in June and went down to Mobile, Ala., for an on-campus interview and basically met everybody under the sun, the student groups, the president's cabinet and the president, who was nice enough to drive me from the airport," Salmi said.
Salmi spoke fondly of his time at Loyola. For him, working with Garanzini and the administration to make Loyola a better university was one of his major accomplishments.
"When Father Garanzini came to Loyola he inherited a school that was in a lot of trouble," he said. "The major accomplishment was that the university succeeded in moving forward with its long term plans. We had $34 million in the red. Father Garanzini worked with us to make some changes and turn this around. One thing we did was increase enrollment, so we started building and opening Regis, Fairfield, Le Moyne, Georgetown, Marquette, Fordham, Canisius and Baumhart Halls."
Salmi has presided over the greatest expansion of on-campus student housing from 2,200 resident students, since he first arrived at Loyola, to 4,200 resident students this year. The total enrollment of freshmen has risen from 1,400 six years ago to 2,200 today to accommodate the growing number of applicants.
Founded in 1830 and located in Mobile, Ala., Spring Hill College is the oldest college in the state. It is a small liberal arts college with a total student body of 1,500.
Lucey announced last semester that it was time to retire after 12 years. The Board of Trustees decided in June to look for a new president. The Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., among others, urged Salmi to apply. Salmi was one of 34 candidates that were considered for the position from the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
"I met with the search committee here in Chicago in June and went down to Mobile, Ala., for an on-campus interview and basically met everybody under the sun, the student groups, the president's cabinet and the president, who was nice enough to drive me from the airport," Salmi said.
Salmi spoke fondly of his time at Loyola. For him, working with Garanzini and the administration to make Loyola a better university was one of his major accomplishments.
"When Father Garanzini came to Loyola he inherited a school that was in a lot of trouble," he said. "The major accomplishment was that the university succeeded in moving forward with its long term plans. We had $34 million in the red. Father Garanzini worked with us to make some changes and turn this around. One thing we did was increase enrollment, so we started building and opening Regis, Fairfield, Le Moyne, Georgetown, Marquette, Fordham, Canisius and Baumhart Halls."
Salmi has presided over the greatest expansion of on-campus student housing from 2,200 resident students, since he first arrived at Loyola, to 4,200 resident students this year. The total enrollment of freshmen has risen from 1,400 six years ago to 2,200 today to accommodate the growing number of applicants.
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