St. Joseph's University installs 27th president

The Rev. C. Kevin Gillespie, new president of St. Joseph's University, says that for a postsecondary school to be "academically distinctive," it must meet three criteria: affordability, accessibility, and accountability.

At his formal inauguration Friday at Hagan Arena, Gillespie said St. Joseph's had accessibility and accountability, and he pledged that his mission would be "affordability."

"Already, the basis of the university's next major capital campaign is being formed, and it will center on student scholarships and increased academic resourcing," said Gillespie, a 1972 St. Joseph's graduate and the second alumnus to serve as president. "We will be challenging every potential benefactor to be more than a friend of the university, but to be a life-changing, personal friend to the young people who need it most."

Tuition and fees for the 2012 school year are $37,830. The university has a current enrollment of 8,950 undergraduate and graduate students.

Gillespie, who grew up in Narberth, said he was happy to return to the university community that "has been like a second family for more than 40 years." He said he would work closely with local government officials to better serve the Philadelphia area.

"We want to help unemployment by responding to the problem with education," Gillespie said. "We aim to move our students to become leaders in Philadelphia after graduation armed with both compassion and competence, two pillars of the Jesuit tradition."

"We know how important education is in the city," Mayor Nutter, who attended the inauguration, said after the ceremony. "Father Gillespie brings great leadership to an already great university, and I'm looking forward to working with him in the future."

Gillespie had served on St. Joseph's board of trustees since 2006. Before becoming the university's 27th president in July, he was an associate provost at the University Centers of Excellence at Loyola University in Chicago.

"The Hawk will never die," Gillespie bellowed at the close of his inauguration speech. Students' loud cheers signaled that the school's new president was officially welcomed back home.