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.
"The annual operating budget has improved dramatically; we're expanding, renovating classrooms and putting money into scholarships and financial aid. All of that was not possible six years ago," Salmi said.
He also talked about the improvements to Loyola athletics.
"Our athletic department has gotten better. Our athletes are graduating at a higher rate than our regular students."
Alabama is not on his mind just yet: "Mentally, I haven't gotten to that point. I still have eight months to go and I don't want to mentally check out. But I did enjoy my 25th anniversary of my ordination. That was really nice."
When asked what he would have done differently, Salmi said, "I would have fought a lot harder for a new student center. And I would stick it right where Alumni Gym stands right now and build a 10-story residence hall above it, complete with a dining hall and access to it from the Loyola 'El' stop."
"Most people's first acquaintance with Father Salmi is during Welcome Week, where Father Salmi has made it his mission to greet every freshman he can," said Suzan Cibulskis, executive assistant to Salmi.
As of now, there have been no talks about the next vice president of Student Life. Cibulskis said, "We have not talked about a new VP for Student Life. There will probably be a nation-wide search for a suitable candidate but the decision has not been made yet."
Cibulskis also said that Salmi "has been wonderful to work with. I'm so sad to see him go. Father Salmi has been very likeable, hardworking and dedicated to the university's mission."
Junior Jay Mather, chief communications officer of USGA, said, "I think Father Salmi is an excellent candidate. He has been very helpful, knowledgeable and great to work with."
Senior Dan Kleinman, president of USGA, said, "I've worked with Father Salmi since I was a freshman four years ago. He was always supportive, very accessible to the student body and he listened to every concern. We talked about the possibility of building a new student center and we brought the plan before the board of trustees. I was so excited to work with him and it has always been a pleasure to work with him."
Salmi had a few words for the Loyola community: "I think it is too early to start saying good-byes because I still have eight months to work. There are a lot of people I have to thank, including Father Garanzini, the Jesuits, the other vice presidents, my staff for putting up with me and of course my students who have challenged me, prayed with me and rooted for the Ramblers with me."
Be the first to comment on this article!