Contact: Deanna Howes Spiro, Director of Communications for AJCU
(202) 862-9893, dhowes@ajcunet.edu
Photo by Loyola University Maryland
On Monday, October 16th, the Board of Directors of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) elected Rev. Brian F. Linnane, S.J. as its new chair. Fr. Linnane, president of Loyola University Maryland, began his 3-year term as chair immediately, succeeding Rev. Michael J. Graham, S.J., president of Xavier University.
Fr. Linnane brings more than a decade of service on the AJCU Board of Directors to his new role as chair. He began his tenure as president of Loyola on July 1, 2005, after previously serving as an assistant dean and associate professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Boston College, Master’s degrees from Georgetown University, Yale University and the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and a doctorate in religious studies from Yale. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1986.
Upon his election, Fr. Linnane said, “Throughout my career in Jesuit education, I have always been so impressed with how diligently and cooperatively the AJCU and its member institutions work to reflect and to act on the Jesuit character of higher education. Their efforts in that area are really unparalleled. I’m very happy to serve and help to advance the missions and goals of the AJCU.”
The AJCU Board of Directors is comprised of the presidents of all twenty-eight Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States, and includes an executive committee of seven presidents. During this week’s election, the board elected Dr. Jo Ann Rooney, president of Loyola University Chicago, to join the executive committee for a 3-year term, succeeding Rev. Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., former president of the University of Scranton.