President
Michele C. Murray, Ph.D. began her tenure as president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) on June 1, 2026. She is the first lay person to lead the organization, which represents twenty-seven Jesuit institutions in the United States and one in Belize, with three associate members in Canada. Murray has dedicated her professional career to Jesuit, Catholic higher education, having spent three decades serving at Jesuit institutions: Loyola University Maryland, Seattle University, and the College of the Holy Cross, where she served most recently as senior vice president for student development and mission.
A nationally-recognized educator and speaker, Murray has served as president of the Jesuit Association of Student Personnel Administrators (JASPA) and currently serves on the board of directors for National Catholic Reporter. Her writing has been published in multiple journals and books, including the new Ignatian Spirituality Reader, published by Loyola Press last fall. Murray holds a Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Maryland (College Park) and a Master’s degree in education and student affairs administration from the University of Vermont. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a double major in rhetoric and communication studies and psychology.