President, Saint Louis University
Edward Feser, Ph.D., became the 34th president of Saint Louis University (SLU) on July 1, 2025.
As president of SLU, Dr. Feser leads a global Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis and Madrid. Established in 1818, SLU was the first university west of the Mississippi River and the second Jesuit university in the United States. It is now one of only 52 private R1 institutions in the country.
Rooted in his Roman Catholic faith and shaped by his Jesuit education at the University of San Francisco, Dr. Feser’s leadership has been defined by a steadfast belief in the power of education to transform lives and contribute to flourishing communities.
Dr. Feser most recently served as Provost and Executive Vice President at Oregon State University (OSU), where he:
- Led the development and implementation of strategic plans focused on student success, groundbreaking research and institutional innovation.
- Championed bold initiatives, including a $213 million Collaborative Innovation Complex — now under construction — to foster interdisciplinary research, powered by artificial intelligence and accelerated computing, and expanding arts and humanities programs.
- Expanded access and support for students from all backgrounds, with a focus on ensuring that every single student has the resources they need to succeed.
- Implemented a new shared responsibility budget model to advance transparency and financial stability.
Drawing on his background as a noted scholar of city and regional economic development, Dr. Feser has led universities to become partners in serving and improving the well-being of their communities. His community-focused efforts have included the launch of OSU’s downtown hub in Portland, Oregon, and the development of a campus-based innovation district in Bend, Oregon. He has served on numerous boards and commissions to address economic development, workforce strategies and public policy challenges.
Prior to OSU, Dr. Feser served as interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illinois), a department head and dean at Illinois, and a division head at the University of Manchester in England. He began his academic career as a faculty member in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also earned his doctorate.
The son of a National Park ranger, Dr. Feser grew up in the Pacific Northwest and attended a Catholic high school in Red Bluff, California. His wife of 34 years, Kathy, is a civil engineer-turned-educator who has led sustainability efforts for a school district in Oregon. They have two adult children, Jack and Mary.