The Board of Trustees has unanimously elected Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, S.J., the Dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, as the new president of Fairfield University.
Von Arx said it was with a “sense of humility and great responsibility” that he accepted the invitation to become Fairfield’s eighth president during a press conference today in the Barone Campus Center.
“I will do my best to follow [Rev. Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J.’s] example by being my best and truest self,” said von Arx. “I look forward to getting to know you all better, and will make that my first priority as Fairfield’s new president.”
“I ask for your prayers, and I promise to give the total dedication of my heart and soul to the task ahead,” he said.
Von Arx was announced as the new president by Paul Huston, the chairman of the Board of Trustees.
“Fr. von Arx is unquestionably qualified to lead Fairfield in unique and exciting ways,” said Huston.
“In looking for a new president, the most important factor was administrative experience,” said Rev. Aloysius P. Kelley, who is serving his last semester as the president of Fairfield. “His history of working with administration both at Fordham and Georgetown is excellent.”
“Fr. von Arx is an excellent choice,” said Kelley. “I congratulate Fr. von Arx and I congratulate Fairfield University.”
A 14-member committee placed in charge of finding the new president, which has been searching since October, selected von Arx from an initial pool of 24 candidates from the Jesuit community. The committee then narrowed the list to ten likely candidates, six of which were invited on to campus for an interview. Three finalists then met with the Board of Trustees, and the Board elected von Arx on Tuesday.
“He will do extremely well,” Kelley said.
Von Arx said his first priority as president would be getting to know Fairfield’s many constituencies. “I look forward to getting to know Fairfield both as a deep personal joy, and as a response to God’s call to service in this time and place in my life.”
Prior to coming to Fordham as Dean in 1998, Von Arx began his academic career in 1982 at Georgetown University as a faculty member in the History Department where he served as chair from 1991 to 1997. While at Georgetown he was a founding Director of the Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies in the School of Foreign Service.
At Fordham, Von Arx has direct responsibility for the operation of the College at Rose Hill, the original undergraduate division of Fordham University that has a student population of 3,200.
He initiated the College Board of Visitors who advise the Dean and support the work of the College financially, and is involved in representing the College at various alumni activities.
Von Arx has served or is currently on the boards of trustees of Boston College, Canisius College, Loyola Marymount University, and Xavier University. He joined Fairfield’s board in 2002. He is also a member of the boards of Fordham Prep, Regis High School and St. Barnabas Hospital, all in the Bronx.
Von Arx received his undergraduate degree in history from Princeton University in 1969, the year he entered the Society of Jesus. He received masters’ degrees in history and philosophy and a Ph.D. in history from Yale University. A 1981 graduate of the Weston School of Theology, he was ordained in 1981. He is the son of Eugene and Betty von Arx, of Naples, Fla.
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