Vincentian Priest is Known for Research on Nurturing the Catholic Intellectual Tradition

The Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., received a prophetic message when he lunched on Chinese food with DePaul University students participating in the recent presidential interview process. His fortune cookie read: "Promise only what you can deliver."

It turned out to be very good advice.

DePaul's Board of Trustees has selected Father Holtschneider, 42, to serve the largest Catholic university in America as its 11th president, and he will assume his new responsibilities in July. The board will elect him at its May 20 meeting to succeed the Rev. John P. Minogue, C.M., DePaul’s president since 1993, who announced last October that he would step down in June.

"Father Dennis is bright, articulate, professionally qualified, warm, energetic, and in my estimation, he embodies the spirit of the Vincentian charism that is essential for the future of DePaul University," said Mary Dempsey, Chicago’s Public Library commissioner and the DePaul trustee who chaired the search committee.

A Detroit native, Father Holtschneider studied at Harvard University, where he received his doctorate in administration, planning and social policy in 1997. He has been a case researcher and writer for Harvard’s schools of Education, Medicine and Public Health and was a faculty member in The Harvard Macy Scholars Institute for Physician Educators.

He also is a member of the Congregation of the Mission religious community, commonly known as the Vincentians, who sponsor three American Catholic universities: DePaul, St. John's University in Jamaica, N.Y., and Niagara University in Niagara, N.Y.

DePaul has great expectations of Father Holtschneider. He is ready and willing to serve as DePaul's public face in the philanthropic community, and has put enhancing the university’s fundraising results high on his priority list. His demonstrated skill in strategic planning will be implemented immediately as he engages with the DePaul community to establish its next set of ambitious goals. Most importantly, he will strengthen DePaul's academic excellence and its outreach to disadvantaged communities through community service initiatives. He also will continue a long tradition of increasing affordability, accessibility and academic success of students with high potential who are facing challenges because they are academically under-prepared or come to DePaul from backgrounds under-represented in higher education.

Father Holtschneider's appointment to DePaul will mark the third Vincentian university he has served. Since 2000, he has been the executive vice president and chief operating officer at Niagara, where he directs strategic planning and daily operations of the campus. Prior to his role at Niagara, Father Holtschneider was assigned to St. John's, where he was an assistant professor of higher education in the Graduate School of Education and the associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

"To lead the largest Catholic university in the nation is a sacred trust," said Father Holtschneider. "I look forward to working with all those who love this great institution. From the day it opened, DePaul has prided itself on its inclusiveness, welcoming students and faculty of all faiths, races and traditions. That's a mission that is close to my heart and the reason I wanted to come here."

John C. Staley, chairman of DePaul’s board, said, "His youth and exuberance—he’s run three marathons—will bring a new vibrancy to the university."

The search for a new president was an inclusive one. Father Holtschneider received overwhelming support from the university community, which was impressed with his intellect, strength of character and engaging personality. His academic credentials, experience as an educator, and work in mentoring leaders in Catholic higher education were noted as great assets in feedback given to the search committee, which unanimously recommended his selection.

Father Holtschneider is nationally known in Catholic higher education circles for his training of religious and lay presidents of Catholic institutions in how to support and nurture the Catholic intellectual tradition on their campuses. He led two national studies of American Catholic colleges and universities, examining trends in governance and leadership. He is the author and co-author of numerous articles and one book on Catholic higher education and U.S. higher education, and he is a consultant and frequent speaker on these topics.

Father Holtschneider pursued his undergraduate education at Niagara, where he received a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1985. He studied for the priesthood at Mary Immaculate Seminary in Northampton, Pa., and was ordained in 1989. After ordination, he served as director and then rector of the Vincentian Community's college seminary program at Ozone Park in New York City and taught theology at St. John's.

The oldest of eight children, he is eager to move to Chicago, where he will be reunited with two of his siblings, a brother and sister, who live and work in the city. He is a lover of jazz and theatre, and he expects to take full advantage of Chicago’s lively arts community.

DePaul enrolls nearly 24,000 students in nine colleges offering classes on seven campuses. Students choose from more than 150 programs of study, including a part-time MBA that has ranked in the top 10 for the past decade and two nationally ranked law programs. Students have benefited greatly from a more than $300 million investment in state-of-the-art campus facilities since 1990, and they voted themselves the happiest students in the nation twice in recent years.

Note to Editors: A photo & biography are available at http://president.depaul.edu/Biography/Biography.html.

A high resolution photo is available at http://newsroom.depaul.edu/news_release_photos/FrHolt1.jpg.