Fr. William C. McInnes, S.J., Former President of AJCU and Leader in Higher Education, Dies

Return to News and Initiatives > Press Releases

December 11, 2009
Washington, DC

Fr. William C. McInnes, S.J., the president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) from 1977 to 1989, died on Tuesday, December 8, 2009, in Weston, MA. He was 86 years old.

Born in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood on January 20, 1923, Fr. McInnes served in a series of high-level roles in Jesuit higher education before taking the helm at AJCU in the mid-70s. From 1964 until 1973, he was the president of Fairfield University, where he played a significant role in enacting legislation that allowed church-related colleges to receive federal funds for educational purposes. He also led recruitment efforts that resulted in a more diverse student body, oversaw the transition from an all-male to a co-ed campus in 1970, and watched the campus grow and expand in enrollment, in academic programming and in the construction of several new campus buildings.

Photo Courtesy of Boston College

After serving at Fairfield, Fr. McInnes was named president of the University of San Francisco (USF), a position he held until 1977. At USF, he developed dynamic community outreach and lifetime learning programs that are still in existence, and helped save the university from a financial crisis by implementing a series of balanced university budgets.

A Jesuit priest for 52 years, Fr. McInnes studied business at Boston College before leaving to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Forces where he held the post of meteorology officer in Africa, India and China during World War II. Upon returning to Boston, he entered the Society of Jesus and earned a doctorate in business from New York University. As one of the first Jesuit educators to specialize in business administration, Fr. McInnes was both a faculty member and dean at Boston College's business school in the 1960s.

“I have known and admired Bill McInnes for over 50 years,” said Fr. Charles L. Currie, S.J., president of the AJCU. “His enthusiasm for people, ideas, and ways to make a difference has been not only characteristic, but contagious.

We stand on his broad shoulders at the AJCU today, building on the collaboration he promoted, the projects he initiated, and the personal relationships he developed. Long before it was popular, he was encouraging internationalization. He constantly sought new opportunities for our schools to develop their potential, and his many thoughtful reflections on Jesuit higher education remain relevant today.”

When Fr. McInnes’s tenure as AJCU President was completed in 1989, he became parochial vicar of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Storrs, CT, serving the University of Connecticut. He left the parish in 1997 and, shortly after, became a faculty member at Boston College, where he served until 2008. At Boston College, he was also a faculty advisor to the Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society and a chaplain to members of Boston College’s Alumni Association.

“In recent years, Bill slowed down on the tennis court, but never lost a restlessness to generate new ideas and find ways to serve others,” said Fr. Currie. “There is a whole new level of energy in heaven now that he is there.”

Fairfield University and Boston College contributed information to this article.