Rev. James Fleming, SJ
President, Wheeling Jesuit University

Rev. James Fleming, SJ began his tenure as president of Wheeling Jesuit University on July 1, 2013. Most recently, he served as executive vice president at Wheeling, with responsibility for the university's operations and functioning. He also provided strategic leadership for program development, implementation and assessment, and led university-wide efforts to facilitate innovation and collaboration between programs. He previously served as the university's vice president and chief of staff.

Rev. James Fleming, SJ
Prior to joining Wheeling Jesuit, Fr. Fleming was on staff at Boston College for ten years. He served as director of mission planning and assessment from 2004-2010, where he developed and oversaw the implementation of a strategic planning process for the office. From 2000-2004, he was an assistant professor in the Lynch School of Education. His courses included Teacher as Researcher; Family, School & Society; Culture, Community & Change; and Principles of Outreach Research. He also conducted funded research that informed his scholarly work, which focused on university-community partnerships and institutional change at American colleges and universities.

His interest in university-community partnerships began in his hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts, an old mill town where his father was mayor and active in downtown redevelopment and a member of the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus for 45 years.

Fr. Fleming also has been a lecturer at the University of San Francisco, where he served as the Director of the University Academy, a university-school-community partnership in San Francisco, CA. From 1997-1999, he taught courses in urban education at Santa Clara University.

The author of numerous articles and publications, Fr. Fleming earned a Ph.D. in educational policy analysis at the University of California, Berkeley in 1999, where he was awarded the Wilson Research Fellowship and the Edgar and Camilla Morphet Fellowship. As a research associate at the Institute for Urban and Regional Development, he worked with a team of researchers from UC Berkeley and was project director of the Design Study for an Evaluation Methodology of the Community Outreach Partnership Centers.

He served on the board of trustees at Boston College High School and the Nativity Preparatory School in Boston, and is a member of the Council of Independent Colleges' Executive Leadership Program.

Fr. Fleming entered the Jesuits in 1983 and was ordained a priest in 1995. As a Jesuit educator, Fr. Fleming has dedicated his life to academic investigation, service to and with the poor, and spiritual reflection. He follows in a long line of Jesuits dedicated to bringing their academic and spiritual preparation to the Northern Ohio River Valley.

AJCU Board of Directors

Antoine M. Garibaldi, Ph.D.
David W. Burcham
Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D.
Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D.
John J. DeGioia, Ph.D.
John J. Hurley, JD
Rev. Brian F. Linnane, S.J.
Rev. C. Kevin Gillespie, S.J.
Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, S.J.
Rev. John P. Fitzgibbons, S.J.
Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J.
Rev. Kevin P. Quinn, S.J.
Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D.
Rev. Lawrence Biondi, S.J.
Rev. Michael E. Engh, S.J.
Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J.
Rev. Michael J. Graham, S.J.
Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J.
Rev. Richard P. Salmi, S.J.
Rev. Robert L. Niehoff, S.J.
Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J.
Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J.
Rev. Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J.
Rev. Thomas B. Curran
Rev. Timothy R. Lannon, S.J.
Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J.
Thayne M. McCulloh, Ph.D.

Quote of the week

"...This crest [IHS] continually reminds us of a reality that we must never forget: the centrality of Christ for each one of us and for the whole Society, the Society that Saint Ignatius wanted to name "of Jesus" to indicate the point of reference."
Pope Francis: July 31, 2013


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Federal Relations


AJCU Federal Relations Network is the lobbying arm of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and comprised of at least one representative from each one of the twenty-eight Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The Network is kept up to date on an on-going basis by the Vice President for Federal Relations on all issues relating to Appropriations, budget, higher education authorization issues and taxes. The Network meets annually in September for a Legislative Conference and also participates in the Annual Committee for Education Funding Legislative Conference and Awards Dinner.
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AJCU Conferences


The 35+ Conferences sponsored by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) are affinity groups within the AJCU Network. The Conferences provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, information and best practices; support the professional development of their members; and present opportunities for AJCU representatives to discuss opportunities and challenges in Jesuit higher education. Most of the AJCU Conference groups meet in person at least once a year, and many of them communicate regularly through an AJCU listserv.
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International Outreach


The member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) are committed to developing programs and partnerships that advance international education and support initiatives that advance global citizenship.
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