Rev. Charles L. Currie, S.J.
Currie is responsible for a number of initiatives in Jesuit higher education, is an active member of the higher education community in Washington, and has spearheaded multiple national and collaborative programs
Washington DC – AJCU President Fr. Charles L. Currie, S.J. announced that he will step down as president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) June 30, 2011. At that time, he will have served 14 years in his post, the longest tenure of any AJCU president in history. He will be succeeded by Fr. Greg Lucey, S.J., former president of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama.
“I have been privileged to serve and work with many special women and men and with 28 special institutions deeply engaged in the mission of Jesuit higher education today,” said Fr. Currie. “I have also appreciated the colleagueship within the higher education community that makes each and all of us better. It has been fun encouraging and facilitating new programs, projects and initiatives in Jesuit higher education and fostering collaboration, both on the national and international levels. Obviously, there is much more to do, but it is time to pass along the baton to new leadership, and I am confident that the Association’s good work will continue under my good friend, Greg Lucey.”
Rev. Charles L. Currie, S.J.
Fr. Currie began his over 40-year career in higher education after receiving his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from The Catholic University of America. He served as a chemistry faculty member at Georgetown University prior to his appointment as president of Wheeling College (now Wheeling Jesuit University), where he served from 1972 until 1982. He then served as president of Xavier University from 1982 until 1986, before returning to Georgetown to direct the University’s Bicentennial Celebration.
In 1990-91, Fr. Currie was a Senior Fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown, and was appointed in 1991 as rector of the Jesuit Community at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia.
In August 1997, Fr. Currie became President of the AJCU. Under his leadership, the Association has promoted institutional mission and identity activities; developed new leadership initiatives, including the AJCU Leadership Development Seminar; significantly improved communications and outreach among Jesuit institutions; actively encouraged the internationalization of AJCU campuses; and developed the Jesuit Distance Education Network (JesuitNET), a collaborative effort of Jesuit institutions to develop, share and deliver quality online academic programs and services.
JesuitNET produced the CADE (Competency Assessment in Distance Education) model to ensure that AJCU institutions are able to produce high-quality online courses and programs that complement traditional classroom programs. JesuitNET has been the recipient of two federal grants and was selected by the U.S. Department of Education to be a participant in the Distance Education Demonstration Program.
“Charlie Currie has been a remarkable leader of the AJCU through his tireless efforts to promote the mission of Jesuit Higher Education at every conceivable venue whether on Capitol Hill, at the White House, on our campuses, at international conferences and even on the golf course!” said Fr. Timothy Lannon, S.J., president of Saint Joseph’s University and chair of the AJCU Board of Directors. “His charismatic and dynamic leadership is admired greatly by all who encounter him, and it has been through his leadership that the AJCU has thrived.”
Fr. Currie has been a strong advocate for helping Jesuit institutions strengthen their already strong commitment to educating for justice. His advocacy was fueled by the murders of the six Jesuits and their two female co-workers by members of the Salvadoran military in El Salvador in 1989. Fr. Currie was part of an investigation into the murders and worked with former Congressman Joe Moakley and his one-time aide-now Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) to uncover the truth about the killings.
When the Vatican document on Catholic higher education, Ex corde Ecclesiae, was released in 1990, there were many questions about how to implement the guidelines on Catholic campuses. With his good friend and colleague, Dr. Monika Hellwig (former president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities), Fr. Currie was deeply involved in discussions concerning the application of the document in the United States and provided wise counsel to Jesuit and other Catholic institutions regarding the implementation of the norms.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and with several of the Jesuit campuses experiencing losses of loved ones, Fr. Currie encouraged the presidents of Jesuit institutions to issue a statement that denounced the attacks, emphasizing that “evil and death are never the final answer” and called for a re-commitment by our nation to international understanding and inter-religious dialogue. He also organized and led an ecumenical prayer service for members of the higher education community at the National Center for Higher Education to offer hope and healing during one of the worst tragedies in our nation’s history.
"Fr. Currie's leadership, wise counsel, and special gift for bringing people of diverse backgrounds and viewpoints together for a common cause will be greatly missed," said David L. Warren, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU). "His passion for private higher education and advocacy for federal student aid has made all the difference for the nation's colleges and the millions of students they educate. I cannot think of a finer colleague and friend."
In the summer of 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and devastated the city of New Orleans, Fr. Currie led a rapid response effort by Jesuit colleges and universities to admit over 1,600 students from Loyola University New Orleans and other affected universities. Fr. Currie and the AJCU staff worked with students, parents, and college administrators to ensure that students were able to continue their studies in the fall before returning to their Gulf Coast institutions for the spring semester.
A strong advocate for access to higher education, Fr. Currie has testified before Congress on the importance of federal student aid. He has reached out to members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, encouraging them to increase funding for higher education programs that benefit students across the country.
“Since I was elected to Congress, Fr. Charles Currie has been a valued advisor on higher education matters and a good friend,” Congressman Tim Bishop (D-NY) said. “As a proud graduate of Holy Cross – a Jesuit college – I am grateful for his forceful advocacy on behalf of the institutions we love and the students they serve.”
Fr. Currie has published and lectured widely on higher education. Most recently, he edited Mission and Identity: A Handbook for Trustees. He is a co-founder of both the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice and the Ignatian Solidarity Network, the recipient of 11 honorary degrees, and, most recently, was presented with the Hesburgh Award from the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) and the DeSmet Medal from Gonzaga University.
“Charlie Currie is one of the most able and influential leaders in American higher education today — he is also an inspiring and dedicated Jesuit priest and a good friend,” said Molly Broad, president of the American Council on Education (ACE). “Over the past 13 years he has not only led the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities with distinction, he has served as the conscience of the Washington higher education community. He has been a tireless advocate for social justice and the needs of students, and we will miss him greatly.”
Currently, Fr. Currie is helping to develop a new initiative, the Jesuit Commons, which endeavors to link Jesuit education with Jesuit efforts to help poor and marginalized populations worldwide. Working closely with Chris Lowney, president ofJesuit Commons, Fr. Currie serves on the Jesuit Commons board and will continue to guide the organization after he leaves AJCU.
“I want to extend my sincere thanks and good wishes to a dedicated and much beloved leader in higher education, Fr. Charles Currie, on the occasion of his upcoming retirement,” said U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Assistant Senate Majority Leader. “For his entire life, but especially in the past decade and a half, as president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities he has worked to bring the light of learning to so many eager students – whether here in the U.S. through the distance consortium project or in remote parts of Africa with the Jesuit Commons program. Those young students may never know Fr. Currie’s name; they may never have heard of the AJCU, but they all bear the imprint of this fine man’s dedication to teaching and passion for learning.”
Next July, Fr. Currie will be succeeded by Fr. Greg Lucey, S.J., who led Spring Hill College for 12 years, after serving at Seattle and Marquette universities. He also served as president of the U.S. Jesuit Conference. Fr. Lucey received his Ph.D. in education administration from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and is the author of The Meaning and Maintenance of Catholicity as a Distinctive Characteristic of American, Catholic Higher Education: A Case Study.
Fr. Lucey has spent his entire professional career in education, first at the secondary level and culminating at the post-secondary level. His experience as an administrator as well as a college president will serve him well in his new role.
“The Association is in an excellent place for this transition to occur,” said Fr. Currie. “Several dynamic initiatives are in place, the staff is strong, and our member institutions, the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S., are doing better than ever, with a restlessness to be and do more.”
For more information, please contact Melissa Collins Di Leonardo, AJCU Director of Communications at (202) 862-9893 or mdileonardo@ajcunet.edu.
