Christy Larsen, Chair of the presidential search committee; Katia Passerini, President-elect; Mike Reilly, chair, Board of Trustees
January 15, 2025
Dear Members of the Gonzaga University Community,
On behalf of Gonzaga University’s Board of Trustees, I write today to share exciting news.
It is my honor to announce the appointment of Katia Passerini, Ph.D., as the university’s 27th president. Dr. Passerini currently serves as Provost and Senior Executive Vice President at Seton Hall University, having been there since June 2020.
A native of Italy and a lifelong Catholic, Dr. Passerini is an accomplished academic and a seasoned university administrator and leader. Prior to her current appointment at Seton Hall, Dr. Passerini was The Lesley H. and William L. Collins Distinguished Chair & Dean of the Collins College of Professional Studies at St. John’s University, where she also held an appointment as Professor in the Division of Computer Science, Mathematics and Science. From 2003 to 2013, she was Professor and Hurlburt Chair of Management Information Systems (MIS), Martin Tuchman School of Management, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), where she held a joint appointment in the Information Systems (IS) Department in the Ying Wu College of Computing Sciences.
The role of a university president is extremely complex, as is the process to identify their successor. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the members of our Presidential Search Committee, comprised of representatives from the Trustees, Regents, Faculty, Student body, Staff, Jesuit Community and Administration, whose tireless efforts reviewing and evaluating materials from a large number of applicants have led us to this milestone moment. In today’s higher ed space, where the value of a degree continues to be questioned, I believe it is testament to who we are as a university, and the excellent leadership President McCulloh has provided over these years, that we received so much interest in serving as our next president.
I want to thank our immediate past Board Chair, Christy Larsen, who very skillfully chaired the search committee that so diligently worked to identify our next president. As a fellow alum, I know that Christy and I share a common hope and aspiration for what’s possible for Gonzaga, and I want to thank Christy for her guidance and wisdom as we move into this next chapter.
As a part of our Jesuit, Catholic and humanistic heritage, the role of president is also that of director of the Jesuit work, and a critical element in our selection was to identify an individual who themselves would align with and live out Gonzaga’s mission of educating people for lives of leadership and service to the common good. To learn more about the search process, please click here.
I, the Board, and President McCulloh greatly look forward to working with Dr. Passerini and creating opportunities to introduce her to our Gonzaga University community.
On behalf of Gonzaga University’s Board of Trustees, thank you all for the unwavering focus you bring to supporting and guiding our students. My deepest gratitude as we move through the days ahead and for your partnership as we celebrate Dr. McCulloh and prepare to welcome Dr. Passerini this summer.
With deepest gratitude,
D. Michael Reilly, J.D., '81 B.B.A.
Chair, Board of Trustees
