Friday, February 18, 2000
Xavier president to resign
Improvements marked Father Hoff's tenure
BY DANA DiFILIPPO
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Rev. James E. Hoff
|
The Rev. James E. Hoff, president of Xavier University, announced Thursday he will resign next year after a 10-year tenure in which he expanded the school's endowment and oversaw a campus renaissance, while crafting a reputation of academic excellence and moral conscience.
Although a committee charged with picking a new leader met for the first time Thursday, many faculty and students expect trustees to name the Rev. Michael Graham, Father Hoff's executive assistant, to replace him. Board Chairman Michael Conaton declined to confirm that. Father Graham couldn't be reached for comment.
Xavier's bylaws require its president be a Jesuit; the 6,500-student, 169-year-old Catholic school was founded by Jesuits.
Father Hoff, 67, became Xavier's 33rd president when he took office in March 1991, replacing the Rev. Albert J. DiUlio.
Father Hoff is leaving, he said, because it's time.
“There are natural cycles in university administrations of long-range strategic planning, followed by development campaigns and implementation. The natural cycle begun in 1992 will be completed next year” when Xavier wraps up its $100 million Century Campaign, the school's biggest fund-raiser ever, Father Hoff said. “A new president should lead this new cycle.”
He plans to stay at Xavier until the campaign ends, June 1, 2001.
“I'm very proud of Father Hoff. He's done a lot of physical improvements and added a lot of student excitement to the campus,” said senior Claire Blum, 21, of Baltimore, who's studying public relations.
Mr. Conaton added: “This is truly a man of God that brought us tremendous leadership. He's in touch with the total constituency of this university. He loves what he's doing, and everyone loves him.”
Father Hoff said he plans to take some time off and visit relatives in Ireland when he leaves Xavier. Afterward, he's not sure what he'll do, although he will continue working somewhere.
“Jesuits retire for three reasons: They're physically incompetent, mentally incompetent or dead. So I will keep working,” he joked.
Before he came to Cincinnati, Father Hoff directed a medical school, taught ethics and theology, coached high school basketball, counseled terminally ill patients and trained Jesuit novices.
At Xavier, he oversaw a decade of building improvements:
• Cintas Center: This 10,000-seat arena, student dining area and conference center, is intended to be the campus' “living room.” It's set to open in September. The arena will be home to Xavier's nationally acclaimed basketball team and coach, a proud feat for Father Hoff, an avid sports supporter.
• Hinkle, Schmidt, Schott and Edgecliff halls: Hinkle, which houses faculty offices, underwent a $3 million renovation. Schmidt was renovated as Xavier's administration building. Edgecliff was renovated and renamed in honor of Edgecliff College, which Xavier acquired in 1980. Schott was converted from a Jesuit residence to faculty and staff offices.
• Academic mall: Brick walkways and green space from the dorms through the center of campus were finished in 1996.
• Student housing: A new dorm, Buenger Hall, opened on campus in 1994.
Father Hoff, who directed fund-raising efforts at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., before coming to Cincinnati, helped expand Xavier's endow ment from $24 million in 1990 to $86 million today.
He also strengthened ties with the school's alumni, a critical source of money. He established a national alumni association, which now has 47 chapters.
Father Hoff made recruit ment a priority, overseeing the hiring of dozens of respected faculty and administrators.
Throughout, he emphasized students' responsibility to their community, creating “service learning” studies in which students live, work and study in depressed communities.
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