University of Detroit Mercy Names New President

DETROIT, Nov. 12, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- University of Detroit Mercy Board of Trustees has named Antoine M. Garibaldi as the University's new president, announced UDM Board of Trustees Chair John D. Lewis. Garibaldi, who is currently president of Gannon University in Erie, Pa., will assume the position July 1, 2011 to become UDM's first lay president.

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"We are very pleased to have President Garibaldi join the University of Detroit Mercy community," said Lewis. "Given his tenure as a Catholic university president, he brings strong leadership skills and extensive experience that will enable UDM to continue its mission of providing a quality academic experience within a Catholic and urban context."

Recognized as a national scholar in higher education, Garibaldi's career spans more than 35 years as a tenured professor, accomplished researcher and educational administrator. Garibaldi has served as Gannon University's president since 2001. During that time, the university's enrollment has increased by 24% from 3,401 to 4,238 students, the highest in 17 years, and its endowment more than doubled. In 2008, he successfully completed the largest comprehensive fund-raising campaign in Gannon's history, raising more than $31.5 million in private gifts and $8 million in foundation and government grants. Other major accomplishments during his nearly ten-year tenure include: U.S. News & World Report top-tier rankings for seven straight years, Best Value (or Great School, Great Price) rankings for five years, and a Top Up-and-Coming recognition; highly successful five-year Strategic Plans I and II; establishment of the Erie Technology Incubator; and acquisition of and major renovations to more than a dozen administrative, academic and student housing buildings.

"I am honored to be selected as the first lay president of the University of Detroit Mercy," said Garibaldi. "As a nationally-ranked Catholic university with its distinctive Mercy and Jesuit traditions, I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, students and trustees to continue to advance the academic excellence and student-centered emphases that are reflected in the UDM mission."

A native of New Orleans, La., Garibaldi earned his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1976 and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Howard University in 1973. He remains an active scholar in the professional disciplines of education and psychology, producing more than 11 books and monographs and more than 80 research articles and chapters. His research interests focus on educational achievement and attainment in schools, African-American males, teacher education, and the growing gender and racial disparities in education. Garibaldi is recognized as a Fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the American Educational Research Association.

"The University was fortunate to have a highly select group from which to choose our new president," said UDM Trustee and Kelly Services CEO Carl Camden, who chaired the presidential search committee. "President Garibaldi was selected by a Board vote after a national search that encompassed 60 candidates. He was the final candidate recommended by the presidential search committee, comprised of trustees, alumni, faculty, administrators and student. We think President Garibaldi will advance UDM not only as an institution of higher education, but also as a community resource in the Detroit area."

Prior to joining Gannon University, Dr. Garibaldi was a Senior Fellow in the Office of the Vice President for Collaborations and Corporate Secretary at the Educational Testing Service in 2000-01; he served as the first Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Howard University and a tenured Professor in the School of Education between 1996 and 2000; and, between 1982 and 1996, he served successively as Chairman of the Education Department, Dean of Arts and Sciences, and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Xavier University of Louisiana. Between 1977 and 1982, he was a federal government administrator and researcher at the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute of Education, where he was also a staff member of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, which produced the landmark report, A Nation at Risk.

He has received numerous awards and honors, including honorary doctorates from Seton Hall University and Our Lady of Holy Cross College, La.; the University of Minnesota Outstanding Achievement Award; the Howard University Distinguished Alumni Award for Postgraduate Achievement in Education; and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Service Award. In March 2010, he received the "Person of the Year Award" from the University of Notre Dame Club of Erie.

Garibaldi serves on a number of scholarly and professional boards and committees, such as the American Council on Education, Association of Governing Board's Council of Presidents, National Association of College and University Business Officers, and Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania. He is also a past chair of the Board of Directors of both the Council for Independent Colleges and the American Association for Higher education.  He is also a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' National Review Board, as well as the boards of trustees of Seton Hall University (NJ) and University of St. Thomas (MN).

"Dr. Garibaldi brings a depth and breadth of administrative experience in higher education and Catholic higher education from department chair to Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences to Provost and Chief Academic Officer to President while remaining an active scholar in his field," stated Liz Roberts-Kirchhoff, UDM associate professor of Chemistry/Biochemistry and a faculty representative on the presidential search committee. "His past achievements demonstrate his commitment to community engagement and his ability to be both strategic and mission-centered."

Garibaldi succeeds former UDM President Gerard L. Stockhausen, S.J., who stepped down in June to take a leadership position with the Jesuit Conference in Washington, D.C.

More about the University of Detroit Mercy

The University of Detroit Mercy is Michigan's largest private Catholic University, with approximately 100 academic majors and programs. Sponsored by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, the University has campuses located in downtown and northwest Detroit.

UDM is one of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities and the largest of 18 Mercy institutions of higher education in the United States. For the tenth consecutive year, University of Detroit Mercy is listed in the top tier of Midwest Regional Universities in the 2011 edition of the U.S.News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges."

Contact:  Liz Patterson, or Gary D. Lichtman, Media Relations, 313-993-1254

SOURCE University of Detroit Mercy