Holy Family University taps first lay president

Holy Family University in Northeast Philadelphia has tapped its first lay president in its 67-year history.

Anne M. Prisco, formerly president of Felician University, a Catholic school in New Jersey, will become Holy Family’s sixth president in July, the school announced Thursday.

Prisco led Felician for eight years and stepped down last June to return to the West Coast for family reasons, according to North Jersey.com.

“I look forward to getting to know the community and to building upon the impressive foundation that has been set forth by president Sister Maureen McGarrity, the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth and all who have helped to create an environment of educational excellence,” Prisco said in a statement. “I am especially drawn to Holy Family University’s pledge, teneor votis — I am bound by my responsibilities. This pledge is so relevant at this time when our shared humanity and responsibility to each other is ever more heightened.”

Before Felician, Prisco served as a vice president at Loyola Marymount University, a faculty member at St. John’s University, and a policy researcher at New York University. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona, an M.B.A. from Fordham University, and a doctorate in economics and education from Columbia University. She and her husband plan to move to Philadelphia.